Sports and Leisure

This swimsuit in textured maroon woollen jersey features a revealing keyhole cut-out at the front, to show off the wearer's cleavage. During the early 1970s, it became far more common to flaunt previously taboo parts of the body and for women to wear extremely minimal beachwear including skimpy bikinis and cut-away swimsuits. For the first time, and very like today, a woman's cleavage, mid-riffs and thighs became frequent sights at the beach, shocking the old-fashioned and often leaving little to the imagination.

This outfit is cut particularly low in the back and allowed the wearer to tan without white lines formed by straps, as it was still socially risque to sunbathe topless on most British beaches in the 1970s. Society has moved to a greater liberality and freedom since then, but even so, many female sunbathers still fight shy of appearing topless in public.

Full item descriptions:

"bathing costume & swimsuit" [1980.5]

Related Themes:

Women's Swimwear Since the 1920s