Monday, August 29, 2011

Farewell to Summer: Looking Back at Vintage Bathing Suits

We've come to a point in the year where we enjoy the last bit of summer and look forward to fall.

But before we do let's take a look back at some of the bathing suits our Grandparents (and parents) wore. They're fun to decorate a beach house or lakeside cottage... just hang on the wall and voila! (Photos are from Cottage Living)


This one is considered unisex and was made of wool, by Catalina. I cannot imagine wearing wool in the heat of summer, on the beach.... but it happened! It is very rare to find a suit like this that has not been eaten away by moths.




This suit shows how styles were changing... logo by Jantzen. Synthetic fabric mixed with wool.



Some of these vintage suits can cost you a pretty penny....hundreds of dollars now!
This one is a bit more affordable at 200.00!






This Catalina suit is too pretty to wear to the beach! And it is a whopping 500.00.


Around the 1940's for this style. Here is another cutie.... a "Bubble suit" moving along to the 1950's... a coral pink!


This one is adorable! I love the rickrack border. According to the writer of the article, this 1960's suit was found at an antique mall for 20.00!

The aqua bottles with simple greenery, combined with a seashell, make this a great beach vignette. Try it in the laundry room for year round fun!



We're going to try and make it down to the beach one last time before Labor Day is here.


One last walk along the water and a stroll along the boardwalk...hoping


that the memories keep us going until next year!






As noted by Country Living, some of the suits were found on GlamourSurf.com




3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thinking Esther Williams today, milady? How did Cape May fare after the storm? Hope there's some beach left! Ocean City didn't sustain too much damage of beach loss - but haven't heard anything on the Cape.

Joy!
Kathy

MJ said...

Cute suits! I haven't seen any originals or photos of them other than vintage looking ones in photographs or ink/pen pictures! How tongues must have wagged seeing those suits on certain femme fatales!

Red Rose Alley said...

I don't remember the last time I wore a bathing suit hehe. The black one that is shown is so classy, and I love the 1940's one. You can never go wrong with a black one piece, ya know? Nel left you a sweet comment on our blog. Have a great week ahead.
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley