What year did men and women finally get normal bathing suits that didn’t come down to the knees and elbows ?

August 13, 2009 by admin · 8 Comments
Filed under: Senior Citizens 
suits
MissMazie asked:

Whenever I look at very old beach pictures I think they had to be miserable.
Why didn’t they wear bathing suits instead ?

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Comments

8 Responses to “What year did men and women finally get normal bathing suits that didn’t come down to the knees and elbows ?”
  1. HC says:
    August 13, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    Hey, maybe someday in the future people will regard wearing anything at all while swimming to be uncomfortable and unnecessary. It’s just the style of the time.

  2. lmn78744 says:
    August 15, 2009 at 12:06 am

    1946

    Ok, not exactly, but the shift to most modern fashions took place from WWII vets bringing European fashions back home with them.

  3. Bogey says:
    August 17, 2009 at 8:37 pm

    That type of swimwear would be the ONLY kind I’d wear now, unless I’d sunbathe in jeans and a t-shirt.

  4. curious connie says:
    August 19, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    Between 1925 and 1930 swimwear began to shrink. By about 1932 most woman were wearing a one piece suit and many still do. I do.

  5. deejaydevoted says:
    August 22, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    Styles changed in the 40’s.

    When I was a teen – about 1947 – I bought with my baby sitting money – a black two piece swim suit.

    I was being very daring – I didn’t let my Granny know that I had one.

    I went swimming everyday – I was the first to wear a two piece at the pool – the next summer everyone was wearing a two piece.

    Also – we were not allowed in the pool without a Swim Cap.
    That was horrible.

    DeeJay.

  6. Lynn says:
    August 26, 2009 at 3:17 am

    In the 30’s the tank style bathing suit was all the fashion. They went
    below the hips and had shorts or a short skirt. They like the mens’
    bathing suit, were made of wool. But not flattering to the figure, when
    they got wet, for they sagged and bagged from the water in the
    material. But the neck and arms were bare, and there were just wide
    straps over the shoulders and a rather high scooped neckline in front.
    In the late 30’s early 40’s, the bathing suits changed again. This time
    to cottom material with also skirts or a wrap around sarong, that
    Dorothy Lamour introduced in the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies.
    In the later 40’s the stretchy materials came into play. And also
    bra cups were sewn into the bodice and suits were clingier but often
    with panals in the stomach to pull your stomach in. The suit went
    below the crotch line and extended to the upper part of the leg.
    Esther Williams introduced many designer suits in her movies and
    they were soon copied by bathing suit manufacturers and sold to the
    buying public. They were very close to what is worn today in a one
    piece suit. She also introduced the stylish swimming caps with
    decorations on them made from either fabric or rubber in the form of
    flowers and other designs. Since rubber was in short supply during
    the war years, I don’t have any idea as to what those caps cost when
    they were mass produced. But the look was new, and soon in
    demand.
    I remember a suit my dad had for years. It was made of wool in
    a dark maroon, and had a belt at the top in white with a buckle. The
    legs were a bit longer than the current trend when I saw them in a
    cupboard. And for some reason the wool suits stayed popular for a
    very long time. I’ve read that they really were itchy when dry.

  7. June smiles says:
    August 28, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    Because that is what bathing suits were then.
    Don’t know what year, before my time so I think it was the early thirty’s.

  8. Debbie H says:
    August 29, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    I think the History Channel did a show about that. Can’t remember the exact date but was in the 1940’s when stars like Ester Williams made movies about swimming.

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