Bathing costumes

While the 1920s started the trend for leisure activities like swimming, it was economic changes in the 1930s that made swimming a pastime for everyone -- not just those lucky enough to live near a beach. The New Deal funded community pools to open up around the country. Cheap entry prices made swimming an affordable

1940s bathing suits, like many other clothing items, was also losing its modesty. The ’40s was the era when the midriff was born, and it was...

Ad featuring "Sea B's" designer swimsuits. I still cannot figure out why the ladies are carrying umbrellas and the kid in the bee costume.

Think it’s hot at the beach these days? Imagine wearing wool, which is what the first garments we’d recognize as swimsuits were made of. But maybe wool had its charms. Just check out these interesting vintage photographs below and see how swimsuits evolved from Victorian times to the bikini Age. A woman wearing a fashionable bathing costume, circa 1870. (Hulton Archive—Getty Images) Holidaymakers posing in bathing suits in the ocean surf at Santa Monica, Calif., circa 1890. (American Stock…

Before we hit the pool or shore this summer, we're taking a look back at how the swimsuit has evolved through the years. From wool shorts to corsets, this might be what you need to appreciate your faithful tankini.

Flashback to the 1960s and 1970s, where the modest swimsuit of the 1950s went out and in came the cute two piece bikini and flashy one piece bathing suit. 60s swimsuits with contrasting Mod colorblocks were one fad and jewel tone bathing suits were another. Pink, green, orange, black were common. Gingham checks, stripes, and

Striped and belted maillot skirted pantaloon - 1952

Cardigans, rain macs and Wellington boots have inspired the beachwear collection of John Lewis. It took the British summer as inspiration as recession-hit families choose to holiday in the UK.