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Arts & Antiques by Dr. Lori Vintage Swimsuits on the Market was one of those little kids who were often called “a fish.” You know the type — a pint-sized 3 or 4-year-old who could swim like a champ and would rather spend all day playing under water in a swimming pool than doing anything else. My Mom nearly drowned as a teenager and while she never learned to swim herself, she was adamant about giving me and my sisters swimming lessons. To her credit, all three of us are excellent swimmers today. My swimming abilities even helped pay for school. I swam competitively through my teens and early 20s and today, I enjoy swimming as my favorite form of exercise. It follows that investigating the history of the bathing suit is a topic of interest for me. It brings back happy memories of days at swim team practice and now relates to my work evaluating vintage objects. In the early years of the 20th century, there were strict laws that required women to be fully clothed when taking a swim. The bathing suit requirements of the day included a non-form fitting costume that consisted of a dress, pantaloons, cap, and shoes. Most women obliged and frolicked in the waves in full-length swimming attire while others took their chances with a more revealing bathing suit. Most woolen – yes, that reads woolen as in wool -- swimsuits of the early decades of the 1900s were basic black. All of that changed in the summer of 1905 when Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman announced her desire to become the first woman to swim the English Channel. She attempted the feat amid controversy over her bathing suit. Kellerman sparked an international stir when she was arrested for wearing a one-piece woolen swimming suit. She omitted the pantaloons, cap, and shoes and started a tidal wave of talk. Obscenity laws aside, Kellerman started a swimsuit revolution. Roaring Twenties By the 1920s-’30s, bright colors, synthetic fabrics, and a more feminine shape emerged in the style of swimsuits. The famous Jantzen swimsuit manufacturing firm made the diving girl logo a beach blanket image and everything from billboards to bumper stickers donned the famous logo. In the 1940s, convertible straps which could be unfastened were introduced in part to prevent tan lines. Today, vintage swim suits bring high values on the vintage couture market. High-end swim suits from the 1950s like those designed by Christian Dior command $1,000 to $2,000, while more mainstream brands like Catalina dating to the mid-1900s are worth $50 to $350 per suit. The 1950s emphasized the hourglass figure with a “bubble suit” featuring cotton material and low-cut top. The 1960s swimsuits saw an interest in show-
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Actress Pamela Anderson’s famous red swimsuit from her role on TV’s Baywatch sold for $275.
ing off the midriff, too. Two-piece polyester bathing suits of the era were still conservative and covered up one’s belly button. By the 1970s, swimsuits were a far cry from the cover-upeverything style bathing suits of the early 1960s. Later, Speedo swimsuits from the 1980s featured Lycra materials and straightforward styles. On the market, vintage swim suits in good condition always bring interest from collectors and celebrity suits are all the rage. A prominent example of the interest in the vintage swim suit market is celebrity suits. For instance, Pamela Anderson’s one piece red Speedo lifeguard bathing suit from her starring role on the widely popular hit TV show, Baywatch, recently sold for $275.l
Dr. Lori Star Appraiser on the hit TV show Auction Kings on Discovery Channel. Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author, and awardwinning TV personality, Dr. Lori presents appraisal events nationwide. Watch Dr. Lori appraise antiques on Discovery’s hit TV show, Auction Kings airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. Central time. Learn about your antiques at www.DrLoriV.com or call (888) 431-1010. Visit her Facebook at: Facebook.com/DoctorLori HOUSTON LIFESTYLES & HOMES / JULY 2013
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