Another beautiful Cole of California advert from the 1940s. I don’t know why more people don’t wear high-waisted bikinis, if this one is anything to go by they look fabulous! This ad was shown in The Californian, May 1947.
Isn’t this a pretty bikini? I’m reveling in the weekend of sunshine we seem to be having (has the British summer finally arrived I wonder…?) so I thought photos of girls in sunshine and bikinis would be appropriate! Have a lovely weekend everyone!
This photo was taken in Panama City, Florida in 1966. The model is Melody May. Fabulous bikini, fabulous view!
A gorgeous collection of 1950s swimsuits, photographed in Florida in 1959. Which is your favourite – I love the red and white one! Source and copyright: No known copyright restrictions
It’s tipping it down with rain here today and I’m sitting here with a living room full of new garden furniture which needs oiling before it goes out in the garden. Oh how I *wish* we had the weather to be frolicking in the surf like these 1920s girls! Isn’t this photo great? I love(…)
Some great 1940s bikinis modelled by the ‘Sarasota Sun-Debs’. The photo was taken at Lido Beach, Florida in January 1949. I wish it was warm enough to wear bikinis in January in the UK!
These 3 vintage beauties are the winners of a Beauty contest at the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, Florida in 1924. Who do you think was the winner and who were the runners up? Or do you think they were winners in 3 different categories…?
Some gorgeous 1950s swimsuit models who don’t seem quite sure which camera they should be smiling at… Source and copyright: No known copyright restrictions
Some awe-inspiring 1930s acrobatics – would you have enough confidence in someone to jump this high? I wonder where she was leaping from, she couldn’t have jumped that high off the ground surely?!
The gorgeous 1920s “Spruce Girls” photographed on a beach wearing spruce wood veneer bathing suits during “Wood Week” to promote products of the Gray Harbor lumber industry, Hoquiam, Washington c. 1929. Aren’t they stunning? I don’t know how comfortable a wooden bathing suit would be though. Do you fancy that…? [6 photos]
Isn’t this wonderful? The illustration is just gorgeous, but is this the vintage swimwear in this Cole of California advert actually a swimsuit or a bikini? I’m not sure. The text reads: Streamline – beautiful new backsweep… in a Lastex swimsuit… from Cole’s “Westward to the Sea” beachwear collection.
A young girl wearing a knitted 1950s bikini top and shorts. The photos were taken in Leipzig in 1950. How on earth does a knitted bikini top not stretch out of shape when she comes out of the water..?? [2 photos]
I’m not the most coordinated and flexible of people, so I have a natural awe of acrobats (and dancers) and the amazing things they can do with their bodies! These 1930s acrobats were photographed on the beach in Sydney. They make this look so easy don’t they?!
A group of young women photographed in 1920s swimwear, some of which is lovely and some of which is terribly unflattering. The photos were taken at Potomac Tidal Basic beach in Washington in 1922. The woman on the left above (and in the boat below) is actress Kay Laurell, but I don’t know about the(…)
A beautiful 1930s bathing suit from around 1930. Isn’t it stylish? Do you think the photo is of two different models, or using some clever manipulation to show the same model from the front and back? I couldn’t decide!
I thought the topless swimsuit was invented by Rudi Gernreich in the 1960s, but apparently a slightly baggier version was around in the 1920s! This monokini was worn by Guna Mori, a Follies Bergere girl. Apologies for the size of the photo, I couldn’t find a higher-res photo! Which version do you prefer this one,(…)
Elizabeth Taylor with short hair in a leopard print swimsuit. This photo is a publicity photo from film The Last Time I Saw Paris in 1954. I’m not sure I’ve seen her with such short hair before but she looks absolutely knock-out doesn’t she?
An underwater fashion show from 1939 which seems to have taken place in a dolphin tank! This seems to have been a very ambitious idea for a fashion show… Oh, and riding giant seahorses (how could I forget that?!)