Swimming
Swimming makes humans extraordinarily unique; we are one of the only species known to science that voluntarily displaces our bodies in water for pleasure, physical activity, research, and travel. Humans are a bipedal species not specifically built for water travel, yet we have found technological and fashionable ways to submerge ourselves and achieve desired activities. Our curatorial decisions focus on wearing pressurized gear to facilitate diving below the water and wearing fitted or loose clothing suitable for water throughout the 20th century.
Two Piece Bathing Suit (Bikini)
Date: c.1945
Medium: White Canvas
Credit:
Description: The first 2-piece swimming suit was designed by a French designer, Louis Réard, in 1946. European women first began wearing two-piece bathing suits that consisted of a halter top and shorts in the 1930s, but only a sliver of the midriff was revealed and the navel was vigilantly covered. In the United States, the modest two-piece made its appearance during World War II, when wartime rationing of fabric saw the removal of the skirt panel and other superfluous material.
Scuba Diving
Date: 2015
Medium:
Image Courtesy of Dennise Pohls Pérez (Photographer)
& Amanda Bosworth (Scuba Diver)
Description: Dr. Amanda L.Bosworth (Shirnina) got her Ph.D. in Maritime History from Cornell University. She got her open water diver and dry suit diver certification through Pan Aqua Diving in New York City. She did take Small Boat Sailing and Large Boat Sailing at Cornell while earning her Ph.D. All she is wearing aside from scuba gear is a purple bikini. Since the BCD (vest) strap falls exactly where the bikini is, it almost looks like she is wearing nothing on top in some of the photos...but she is!
Tunic and Bloomers of Bathing Suit
Date: c. 1915-1920
Designer/Manufacturer/Retailer:
Place of Origin:
Demographic: Woman
Provenance & Notes: Comes with bath-house locker pin, c.1920s-30s
Source: Brown, Elizabeth Schmeck
Description: This two-piece, black sateen women’s bathing suit, estimated to have been made sometime between 1915 and 1920, consists of a tunic paired with knee-length bloomers. The tunic is accented with five rows of off-white, braided trim which appear around the neckline, the lower front in diagonal rows where pockets might be placed, as well as around the hem. The bloomers are more simplistic in appearance, however, pearl buttons, one at the waistband closure and three on the side seam near each knee, add to their decorative flare. While the excess fabric and the heaviness of the material made swimming in these styles of suits difficult, these are still more form-fitted and slightly more functional than the women swimming skirts worn a generation earlier. The inclusion of two slits at either side of the tunic in addition to the bloomer’s crotch area containing a separate gusset piece was likely intended to add to the swimmer’s ease of movement.