Figure 1.--Here we see a group of three boys wearing striped bathing suits. We can't read what is printed on the tops. The portrait is undated, but we would guess it was taken around 1905-10 or perhaps the early 1910s. It was a postcard back studion portrait moubnted in a carboard 'slip' mount. It was taken at an Atlantic City studio, presumably on the boardwalk. These striped suits continued to be popular after the turn-of-the 20th century, but the trunks started to get shorter.

We know a good bit about bathing suits, but only with the developmentt of photography (mid-19th century). The photographic record provides a detailed record of the ebolution of bathing suits. We have no information on American bathing suits in the early-19th century. We suspect that most boys didn't wear suits when they went swiming in the proverbial 'ol swimming hole'. We are less sure about girls. We suspect that they were less likely to go swimming. Seaside resorts will still not well developed in the mid-19th century. This changed drmaically in the late 19th cetury. The wealth created by indistrialization made vacations posible and the railroads provided the mobility to easily reach the seaside. And photography has left us countless images of bathing suits. By the late-19th century we see men and boys wearing coordinate shirt and knee-length pants, mostly done in wool. Bold stripes were very popular for these suits. We are not sure about the colors. The trunks after the turn of the century began to be cut shorter. And after World War I, suit trunks became quite brief short pants and the shirt part gradually shrunk. The shirts or tops were still prevalent in the 1920s and even the 30s, altough by the end of the decade we see some bpys swiming without the tops. This was especially the case at summer camps. Going topless for the men and boys was not not always a personal option. Many communities had municipal reguklations requiring the tops. Some conservative communities still required them in the early 1940s. A British reader tells us, "When I was evacuated in 1940, I stayed with a family in Lynn, Massachusetts--close to the beach. I remember being quite shocked that we HAD to wear tops when on the beach and in swimming. It was a municipal ordinance! I had been swimming in the UK topless (not the girls) since earliset recollection (say 1934). On the beach at Lynn we used to wear trunks and tee shirts, not swimming suits. The beach at the next town, Swamscott, had no such regulation so we used to cycle there (2.miles). I don't recall when the ban was lifted. I suspect it was ignored after a while. We moved to Swampscott in 1942 so the restriction didn't bother us any more." The tops for men and boys were no longer seen after World War II (1939-45). Boys mostly wore two types of swimsuits in the post-War era, either trunks or boxers, both briefly cut. American boys did not wear the ultra brief Speedo trunks we see French and other European boys wearing. We begin to see very long baggy swimsuits in the 1990s.

The 19th Century

We do not know about American bathing suits in the early-19th century. We are not entirely sure they existed. We suspect that boys swiming in rivers and lakes did so with any suits in the proverbial 'ol swimming hole'. We are less sure about girls. We suspect that they were less likely to go swimming. We only begin to learn about bathing suits in any detail with the development of photography (mid-19th century). Coincidentally this was about the same time that Americans began taking an interest in seaside resorts. The railrioad sytem also develooing at about the same time. The photographic record provides a detailed record of the ebolution of bathing suits. Seaside resorts wwere still not well developed in the mid-19th century. This changed drmaically in the late 19th cetury. The wealth created by indistrialization made vacains posible and the railroads provided the mobility to easily reach the seaside. And photography has left us countless images of bathing suits. By the late-19th century we see men and boys wearing coordinate shirt and knee-length pants, mostly done in wool. Bold stripes were very popular for these suits. We are not sure about the colors. Women a girls wore whst looked like knee-lengrth dresses, commonly with dark long stockings. They were less likely to be striped, but we commonly nitice strips at the skirt hem. Men might have short sleeves or even sleveless tops, but women usually had long sleeves. Bathing caps were almost universal at the beach, but usually not worn in studio portraits.

The 20th Century

The trunks after the turn of the century began to be cut shorter. And after World War I, suit trunks became quite brief short pants and the shirt part gradually shrunk. The shirts or tops were still prevalent in the 1920s and even the 30s, altough by the end of the decade we see some bpys swiming without the tops. This was especially the case at summer camps. Going topless for the men and boys was not not always a personal option. Many communities had municipal reguklations requiring the tops. Some conservative communities still required them in the early 1940s. A British World War II evacuee boy tells us, "When I was evacuated in 1940, I stayed with a family in Lynn, Massachusetts--close to the beach. I remember being quite shocked that we HAD to wear tops when on the beach and in swimming. It was a municipal ordinance! I had been swimming in the UK topless (not the girls) since earliset recollection (say 1934). On the beach at Lynn we used to wear trunks and tee shirts, not swimming suits. The beach at the next town, Swamscott, had no such regulation so we used to cycle there (2.miles). I don't recall when the ban was lifted. I suspect it was ignored after a while. We moved to Swampscott in 1942 so the restriction didn't bother us any more." The tops for men and boys were no longer seen after World War II (1939-45). Boys mostly wore two types of swimsuits in the post-War era, either trunks or boxers, both briefly cut. American boys did not wear the ultra brief Speedo trunks we see French and other European boys wearing. We begin to see very long baggy swimsuits in the 1990s.

Created: 5:05 AM 7/27/2010
Last updated: 8:26 AM 6/9/2018