Carry on Swimming…
It’s swimsuit season, ladies and gents! We have had at least 3 days of pure sunshine, which inevitably means that men and women across Britain are stepping out, stripping off, and are glugging Pimm’s as soon at the clock ticks noon. Squinting in the seemingly alien sun, we flip open our cobwebbed deck chairs and allow the rays to pour over our skin. But be careful, people, that breeze can be deceiving.
Broken was I, when I came to the sickening conclusion that a trip abroad couldn’t be squeezed into my overdraft this year. The hope of a holiday is the only reason I’d ever buy a new swimming cozzie, so I would have to make do with what I’ve got. Bits of stringy, chlorine-destroyed, shapeless bits of Lycra flung across my bedroom as I begun digging in my swimsuit/sarong drawer. Yes, it’s dig-able. As all ladies know, one rarely buys swimwear without it disintegrating after one summer’s wear.
Getting a suntan is the primary objective these days when the sun peers from around the clouds for long enough. Holidays are booked on the premise that it has to be hotter than the average Indian summer and if you spot a cloud, well you might as well have stayed home. Home for me, incidentally, is Blackpool. A place which was coined as a popular seaside resort for Englanders, and still is for those select few even today. Doing a spot of shopping in the town, I stopped to inspect the old-fashioned black and white photographs that line the walls of the entrance to the shopping centre. They showed men, women, children and donkeys having a tickety-boo time on the beach in front of the Tower and the Pier, all wearing swimming gear of the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Young girls are pictured leap-frogging over each other and posing in true ’50s synchronised swimmer style in corset swimsuits, suits with a halter neck line and costumes with a low cut boy-leg which was popular before the more risqué high leg caught on in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Glamour was a big thing in the 1950s and unfortunately the meaning has become distorted through the rise of the modern glamour model. A lot of old-fashioned swimwear often had a small pleated skirt around the bottom, or a straighter fitted piece that covered the tops of the thighs for the apron or tunic style swimsuit. Both were made with a woman’s modesty in mind, to hide any wobbly bits which she’d rather not reveal.
Forluna Retro Swimwear
Demand for one-piece swimsuits now seem to be in decline due to the fact that people want the sun to touch as much as much skin as is legal in the UK. The tankini was the starting point to the ‘bare-all’ movement, which then became trimmed down even more into the bikini. Eventually the string bikini became slightly visible until we’ve reverted back to the one piece, but this time folded it up and cut it into one of those paper snowflakes. This inevitably makes one look like a human jigsaw puzzle piece after an afternoon in the sun.
Victorian Suits
So when did swimsuits become so chic? Following the impracticalities of the Victorian designs; a knitted woolen affair which literally sunk out of sight from society, they soon became more minimalist yet remained demure. Popular designer names that boasted beautiful bathing suits in the ‘50s were Jantzen, Cole of California and Catalina which are still manufacturing modern day swimwear today.
Esther Williams
Esther Williams was an American competitive swimmer, who because of her spectacular skills in the pool, plus the fact that she was particularly easy on the eyes, made it on the big screen as an MGM movie star. She featured in her films wearing embellished swimsuits and flashed her pearly whites as movie goers awed as she splashed in her splendour. Funny that there always seemed to be a pool around… According to Miss Williams, Clark Gable was the first to have called her a mermaid. Get in there, Esther. Her movie roles inspired a range of Esther Williams Swimwear in various ‘50s vintage styles which can be purchased on www.modcloth.com.
ModCloth Esther Williams Inspired Swimwear
One company which produces vintage style one-pieces and high waist bikinis is www.forluna.co.uk, who are Britain based specialists in retro swimwear with a motive to bring back the beach belle of the mid 20th century. Another shop includes my already much-loved faux vintage boutique What Katie Did, (www.whatkatiedid.com) who essentially produce lingerie but have their own small range of monochrome swim pieces. By my watch we’ve got about a day and a half left of frolicking about in the sunshine – so let’s get them while it’s hot.
What Katie Did Swimwear
Stephanie Shaw
The Holborn 