By Pauline Weston Thomas for Fashion-Era.com
- Victorian Swimwear
- Late Victorian Swimwear
- Edwardian Swimwear
- Retro Re-enactment Swimwear
Georgian Bathing Machine
The fashion history of swimwear took its lead from ordinary dress and the outfits were very modest, almost totally covering the body.
One of the early images of swimwear is the dress shown in this Yorkshire picture right and depicting coastal life in Georgian Britain in 1813. Note how the bather is assisted into the sea from a bathing machine.
One reason people often find themselves on this page is that they are looking for a swimming costume for re-enactment. One website I have found with a selection of swimming costume patterns is the online site Ageless Patterns. Check which style you really need before visiting them.
Victorian Swimwear
Once the railway arrived in Britain the masses visited the seaside regularly and it spawned a need for new fashions.
In the early Victorian era women had worn serge or dark flannel bathing dresses, but by the 1860s two-piece belted costumes replaced the earlier styles.
The swimwear bodice top was jacket like and the swimsuit bottom part three-quarter trousers which had been rejected only a decade earlier when Amelia Bloomer urged women to adopt them.
The later Victorian swimsuit outfit was still cumbersome but was more practical and more attractive than earlier bathing clothes.
Pictures - Early and Mid-Victorian swimwear for women.
Although the trouser was acceptable as Victorian beachwear it did not enter mainstream fashion until the 1920s when trousers were accepted after practical wear in the Great War of 1914-18.
Late Victorian Swimwear
Even when bloomers were accepted by many late Victorians as cycling wear in the 1890s they still remained only on the fringes of fashions of the day.
Swimwear fashion changes moved very slowly. Differences in swimsuit styles were simple such as the introduction of short cap sleeves. Eventually, sleeveless styles with more ankle showing beneath the bloomers became usual.
Edwardian Swimsuits
Edwardian Swimsuits were very similar to Victorian styles.
They were still made of wool and now consisted of bloomers and a wool overdress.
The dress was now a sleeveless version and the outfit was worn with black stockings and laced footwear.
Gradually by 1920 necklines were lowered and the overdress shortened even more.
Retro Re-enactment Swimwear at Recollections
If you are seeking fully made up garments at a reasonable cost and suitable for re-enactment in Victorian and Edwardian style then try those by Marianne at Recollections. I am a long-time fan of Marianne and her period clothing website Recollections.
Recently Marianne introduced several retro ladies' swimming costumes to her extensive range of over 500 costumes. You can see for yourself in the photographs below how good these look. Recollections
The retro Victorian Edwardian swimming costumes above are by Marianne at Recollections
If you prefer to make your own costumes then Ageless Patterns has a range of swimming and bathing suit costume patterns suitable for re-enactment.
The swimwear-related pattern dates they currently offer are from 1868 to 1898. They also offer some 1920s and 1930s beach pyjamas.
