Swimwear
Many cultures worldwide have thrived off of adapting to the bodies of water that surrounds them. Swimming began, not as a sport or a leisurely activity but as a method of hunting. Historically men were taught to swim at a young age so they were able to survive in the water long enough to catch fish, and other sea creatures, to be eaten. Most commonly this was done in the nude, as water weighed down materials making it difficult for the hunter to move quickly. Over time swimming automatically became a leisurely activity, rather than a hunting method. However, it was still done most commonly in the nude. In the early 1800’s it became lewd and embarrassing for people to display themselves nakedly in public- but this did not deter people from swimming. Instead basic swimwear was designed to cover the body while swimming in public places. Women most commonly wore bathing gowns which were long dress-like articles made with extremely thin fabric. Men wore a piece of clothing that resembled long underwear; the clothing covered them from writs to ankles.
These styles of swimwear stayed popular for over a century. However there were many apparent problems. The women’s swimming garment became transparent as soon as it was submerged into the water, defeating the purpose of the garment. Additionally women’s garments, because of their dress-like design, often floated to the top of the water. Eventually weights were paced in the bottom hems of all women’s swimming gowns to keep them down in the water. Men’s swimming body suits were also problematic because they were often so form fitting they were tight to get off while they were wet. Additionally the men’s suit was very restricting and did not allow for large swimming strokes or other stretching movements. In the late 1800’s new swimming suits were designed to try to fix these obvious disadvantages. Instead of wearing full body suits or gowns men and women began to wear swim pants that were similar to leggings that stretched from the waist to the ankles. Paired with these leggings both men and women wore loosely fitting shirts that covered from neck to knee and also expanded to the wrist.
In the early 1900’s swimwear for both men and women began to shrink. While it was once considered lewd to show arms, legs and even the neck, it was quickly becoming acceptable to expose these body parts. Men began to go without the loose fitting swim shirt and simply wore the swim pants. Eventually the pants shrunk to only cover from waist to knee. Additionally with women’s swimming attire the shirt was shortened to only span from the neck to the waist and instead of extending to the ankles it only extended to the shoulder. As with men, women also wore the shrunken swim pants that only extended to the knee. Eventually women’s swimming suits changed to shorter, looser fitting shorts and tighter fitting tops that had thinner straps and still extended to the waist.
In the mid 1940’s bikinis were introduced into popular, and acceptable swimming attire for women. The traditional bikinis were very similar to the already present swimwear of the time; however the top part of the suit was a few inches shorter then already accepted suits, leaving a few inches between the swim shorts and the top exposing the swimmers stomach. Additionally the neck line of the top decreased falling lower down on the chest. This new style brought to rise the trend of women’s swim suit modeling. Many pin-ups and other models were depicted wearing modern bikinis. From this time onwards the bikini began to shrink. First bearing more midriff, next exposing more of the women’s back. Eventually, by the 1970’s the bikini top became what it is today. Additionally in the 1970’s swimming bottoms for both men and women shrunk to parallel the look of underwear, exposing the entire leg.
Even today there are many different styles of swimwear available for both men and women. Usually you see men wearing swimming trunks instead of speedo’s, however speedo’s do fall into popularity from time to time. For women there are one piece suits that cover the entire torso, and sometimes even the upper leg. There are also tankinis which cover the entire torso like a one piece suit, however it comes in two pieces so one can mix and match tops and bottoms. Additionally women’s bikinis are still popular, however there are many types of tops and bottoms available.