When working on swimsuit collections for last summer, designers were inspired by different eras: the conservative style of the 30s, the intoxicating freedom of the 70s, the triumphant femininity of the 90s. Almost everything was allowed, but the path to such freedom took a whole century, which we invite you to take a look at right now.
Even though the sea has existed on Earth since the time of its creation, people could not always afford to enjoy it to the fullest. At least intelligent ones. At the beginning of the twentieth century, if they appeared on the beach, they were buttoned up.
Until the 1920s, ladies bathed in long, layered dresses with a bodice or even a crinoline. Legs were ordered to be covered with thick stockings and, if possible, not to neglect shoes - cloth shoes, sandals or lace-up boots. The heads of the beautiful bathers were crowned with a cap. Of course, there was no talk of any swimming - even if the ladies went into the water, it was only knee-deep.
However, not everyone obeyed the rules. So, among the troublemakers was the Australian actress Annette Kellerman. She was almost the first to decide to bare her arms and legs, sewing herself a bathing suit based on a man's tights. The prank entailed a cruel retribution - the actress, who was ahead of her time, was branded with disgrace and forced to adapt the costume to the requirements of moral advocates - sew on sleeves, a tight collar and trouser legs.
In the 20s, morals noticeably softened: women were allowed to show their arms and even legs on the beach. But they immediately rushed to establish the exact limits of what was permitted: swimwear had to cover the buttocks.
Self-respecting women were required to wear swimsuits, the bottom edge of which should not be higher than 6 inches above the knee (about 15 cm). Even special, so to speak, “moral squads” were formed, whose fighters, armed with measuring tape, took measurements on the beaches in order to determine whether the swimmers’ outfits met the established standards.
Swimwear is taking on a new meaning - celebrities have become interested in them fashion designers. The first experiments in this still new genre are being staged by Elsa Schiapparelli and Jean Patou. A special chic is to complement the costume with an accessory, for example, an intriguing rubber cap.
Now women on the beach are not concerned about the length of the suit, but about its style and color. But men, on the contrary, are pleased that much less fabric is being used for swimsuits. In 1932, Jacques Heim slaps public taste in the face by introducing the first two-piece swimsuit. By today's standards, very chaste: high shorts and a bra that looked more like a top. But - oh, horror - it reveals the waist, and sometimes even the owner’s navel, to the gaze of curious people
At first, women resist, but rather sluggishly, and soon, having appreciated all the delights of swimming and, of course, tanning in a two-piece swimsuit, they gladly refuse one-piece suits.
1940s
Two-piece swimsuits are becoming a real hit. It would seem, is it possible to look even more frank?
In 1946, designer Louis Reard proved: it is possible, and how. He creates the world's first bikini swimsuit. Finding a model who would agree to demonstrate it in public turned out to be a real problem. The situation was saved by dancer Micheline Bernardini, who happily tried on a swimsuit, which, as they later wrote, “tells everything about a woman except her mother’s maiden name.”
One of Micheline's first followers is the contender for the title of Miss World. A slutty girl is kicked out of the competition along with her microscopic swimsuit. A few years later, going out in an immoral bikini becomes mandatory for all participants.
Banned at first, bikinis are steadily gaining popularity. This happens not without the participation of a new sex symbol - actress Brigitte Bardot. In 1953, she organized a loud campaign in support of a revealing swimsuit - she walked around in Cannes in a bikini so tiny that it plunged eyewitnesses into real shock. It must be pleasant. Soon hundreds, and then thousands of women follow the example of the blonde actress.
In 1958 there was another breakthrough. Invented new material- lycra (Lycra). Stretchy and quick-drying, it remains a top favorite among swimwear designers to this day.
The sexual revolution of the 60s allowed designers to finally let go of the brakes. In 1962, the first episode of the “true” Bond movie, “Dr. No,” was released. The key point The film is not even Agent 007's reprisal against the villain, but the famous scene of Ursula Andress emerging from the sea foam.
In 1964, a model in a bikini first appeared on the cover of a glossy publication - Sports Illustrated became a pioneer. That same year, designer and outspoken gay activist Rudi Gernreich invented the monokini, a swimsuit that completely exposed the breasts. The world is learning a new term "topless", and beachwear sellers are starting to sell swimming trunks separately from the top.
The monokini shamelessly showed off the wearer's bust, but for the time being her buttocks remained covered. In the 70s, the last bastion fell: thong trunks were invented, which were immediately nicknamed “dental floss.”
However, the trend towards nudity was not total. Designers began to experiment with cut and finishing. One-piece swimsuits decorated with sequins, with slits at the waist, hips and other seductive places are becoming popular.
Many women are looking forward to the start of the beach season and are intensively preparing for it. To purchase a new swimsuit, lovers should follow fashion trends are taken quite seriously, because this particular item of clothing will help make a splash.
This year, designers are focusing Special attention retro style swimsuits, which are very popular among stars and ordinary fashionistas. The unique decor and variety of styles will allow women to choose the most suitable suitable model this beach accessory.
Features and main advantages?
For several years now, designers have been persistently looking for inspiration and ideas among the creations of legendary fashion designers of the 50-70s. Modern fashion designers, when creating new swimsuit collections, rely on the creations of such famous personalities as Coco Chanel and Louis Reard.
It was they who gave impetus to the reorganization of the beach women's fashion in my time. Thanks to them, revolutionary swimsuit models were born that were revealing enough for the beach, but at the same time had the ability to hide the flaws of their owner.
Retro swimsuits are characterized by the following features:
- High-waisted panties add grace to a girl's curves, effectively emphasizing her silhouette. Many sets are equipped with a special tightening zone that can smooth out minor imperfections in the figure. In addition, this part of the swimsuit can highlight the beauty of women’s legs and visually make its owner taller.
- As a top, retro swimsuits include bandeaus or bras with rounded cups, connected to each other in a feminine alliance. It is also possible that there is a push-up, which will effectively lift the breasts and make the female form more seductive.
- For chubby or modest women, modern designers produce one-piece retro swimsuits. They are additionally equipped with tightening zones or a built-in soft corset. There are models that are equipped with an elegant skirt along the bottom edge, which will stylishly emphasize the elegance of the legs and make the image the most flirty.
- Retro swimsuits are most often created by fashion designers in two-tone colors.
Unlike other styles, retro design adds elegance to the product. In addition, despite a certain degree of closedness, such models look very piquant and can make the shape of their owner quite seductive.
Popular styles and types
There are a huge number of varieties of retro-style swimsuits and their modifications.
Pin-up swimsuit
Clear lines outlining the bust and waist of its owner, combined with a deep neckline, make such products an ideal option for girls and women with a beautiful figure. Such models skillfully combine grandiose, spectacular details with the silhouette-emphasizing shape of a one-piece retro swimsuit.
Products of this trend were previously the prerogative of celebrities and such famous film stars as Marilyn Monroe, who with their help skillfully placed accents on their figure and hid its flaws under a corset base. Currently, such swimsuits resemble bodysuits made from more dense material, which is decorated with interesting details that make the image even more seductive and piquant. Pin-up swimsuits have become a favorite element of the wardrobe of fashion model and singer Dita Von Teese.
Who is it suitable for?
Women with absolutely any figure can afford such products. Thin girls, with the help of a pin-up model, will be able to advantageously emphasize their breasts and flat tummy, and curvy girls will be able to hide waist imperfections and piquantly flatter their curves.
Two-piece swimsuits from the 50s and 60s
Women's beach fashion of the 50s was not yet ready for sexy monokinis or spectacular thong panties, but sought to emphasize the girl's shape as clearly as possible. Designers deliberately emphasized the neckline, lifting the breasts with push-ups and decorating the bodice cups with various flirty details. The panties of a two-piece swimsuit were made at a high or medium waist.
Beach fashion in the 60s became more daring and relaxed. The panties were made miniature, and the bra most clearly emphasized the breasts of its owner and was sewn with thin straps or without them at all. The relaxed fashion of those years inspired modern designers to create incredibly spectacular and elegant beach accessories that can draw the attention of others to their brave owner.
Who is it suitable for?
Two-piece swimsuits with high-waisted panties are suitable for both women with large figures and thin girls. Only ideally proportioned representatives of the fair sex will be able to afford more open models.
Color palette and print options
The most classic version of retro style swimsuits is the black and white palette. The absence of bright details makes the owner of such a swimsuit the main “decoration” of the image and does not distract attention from her.
An elegant and popular black and white print is polka dots, which femininely emphasizes a girl’s curves. Modern designers often prefer complex geometric prints.
Up until the 60s, we had a hard time with swimsuits for girls; many on the beach wore only panties; no one thought about pedophilia! Girls were already developing breasts, but most often they did not cover the top - this was not accepted. Little children generally sunbathed naked, it was considered good for health, I still have such photos.
But it was different in different families, I remember my crinkled swimsuit with a skirt, I was about five years old then. Many wrote that their mothers and grandmothers in the 50-60-70s sewed swimsuits themselves, from chintz, satin and whatever they could get. The magazines contained patterns and instructions. In the post I posted pictures from Western fashion magazines and photos of actresses, you look and think - why have our women been deprived of such things all these years, who in the USSR was bothered by this???
Used old ones knitted dresses and blouses - in general, everything that was suitable. Since the USSR categorically did not buy bikinis, I also sewed them myself.
I forgot to write that they were in fashion knitted swimsuits, many knitted them themselves and it turned out very well.
What unpleasantly surprised me in the comments was the opinion that our women are scary. We must not forget that in the 1920s there began a massive influx of peasants to large cities, to factories. Peasants everywhere looked approximately the same - physical labor and work in the fields formed similar types of appearance.
Thinness and slimness were almost never valued anywhere; if you look at Western and American photos of farmers and peasants of those years, you will see very similar faces and builds. So it is incorrect to compare our everyday photos with Hollywood stars and fashion models; I bring them for the sake of fashion trends and styles.
3. 1930s -1934 swimsuits
23. ————40s————
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Summer of 45
24. Susan Peters and her Great Dane
Lovely Academy Award-nominated movie star Susan Peters in 1943
25. Bathing Beauty Poses at Shoreline
'40s woman in a swimsuit, this one against what appears to be a foggy shoreline.
28. ==============USSR=====
There are swimsuits that will decorate any woman, but there are those that will disfigure.
Satin bras with buttons, complete with black men's panties - you saw a lot of these photos in the first post, and we wore them like that until the 70s!
34. ————–50s———-
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38. In 1953, young Brigitte Bardot appeared on the Croisette in a bikini.
39. Jayne Mansfield.
The appearance of the bikini caused a lively debate around the world. In Catholic countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy, bikinis were banned. Tourists who dared to appear in it on the seashore were escorted back to the hotel by the Spanish guards.
They won their “place in the sun” with great difficulty and scandals and were quite modest, by modern standards - just low panties.
In America, bikinis took root with great difficulty; the country was then sanctimonious and such liberties were condemned.
USSR==================
45.
————-60s———–
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In Europe, bikinis spread in the 60s.
The USSR did not buy bikinis as a matter of principle until perestroika, just like low panties; someone at the top considered such models obscene.
46. Italy, early 60s
47. Germany
48. Our girls shortened the top of their panties themselves, but the most fashionable bikinis, with strings, had to be sewn themselves.
49. ==============USSR=================
52. Odessa, 1967.
Almost like my swimsuit from the late 60s! Only my stripes went diagonally: white, blue and red, the bottom was red, and the belt was blue. The stripes are not very well placed here - they move apart on the chest.
Made in the GDR, elastic with cups.
————70s-USSR——–
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In the 70s, it was possible to buy imported swimsuits from us, but it was difficult to buy very beautiful ones.
Bikinis were still sewn by ourselves or remade from high panties; they were on sale only just below the waist:
53. I’m currently undergoing renovations, I can’t scan a photo of myself in my favorite swimsuit, where the bodice was connected by a jumper to the bottom, I’ll post it later.
54. For the 1980 Olympics
In the comments they wrote about how hard it was to get even a Yugoslav swimsuit; I’m not even talking about imported ones from capital countries; such “criminal luxury” was very rarely on sale.
I remember very well the kilometer-long queues at GUM, they stood all day and often the goods ran out before it was your turn.
In “Jadran”, when they were throwing away the shortage, even at the entrance there were fencing frames for the queue, people froze for hours in the cold.
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—————1990s???-USSR————
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Judging by the photo of the girl in a bikini, these photos are clearly post-perestroika
63. Start:
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The fashion for retro style returns periodically, this is no secret to anyone. However, the swimsuit trend in the style of the 50s and 60s is especially interesting because it came after a long period of dominance of very revealing bikinis. Separated became smaller and sexier with each season, perhaps that’s why it became original solution and was liked by many. What modern retro-style models are they?
Swimwear in the style of the 50-60s: historical and modern
The charm of retro swimsuits is obvious, they allow women to look extremely flirty. In the 50s and 60s there were slightly different standards of beauty: ladies had more curvaceous figures; the fashion for thin models was still far away. Therefore, one-piece swimsuits, as well as with high swimming trunks, were very successful options: they presented women’s shapes in the most favorable light.
Modern swimsuits completely copy the styles of their retro counterparts. The characteristically bright color scheme is also retained. As you know, pure and intense shades of all colors were popular in those days. As for combinations, women boldly combined bright colors each other, creating catchy bows. Pin up style with its flirtatiousness and boldness color combinations in the 50s and 60s it was at the peak of its popularity and was reflected in beach fashion as well.
The second theme, experiencing another wave of demand for retro swimsuits, was marine with traditional solutions in white, red and dark blue. The same colors and combinations are used in the design of modern models. Therefore, with equal probability, a swimsuit of our days can combine elements or have a laconic bright color.
Retro style swimwear for plus size people
Swimwear in the style of the 50-60s – a real find for chubby girls. If you look at photos of women of those times, it becomes clear that now many of them would be considered not thin enough. Although in terms of cuteness and charm, these young ladies are in no way inferior to our thin contemporaries. In this regard, it becomes clear that retro-style swimsuit models were originally created for a figure with more significant parameters. That's why they look so chic on.
What to wear with swimsuits in the style of the 50s and 60s?
Modern fashionistas very often copy traditional solutions for swimsuits in retro style, composing a look in marine theme or in bright, clean colors, check out the sets below.
Even without going beyond these two topics, you can create a huge number of interesting beach looks. However, these days there are much more clothing options, and fashion requirements in relation to and combinations are much less strict. Modern women wear retro style swimsuits with short and,, bright , T-shirt dress, skirts and tops. Bright jewelry and jewelry in the ethnic style, as well as fashionable ones, are used as accessories. . Shoes for comfortable summer looks are most often sandals and flip-flops, sometimes or .
