Now that Winter Break is over, we as students simply have one thing on our minds. No, it is not our 8 am course we regretfully signed up for. It’s Spring Break! The time when college students can travel to places such as Fort Lauderdale, South Padre, Miami, and a multitude of other beach-based locations and enjoy being with friends–even if it’s insanely crowded just about everywhere you go. Now that I have booked my flight and Airbnb, what is more important than finding the perfect swimsuit to show off my spring break bod that may or may not be in training right now? For this reason, I think it is worth it to take a peak back in history and spotlight the swim wear pieces that serve as inspiration to the styles we have today, and some that just did not quite hit the mark (and hopefully never will).
1900 is the perfect time in history to start this fashion flashback, only because it is one style of swimwear that I think we can all agree should not make a comeback. This was around the time when modesty was the [only] policy and women were to be fully covered, even at the beach. In ninety-degree heat. In the Summer. Moving on—because of this idea, women were to wear stockings underneath their swimsuits that were made of flannel—because who doesn’t want to be even warmer? It wasn’t until 1916 that Jantzen designed a collection of “feature hugging” pieces and the term bathing suit changed to swimsuit, in justification of the tighter and more revealing pieces as athletic. While still quite modest in today’s view, at least they weren’t wearing flannel stockings anymore.
As time goes on, women’s swimwear is becoming tighter and more revealing. This also meant that the restrictions and policing women went through followed suit. Around the 1920’s, policemen would stop women on the beach and measure the length between the bottom of their swimsuit to the top of their knee. If the length did not meet the leg coverage expectations, they were fined or even arrested. By the 1930’s, necklines were cut lower, legs were cut higher, and form fitting fabrics were introduced and never forgotten. It was finally time to start pushing the unnecessary boundaries, ladies.
By 1940, the first bikini was designed and modeled with responses that promoted an immodest viewpoint of those who wore this style. Do those string-sided, high-wasted bottoms look familiar now? The bikini became even more popular throughout the 1950’s and they became even tighter in the 1960’s, with the use of new synthetic fabrics.
The 1970’s marked a time of the midriff. The string bikini was introduced, and looking at today’s styles, never went away. Low cut bottoms and low cut, triangular tops were a style that women wore to the beaches—with that feathered hair, I think we can argue that they rocked that beach.
Some may argue that we get a lot of our inspiration today from the 1980’s and I would agree. There are clothes that I have pictures of my mom wearing then, and honestly, I am still jealous of the closet she had. High-wasted bottoms, high-cut thighs, and printed fabrics were the spotlight of this decade and have resurfaced in many of the stores we shop at today. Trust me, I spent way too much time shopping for swimsuits this past month.
Tankini’s. Red Baywatch one pieces. The struggle between deciding on a bikini or a one piece. The 90’s were an interesting time in swimwear. Needless to say, the designers of these styles knew that they would stick around, and they were right. I’ll admit, I have owned and currently own all of these styles–however, the tankini had to go.
I think we can all agree that the swimwear we own today takes inspiration from designs of the past–except the flannel stockings. I hope that by reading this article, you can now go shopping for your Spring Break swimwear and recognize design qualities based on the decade the designer had in mind. Have a fun and safe trip!