participating in competitions organized by the Ama- 

 teur Svvintming Association could have worn a one- 

 piece, skirtless, knitted costume with a shaped slee\e 

 at least three inches long, a slightly scooped neck, 

 and legs that extended to within three inches of the 

 knee. Mr. Longfellow may have had this English 

 suit in mind. He might have known of similar suits 

 in the United States or he might ha\e simply wanted 

 to free Adeline of yards of fabric to make her more 

 competitive with male swimmers. Nevertheless, 

 Adeline Trapp did not know that the English suits 

 existed, nor did she know where she could find one. 

 She spent many hours going from one American 

 manufacturer to another trying on men's knitted 

 suits. She found that they were all cut too low at the 

 neck and armholes and did not cover enough of the 

 legs to preclude criticism. At this point a friend who 

 worked for a stocking mantifacturer offered to get 

 her a suitable costume from England. This costume, 

 a knitted, gray cotton suit — whether originally for a 

 man or woman in England is not known — was the 

 one Adeline wore when she swam Hell Gate. 



."Mthough more than thirty men attempted the 

 swim, the fact that a woman accomplished the feat 

 made newspaper headlir.es. Following this e\ent. 

 Miss Trapp received a terse letter from the Brooklyn 

 School Board stating that they thought it improper 

 for an educator of Brooklyn children to appear in 

 public so scantily dressed in a one-piece swimming 

 costume. For her future swims Adeline Trapp was 

 careful to have someone carry a blanket to throw 

 over her as she emerged from the water. '^ 



In 1910, Annette KcUerman arrixed in the United 

 States from Australia by way of England. For her 

 fancy diving exhibitions she wore sleeveless one- 

 piece knitted swimming tights that covered her from 

 neck to toe — a costume she had probably adopted 

 in England. 



The decade from 1910 to 1920 was a crucial period 

 in the history of bathing and swimming costume. 

 Popular attitudes were changing in favor of the woman 

 who swam but, as frequently occurs in social reforms, 

 there was a cultural lag between public opinion and 

 the policies of institutions. The Red Cross, which 

 began its excellent water safety program in 1914, 

 taught women to swim but did not admit women as 

 Life Saving Corps members until 1920. Svmbolic of 



the conflict between old and new attitudes were the 

 relati\e roles of bathing and swimming costume diu'- 

 ing this period. .\s Annette Kellerman described them ; 



There are two kinds . . . those that are adapted for use 

 in water, and those that are unfit for use except on dry 

 land. If you are going to swim, wear a water bathingsiiit. 

 But if you are merely going to play on the beach, and 

 pose for the camera fiends, you may safely wear the dry 

 land variety. ... I am certain that there isn't a single 

 reason under the sun why everybody should not wear 

 lightweight suits, .'\nyone who persuades you to wear the 

 heavy skirty kind is endangering your life.'^ 



Chic women's magazines, however, were still reluc- 

 tant to admit in their fashion pages that a more utili- 

 tarian costume existed. The June 1, 1917 issue of 

 I'ogue reported that there w-ere two kinds of bathing 

 suits: a loose straight suit and those on surplice lines, 

 ". . . which hold their place by virtue of being so very 

 becoming." ^^ 



The most popular of these, the surplice, was not a 

 noxelty of the season but a continuation of 19th cen- 

 tiny bathing suit styles. Fashion illustrations show- 

 that the hemline of the skirt was approaching the 

 middle of the knee, with the bloomers remaining 

 hidden. There was also a re\'i\'al of the style that per- 

 mitted the bloomers to show sexeral inches below the 

 skirt. In this case the bloomers reached the knee and 

 the skirt was several inches shorter. Botli \ersions were 

 shown with short slee\es or cap sleeves, or sleeveless ; 

 "V" necklines with collars and square necklines were 

 widely used. The more fashionable creations were 

 made of silk taffeta or "surf satin," while the majority 

 were made of "mohair," wool jersey, worsted, or 

 closely wo\en cotton. Black and navy blue were un- 

 questionably the favorite colors. 



The loose straight suit, which ex-idently gained its 

 inspiration from the chemise frock of the period, had 

 no waistline and himg straight from the shoulders 

 (fig. \5)\ a belt or sash was frequently looped below 

 the naiinal waistline on the hips. The chemise type of 

 bathing suit differed from the surplice only in having 

 no fitted waist and requiring less fabric. 



In the June 15, 1917 issue, ]'ogue modified its 

 position of two weeks earlier to acknowledge that 

 there was a third style of costume worn in the water. 

 Again, the descriptions of the sm-plice and chemise- 

 t\pe bathing suits were accompanied by numerous 



'^< .\NNETrE Kellerman, How to Swim (New York: George H. 



53 Telephone interview with AdeHne Trapp Mulhenbers, Doran Company, 1918), p. 47. 



May 196G. :v, yogiie (June 1, 1917), vol. 49, no. 1 1, p. 85. 



26 



BULLETIN 250 : CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



