Bathing Costumes
By Jane Marie

Early in the 1800s women rarely went swimming in public places.  The required costume of corset, long sleeves, long skirts with weighted hems to keep them from floating on the water's surface, stockings and slippers kept the shores relatively empty.

By the 1850s a brief dip in the water was acceptable as long women stayed on their side of the lake, mineral spring or pool, and men stayed on theirs.  Ladies wore a long tunic and dark stockings, concealing the legs.  Calf length trousers were added to cover the upper thighs. 

It was possible to rent a bathing costume, but that was frowned upon since it was easy, at least in those times, for a girl to sew her own.  The Butterick company provided patterns beginning in the 1860s. Lightweight blue or red cotton was the most popular choice for fabric, but it had two drawbacks.  It did nothing to keep the torso warm and worse yet, it clapped itself to the body of a shapely miss in a most embarrassing fashion!  Serge, a twilled (diagonal weave) woolen fabric was durable, repelled water and worn by both men and women.  The ladies garment was comprised of a tunic or a short dress that hung to mid thigh with a button front closure above a loose banded waist. A sailor collar, matching short cuffs and pockets at the waist, completed the dress portion unless a bow at the breastbone was added.  Loose short pants to just below the knee were worn beneath.  

Often, children splashed about in the water. Boys wore their everyday white or light blue sailor suits.  While they played on the shore, many could be seen donning coordinating straw sailor hats to shade their eyes with red or dark blue ribbons hanging down their backs.  Little girls had costumes similar to their mothers and bigger sisters.

Modesty and safety did battle.  Wanting the short pants long enough to prevent much viewing of the bare leg versus having the pants too long and weighty and thus a contributing factor toward drowning caused many an unpleasant moment between parent and daughter

Delicacy was the basis for the invention of the bathing machine for Victorian resorts.  This consisted of a dressing room on two wheels that was hitched to a horse and drawn into the ocean's edge.  Here a woman could change from her street clothes and emerge dressed in her complete swimming attire.  Descending a few steps, she was in the water. After a swim, a lady could reenter the bathing machine. The horse would haul her and her dressing room out of the water where she would change back to her everyday dress.

Swimming became acceptable at the end of the 1880s and was considered an art form as well as a college and Olympic sport. After 1900, the material of choice for swimwear became lighter weight.  American women began wearing cottons, flannels and muslins while the Europeans stuck with darker, heavier fabrics.

Eventually, the britches shortened to the knee won out. An oiled silk cap with a ruffled outer band and flat rubber shoes came into fashion.  Some women even wore one piece costumes made of a blouse and short pants which was referred to as Princess style. 

Men wore sleeveless, u-shaped neckline, one piece woolen garments that came to their knees.  Later, a separate tank top and long shorts was chosen and often of stripped material.As the years went by modesty has nearly disappeared from the scene.  As Teddy O™, Martha Bear's rascally bear friend would say, "That's ok by me!" And probably most other men in the world!

We want to thank http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/godey/invitation.html  and especially Hope Greenberg, University of Vermont for information provided in research for this article.