Vintage Bathing Suits

[sixsexsix]

shooshoo you are too cute for words!

darhling, it doesn't have a TON of shaping, but the front has a power-mesh panel and cups, which help a lot. i actually wish there was a bit in the back, too. it really pulls in my stomach and makes my waist look more defined.

i took a picture! please excuse the bike helmet-hair and flushed face, i had just ridden a few miles home*

* ETA: i was not wearing the swimsuit while riding the bike. although that will probably happen some time in the summer.

 

[Darhling]

^ WOW!!

 

[AllaboutEve]

You look terrific in that suit Shooshoo, what a great purchase!:eusa_clap

 

[CherryRed]

You look great Shooshoo! I just found out mine was shipped on Friday. Yay!:eusa_clap I'm trying not to think of what I paid for it plus 3 shipping charges.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

thanks everyone! now i just need an occasion to wear it...

 

[thebadmamajama]

SO DARLING!

I think I'm going to HAVE to invest, now. Haha, even though I rarely go swimming...!

 

[kamikat]

ShooShooBaby, you look smashing in that suit!

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

Did I hear wrong?! MyBabyJo.com carries EW?? I figured those were just smaller name brands or maybe not the *best* quality. Hmmm, now I will just HAVE to show the hubby when he brings my lunch today to work.

ShooShoo I can't believe how fabulous you look!

 

[Miss 1929]

Miss 1929 thanks for posting those pics! fftopic: Lately I'm obsessed with pale skin, I worship it! In the first pic the ladies all look tan, in the second they're snow white. Are these pics of the same girls on the same day? Is it just the camera that creates the illusion of pallor? If not, please explain!

It's mostly the lighting!
The pictures were taken about 10 years apart, there is one girl in common in both shots (can you spot her? not me), but the main difference is that the top picture was taken at sunset, so they are all gilded by the color of the light. They are all quite, quite pale really! We cultivate the pallor.

 

[sixsexsix]

you can also get them here:
http://www.retrodress.com/otherstuffsix.html

Did I hear wrong?! MyBabyJo.com carries EW?? I figured those were just smaller name brands or maybe not the *best* quality. Hmmm, now I will just HAVE to show the hubby when he brings my lunch today to work.

ShooShoo I can't believe how fabulous you look!

 

[Miss 1929]

Ok!

These bathing suits are so gorgeous that I'm considering breaking out of my usual purely functional Speedo mode for swimming and buying something similar to the above - particularly one of the halter necks, as it's a style I've never really considered.

Miss 1929, could you be persuaded to post more of your old Decobelles shots? Pretty please? They are just beyond divine - you all look amazing. The Hearst Castle photo had me wondering if that's the spot where Pepi Lederer organised her friends - including Louise Brooks - to dance in their wet bathing suits past a group of Hearst's associates, nicking some of the bottles the men had in front on them on the table as they sashayed past.

I was thinking about poor Pepi the whole time we were there!
We were also lucy enough to have the caretaker guys let us into the Roman Pool (that's the indoor one with the gold and lapis lazuli tiles) for an after hours swim! I will see if I can locate a picture of that!

I am having a date with a scanner later today, I will post some more pics later, but here's a little bit...

 

[ShooShooBaby]

thank you everyone! i'm quite pleased with it. this is the first year in 10 years that swimsuit shopping (besides vintage) has left me with a different reaction from crying and ranting.

miss 1929, i love all these pics you're posting!

 

[Mojito]

Very nice, ShooShooBaby - both swimsuit and you modelling it. Necklace is very cute with it.

Miss 1929, I absolutely love the photos! They really demonstrate just how much colour was in the bathing suits of this era - I think people are so accustomed to seeing images of them in sepia that they tend to assume they were all black or dark...these show just how bright and patterened they were.

And, of course, rolled stockings....!

Silly question...you wouldn't know if the teal suit was a Kellermann, would you? She seemed to like using that colour, and I've seen it in a few variations in her suits. My Kellerman material is going on display at the National Maritime Museum as part of an upcoming swimsuit exhibition.

Poor Pepi! She must haunt that that place - not in the, erm, flesh, but as a memory for those who know the story. I've been to the Hearst Castle, but never made it to the pool, so am of course absolutely green!

 

[Miss 1929]

Jantzen!

Silly question...you wouldn't know if the teal suit was a Kellermann, would you? She seemed to like using that colour, and I've seen it in a few variations in her suits. My Kellerman material is going on display at the National Maritime Museum as part of an upcoming swimsuit exhibition.

No, it is a Jantzen, with black stripes on the skirt, and a little red diving girl on the left hip. The label says patent 1923.

It's about a size nothing, I can wear it on one thigh or the other but not both!
But I did find this one last summer, which is gigantic so it fits me, and it is LOUD in color!

 

[fluffy-tiger]

I got this costume two years ago and have never worn it and will never part with it, I love it so much, it also came with the gorgeous matching skirt. It is 1950's but had never been worn and still had the original label on it when I got it. The costume fits but the skirt is too small at the waist, it looks like someone has altered it, so I may be able to fix it.

I am really pleased with this find. The costumes below are from Maxine of Hollywood and are currently in TKmaxx in the UK for £20. They have loads in just now. They have a vintage cut like the Esther Williams ones in What Katie Did and have power mesh round the belly and moulded cups(my belly is wonderfully held in in mine). I was about to buy one from What Katie Did when I found these I spent two days trying them on because I couldn't make up my mind what ones I wanted, they had loads of styles in stock. Unfortunately when you look up the brand online it is hard to find stockists, and most of the pictures of their costumes are rubbish, but if you are in TKMaxx have a look, though different stores will have different stock.

 

[Miss 1929]

More 30s suits!

That's Esther Williams in the back row, third from the left.
I am the one in the second row, right behind Theresa LaQuey, the blond in front...

And here's a close up of my suit, those were gold Marine's buttons!

 

[goldwyn girl]

Miss 1929, Wow, fantastic photo's, every single gal is perfect !!!! Do you have more ? I would love to see.

 

[CherryRed]

That's Esther Williams in the back row, third from the left.
I am the one in the second row, right behind Theresa LaQuey, the blond in front...

And here's a close up of my suit, those were gold Marine's buttons!

This photo is wonderful!!! I looks perfectly vintage!

 

[ShooShooBaby]

just thought i'd give a heads-up that the EW 2-piece in a pink hawaiian print, size 16, is on sale for $55 at mybabyjo.com!

 

[MissHannah]

I am really pleased with this find. The costumes below are from Maxine of Hollywood and are currently in TKmaxx in the UK for £20. They have loads in just now. They have a vintage cut like the Esther Williams ones in What Katie Did and have power mesh round the belly and moulded cups(my belly is wonderfully held in in mine). I was about to buy one from What Katie Did when I found these I spent two days trying them on because I couldn't make up my mind what ones I wanted, they had loads of styles in stock. Unfortunately when you look up the brand online it is hard to find stockists, and most of the pictures of their costumes are rubbish, but if you are in TKMaxx have a look, though different stores will have different stock.

Thanks for the heads up on these fluffy tiger - I'll have to have a scout around my local TKMaxx for these. GORGEOUS!