This piece is cross-posted from Iron as Needed.
Nicole White
,
"During World War II, the pinup girl became popular. And wearing a
skimpy swimsuit was patriotic -- it was considered doing your part for
the war effort."
-Anna Cole, swimwear designer
-Anna Cole, swimwear designer
Ava Gardner, Actress/Pin-up Girl
|
In the 1920s, Coco Chanel popularized the "sun tan" when she spent a bit too much time in the French Riviera and returned with a sun-kissed glow. Chanel's accidental tan was reason enough for women everywhere to adopt lying in the sun for leisure as a new form of relaxation. This hot new trend did wonders for the fashion world of swimwear.
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Esther Williams Poolside in 1944 |
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Fred Cole, a silent film actor and founder of Cole of California,
transformed his family's knit underwear business into a swimwear success
by bringing Hollywood glamour to the beach. During the war, Cole of
California also made parachutes for the Air Force and marketed this
tidbit in their swimsuit ads to boost sales among patriotic Americans.
When asked about upcoming swim fashions for an issue of The Evening Independent published on November 15, 1945, Cole said, "We want to keep 'em bare, but flattering. We want 'em functional, but beautiful. And the average figure is bad." Not sure if he'd get away with the latter part of that statement in today's society, but honest, nonetheless. The article went on to say, "With the average figure in mind, Mr. Cole does swim shorts in elasticized shirred treatments which have the effect of a girdle."
Cole of California Wartime Swimsuit Ad |
When asked about upcoming swim fashions for an issue of The Evening Independent published on November 15, 1945, Cole said, "We want to keep 'em bare, but flattering. We want 'em functional, but beautiful. And the average figure is bad." Not sure if he'd get away with the latter part of that statement in today's society, but honest, nonetheless. The article went on to say, "With the average figure in mind, Mr. Cole does swim shorts in elasticized shirred treatments which have the effect of a girdle."
After the war was over, French designer Louis Reard debuted the bikini,
which exposed much more skin than its predecessor. He named it the
"bikini" after the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the site of U.S.
nuclear tests. Simultaneously in 1946, Jacques Heim, another French
designer, came out with his version of the bikini and called it the
"atome" (French for atom) and donned it "the world's smallest bathing
suit." Reard then advertised his suit as "smaller than the world's
smallest bathing suit." It
was still considered improper to reveal one's navel in the 40s, so
although it was available, the bikini was not worn by the masses until
much later.
My Version of Norma Kamali's Design |
Norma Kamali's Fringed 40s Pin-up Swimsuit on net-a-porter.com |
1 comment:
Nicole, this is fascinating. Who knew?! Love that you made your own version of that suit, too. It always amuses me when people talk about cooking and blacksmithing and sewing and so on as if it's unskilled labor. "Anyone can sew on a button," right? But, in fact, those are quite skilled professions, as anyone who has tried to sew elastic-- or bake in a wood-fired oven-- can attest. A good perspective when teaching history!
Gotta go lay in the sun now....
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