Another swimsuit post for your enjoyment (or frustration, if you’re like me–and wished all swimwear was as glamorous nowadays!). One comment that kept popping up after the last post (here’s posts #1 and #2 too), was the fact that many of you found these images refreshing because the gals looked feminine and curvy. I think after several decades of mass fashion feeding us the idea that only certain types of figures are acceptable in a swimsuit, we’ve forgotten how glamorous a woman can look in a suit that flatters the female form. I’ll take a nipped in waist and 40s-esque sweetheart neckline any day over a string bikini! Just looking at these pictures makes me feel a lot less terrified of wearing a swimsuit–although none of mine currently are even close to being as fantastic as these are!
If you haven’t had enough of my swimsuit spam posts, I think I have one more in the works… lol. Then maybe I’ll have finally spent enough time looking and actually start making my own! (Sailor Husband has even offered to make sure I actually act on all the talk!)
[ last but not least the glamorous Miss Ginger. I adore her sunglasses! ]
Gorgeous! I’m particularly enamoured with the optical-illusion slimming effect of dark stripes down the sides of a pale fronted suit (as in the ones worn by Joan Winfield, Jane Russell and Diana Barrymore).
Thanks so much for posting!
xx Charlotte
Tuppence Ha’penny
If only swimsuits were still this elegant looking. I wish that it wasn’t the norm to have your belly showing all of the time, one-piece swimsuits are much more flattering on most people! Thanks for the spam post
I love these swimsuit posts!! I agree, fashion used to be made to flatter a woman’s body rather than expose every little flaw like swimsuits today. I want a vintage swimsuit so much!!
From Carys of La Ville Inconnue
Lovely photos! I love spam-posts like these =)
The swimsuits are all beautiful, and I esp like the shirring a lot of them have. However, am I very strange if I admit that what really caught my eye was the amazing hat? =)
I just ordered a new one piece suit that has a very vintage vibe going on. And it’s red! Never owned a red swim suit (or a one piece suit) in my life, but I figure it is so glamorous I should rock it for all its worth, lol ! By the way, my husband says that most men actually prefer women in one piece suits as it is so much more feminine and leaves more to the imagination. Which I guess is hard to do if you are busting out all over in a bikini!
Lovely pictures! I’ve been really lucky and found myself a 30s one piece last fall. I’m doing a blog post soon! Oh, and wear did you find that picture of Liz Taylor????
PS: I’ve been soooo addicted silent screen queens flickr the last week, hehe
These are all great. I love the first one. I had hopes of finding a nice vintage style this year but they were all so expensive. I did find one that seemed to be vintage inspired at j. crew and i really love it. It is very comfortable and doesn’t shift around!
Oh, so lovely. I desperately need a retro swimsuit someday. So much cuter than a skimpy bikini, and probably more comfortable too.
The swimsuits in your post are so flattering. Too bad someone doesn’t reintroduce some of those styles.
Those actresses were so beautiful. I didn’t realy that was Lucy in the pic with the big hat.
What beautiful suits! I just finished my first swim suit– a 1-piece– the Alison on Burdastyle. I think it channels the feeling of some of these suits!
Good luck with your swim suit sewing!
I love the Ava Gardner, Debbie Reynolds and Liz Taylor suits. When I was a teen, I had a vintage suit that my grandmother had never worn and I loved the way that it looked on me. Sadly, I destroyed it with too many summer days in chlorinated pool water.
When I saw that picture of Lucile Ball I honestly thought it was my grandmother. She looks so much like Lucile it’s unreal. I was just looking at pictures of my grandmother when she was in her early 20′s last weekend and was loving the fashions. She was quite the fashion plate in her younger days.
These pictures are fantastic. Every one of these suits is so cute and flattering! If you’re in the market for a new suit, I really like my Esther Williams. It actually gives you a shape, unlike most one-pieces.
You can find some similar sunglasses on icueuewear: http://www.icueyewear.com/ICU/Sunglasses/Eco-Friendly+Preppie+Retro+Sunglasses+%287003%29.html
Recycled, too!
Just lovely! I’ve recently come across a few vintage swimsuits to add to my etsy shop & as I was doing my research I came across some that are just like these. I wish I had several of these swimsuits! They are gorgeous!
Erica
danired922.blogspot.com
True to form, I love Lucy’s suit.
Mom
I bought an Esther Williams’ Classic Sheath Swimsuit in black from retrodress.com and I LOVE it. I have never in my life felt so great in a suit! It did cost me a pretty penny, but totally worth it. These classic suits are much better than anything made today.
I love all these vintage swimsuit images you’ve been sharing the past few weeks! One of the best decisions I made was to buy one a swimsuit from the Esther Williams line a few years ago. I always get compliments on it and no longer feel self conscious at the pool. I can’t wait to see what you sew for yourself!
Urgh, why-oh-why can’t I find a beautiful one piece like these in the shops?
fabulous!
I love the vintage pictures and the vintage suits. I too would love to have one like these and have looked at the Esther Williams suits and seen a few vintage suits on ebay. I think I would feel just fine on the beach in one of those. I love to see women with some flesh on their bones.
Gorgeous photos – I love your vintage swimsuit posts, keep ‘em coming!
I absolutely love the 50′s!!! These swimsuit are so divine:)