Sports and Leisure

Although bathing costumes like this one-piece tunic and trousers of the early 1870s were designed to cover virtually the entire body for modesty, in the event woollen fabrics clung to the body when wet, much to the dismay of female bathers. Unaccustomed to wearing such body-hugging garments, some women still chose to wear a loose form of corset under their swimming clothes. In August 1868, for example, The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine recommended a new bathing corset, describing it as a "useful invention for ladies who dread to appear in undress."

By the end of the 19th century, the typcial female swimmer was able to select a much more practical garment for the water, often featuring shorter legs and sleeves, as well as being made of machine-knitted fabrics like jersey which stretched over the body for a better fit, even though it still resulted in a good deal of unattractive sagging!

Full item descriptions:

"bathing costume & swimsuit" [1947.2842]

Related Themes:

Early Swimwear