As the summer came and the weather for sunbathing is here, the last days I got out my heavy artillery from the wardrobe – that’s the bathing suits and I started to check them on row. Despite the fact that my skin has a magnificent color … white yellowish, the rest is by the book. 🙂
While trying on those bathing suits, a question came to my mind, how did the first bathing suits look like, how did women dress up at the beach and how did they wear it? … and this was the way this material was born.
The first company that created the bathing suit is called Jantzen and was primarily a knitwear manufacturer. In the interwar period in the United States, both women and men, had begun to become more and more concerned about their physical appearance and about having a healthier life. Jantzen has redeemed this new way of life and launched the first swimwear, mulled, knitted. The only disadvantage, very important, of bathing suits, was that they were getting wet because of knitwear and were losing their shape when they were wet. So they looked very good, in pictures, dry, and that is all … at what did ladies need them to swim… 🙂

They tried in vain to introduce the elastic in the knitting process but after many unsuccessful attempts, the United States Rubber Factory made an amazing discovery that changed the way of manufactoring and the materials used to create bathing suits. They discovered Lastex fiber, a tissue material with elastic and silk satin finish.
The Jantzen female bathing suit was created on lines similar to those of the corset. The parallel stitches formed a princess type cut, and the right edge of the hem, hided the integrated panties underneath.

This bathing suit was worn with a sombrero hat, somewhat packed, as recommended by manufacturers.

In 1923, Jantzen launched the company’s motto “The bathing suit that transformed bathing in swimming” or at least in beach parade, as I try to imagine what the young woman looked like when they came out of the water with this knitted bathing suit …

Nowadays, bathing suits are in a lot of patterns and textures and they are created in a perfect way to combine useful with pleasure.
I will make the second part of this material with the top 10 swimsuits of our times and how to choose the perfect suit for us.
Have a beautiful and sunny week!
Dearfully,