As the days become warmer, our thoughts naturally turn to those summer months and forthcoming holidays. The most vital item in our suitcases will naturally be the swimming costume. But just where did it begin and how did it develop?
The early Greeks and Romans were more than happy to bathe in their birthday suits but evidence does exist that they occasionally covered up, with simple bikini styles and wrap around robes.
However, with the development of the Church, nudity was frowned upon and coupled with a fear of water and disease, bathing soon went out of fashion. But in the 18th and 19th centuries, seawater was considered to be healthy so thousands of day-trippers flocked down to seaside resorts like Brighton.
Swimming costumes were born, albeit covering the body from head to toe but by the 1920’s more flesh was revealed and by the 30’s and 40’s, new materials meant that costumes clung to parts of the body rarely seen before. By the mid-40s, a new invention, the bikini, was created and there was no going back.
Useful links
Brighton Museum, home of swimwear collection
Victoria and Albert Museum
Debenham’s swimwear
