Figure 13. — Bathing dress of black "'mohair,' 

 c. 1901). (.Smithsonian photo 60383.) 



bathed or swam in public. The dictates of fashion 

 and standards of modesty continued to conflict with 

 practical considerations. 



As with street dress, cor.sets seem to have been an 

 important though unseen bathing article necessary 

 for maintaining smart posture. In 1896 it was reported 

 that 



Unless a woman is very slender, bathing corsets should be 

 worn. If they are not laced tightly they are a help instead 

 of a hindrance to swimming, and some support is needed 

 for a figure that is accustomed to wearing stays.*" 



While describing the bathing dresses a\ailable in 

 1910 an article noted: "Some of these are made up 

 with . . . princess forms that are boned so as to do 

 away with the bathing corset." " 



The bodice of the bathing costiune continued lo 

 be bloused, but by 1905 it was modified to be merely 

 loo.se. An article appearing in 1896 noted that bathing 

 suits should be cut high in the neck, not tight around 

 the throat, but close enough to prevent burning by 

 the Sim. The sailor collar continued lo be used during 

 the late 1890s but became less fashionable shordy 

 after the Uirn of the century. Nevertheless there had 

 to be some white around the neck for the bathing 

 dress to be considered smart. The puffed sleeves, 

 which had become popular in the late 1890s were 

 modified in breadth and length to allow free use of 

 the nuiscles in swimming (fig. 13). 



In 1897 fashion magazines were suggesting that 

 .skirts of bathing dresses looked best when the front 

 breadth was shaped narrower toward the belt, 

 while by 1902 the skirts were fitted over the hips in 

 order to delineate the figure. In 1905 pleated skirts 

 again became fashionable, although flared skirts 

 were still acceptable. 



Dark blue and black were the popular colors, 

 although white, red, gray, and green were also used. 

 Flannel was no longer recommended for bathing 

 dress; serge and "mohair" — a fabric with a cotton 

 warp and a mohair or alpaca weft — were widely 

 used. The impractical bathing dress of silk fabric 

 was worn b\- those who could afford this extravagance; 

 thus, the conspicuous consumption of the "leisure 

 class" was even found at the beaches. 



Bathing hats were still being worn but it was 

 considered more fashionable to wear a rubber or 

 oil silk cap co\ered with a bright silk tinban when 

 there was a surf For the bather who seldom venttn-ed 

 very far into the water the most fashionable practice 

 was to ha\e no covering at all. 



Throughout the 19th century bathing costume 

 followed an impelling course toward becoming more 

 fimctional. As the popularity of recreational bathing 

 and then swimming for women increased, the number 

 of \ard.s of fabric required to make a bathing dress 

 decreased. Nevertheless, by the 1900s, many women 

 knew how lo swim, but the majority were still bathers. 

 Thus bathing suits continued in use throush ihe 

 first quarter of the 20lh cenlin-y. 



«■ Ibid. (June 13, 1896), vol. 2% no. 24, p. 503. *' UM. (.July 1910), vol. 43, no. 7, p. XrJ. 



PAPER 64: women's B.XTHING AND SWIMMING COSTl'ME IN THE UNITED ST.XTES 



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