The Swimsuit Series (1) A History of Women's Suits

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Farrah Fawcett poster based on 1976 photo by Bruce McBroom of Pro Arts Inc., and first published in Life magazine.

We do not all have beach poses topped with copious blond locks but we all require swimwear, especially in the summer. As the thermometer rises, we seek water: a dip in the ocean, lounging poolside, hopping through an open fireplug on the street. And that means finding a bathing suit: a one- or two-piece; sport or leisure, monotone or patterned?

It was not always so mundane. Waterborne fashion exploded in the last 50 years  from a small range of fabrics, styles and cuts – a dramatic step from the humble origins of bathing gear in previous centuries.

Tailors trimmed yards of fabric into aquatic cover-ups for 18th century women could never have imagined that what they sewed would evolve intoFarrah in her dramatic red, and beyond.

This is an exploration of the cultural history, key players, and finer details of the water-bound costume.

"Bikini girls" mosaic found by archeological excavation of the ancient Roman villa near Piazza Armerina in Sicily

The story begins in the 4th century when the Villa Roma de Casale in Sicily was decorated with the first known representation of women wearing bathing suits. Those early Sicilian women were portrayed exercising in what appears to be bikini-like suits and bandeau tops.

From the artistic record for many centuries no one ventured into the water until 1687 when English traveler Celia Fiennes documents the typical lady’s bathing costume of that era:

The Ladyes go into the bath with Garments made of a fine yellow canvas, which is stiff and made large with great sleeves like a parson’s gown; the water fills it up so that it is borne off that your shape is not seen, it does not cling close as other linning, which Lookes sadly in the poorer sort that go in their own linning. The Gentlemen have drawers and wastcoates of the same sort of canvas, this is the best linning, for the bath water will Change any other yellow.

“Bathing gowns,” as they were referred to, in the late 18th century, were used for public bathing and a standard mode of hygiene at the time. In fact, “bathing machines” or four-wheeled carriages were rolled into the water and designed for the bather’s utmost modesty, were popular accessories to the bathing gown.

"Mermaids at Brighton" by William Heath (1795 - 1840), c. 1829.

In the century that follows, modesty prevailed over form and function. Women took to the water in long dresses made from fabric that would not become transparent when submerged. To prevent the garments from floating up to expose, some women are thought to have sewn lead weights into the hem to keep the gowns down.

Seven female swimmers at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., 1920

In the mid-19th century and the early 20th century, bathing dresses continued to cover most of the female figure. Bloomers, popularized by Amelia Bloomer, were adapted for the water and worn with tunics, all made from heavy, flannel or wool fabric that weighed down the wearer and inconvenient for negotiating the surf.

Annette Kellerman, c. 1900s

Then in 1907, a scandal erupted when Australian swimmer, Annette Kellerman, the first woman to swim across the English Channel, was arrested in Boston for wearing a more form-fitting, one-piece suit (arrests for indecency on beaches were not uncommon during that time). Her form-fitting suit paved the way for a new kind of one-piece and over the next couple decades, as swimming became a more popular leisure-time activity, beach goers saw more arms, legs, and necks than before.

In 1915, Jantzen, a small knittery in Portland, broke new ground by making a “swimming suit” from wool and officially coining the term six years later. Not long after, the company introduced its “Red Diving Girl” logo, just risqué enough for the time to embody a specific point of view from the Roaring 20s.

Jantzen logo, 1920

The Red Diving Girl became an enormously popular image and turned Jantzen into a powerhouse by commercializing the burgeoning liberation of femininity at the water’s edge.

Then came the French. Jantzen’s diver was puritan in comparison to what French engineer Louis Réard first called the bikini in 1946.  Réard chose the name because of recent atomic tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. His idea was that this new suit would have the same explosive effect as splitting the atom did on its island namesake.

At first the effect was too explosive. It took time to catch on but eventually the bikini was everywhere on beaches and in popular culture. By the 1960s, Annette Funicello, onetime darling of the Mickey Mouse Club, wore a two-piece on the silver screen.

Burquini image by Giorgio Montersino

From then on, swimwear has developed in all directions: roomier blouson bathing suits, retro, high-waisted two-pieces; Burkinis (for devout Muslim bathers); UV-protective swim shirts; and the popular thong. Today’s tiniest g-string is less revealing than fashion designer Rudi Gernreich’s monokini, released in 1964, which was essentially just the lower half of a bikini suspended with two halter straps.
 

How far we have come makes it all the more striking that Fawcett’s poster had such an enormous cultural impact, selling 12 million copies in 1975, and making her a star. This was the height of the sexual revolutionand in time teenage girls raced to reveal bikini-impact skin while sitting in English class. There was Farrah, essentially wearing the Jantzen diver suit worn during Prohibition. The neck on Farrah’s red suit was deeper and there was her pearl white smile.

While Bardot’s bikini and pout made her a vivid, voluptuous sex kitten, Farrah, grinning in her red one-piece, was an All-American Girl having a nice time at the beach, displaying a hint of sexuality. The French may flaunt it but Americans like their sexuality suggested. And then taped to the wall.