Too Much Knee Showing, Oh My!
Welcome back to our Throw Back Thursday!
It's getting closer to bathing suit season I'd like to take a look back in time at the lovely bathing beauties of yesteryear. Here's a brief history of the swimsuit:
I've also included a fun slideshow of different bathing suit styles from early twentieth century. I'm sure you will find some of these entertaining.
Believe it or not, these swim suits were considered scandalous by some in their day. In 1907 an Australian, named Annette Kellerman, visited the United States as an "underwater ballerina," a version of synchronized swimming that involves diving into glass tanks, was arrested for indecent exposure. Kellerman had come out wearing a swimsuit that exposed her arms, legs, and neck with a fitted form. Later she remade the swimwear to have long arms, legs and a collar and kept the fabric form fitted. She began marketing a line of swimwear including a style of one-pieces that were known as "the Annette Kellerman." This style was considered the most offensive style of swimsuit in the 1920s, becoming the focus of censorship efforts.
Annette Kellerman performing water ballet:
The first bikini came about after World War II and were called so after Bikini Atoll, a coral reef site of several nuclear weapons tests, for their supposed explosive effect on the viewer. Up through the 1950's it was proper for the bottom half of the bikini to come up high enough to cover the navel. However, in the 1960's the fabric shrank in all directions, bringing it to the bikini style we think of most today. Now there are many different styles of swimwear, even ones that we think of as modest by today's standards. Let's just be grateful we don't have to look as ridiculous as some of these images as we walk along the beach today.
Here's a bonus of the lovely Esther Williams, an Olympic swimmer, who later starred in a multitude of movies that showcased her abilities. She had a role in designing all of the swimwear that she wore in the pictures and later developed her own swimwear line for others.
Hope you enjoyed seeing the bathing suit develop! Come back tomorrow to see what's in store for Foodie Friday!