Water nymph or the knitted bathing suit of the 30's

 

From sexy back details, fancy stitched eye candy, striped and checkered frolics, cute two-tone combinations and fun colour blocking, to matching accessories and simply ridiculous beret & pompon additions - you name it , the 1930's knitted bathing suit will have it. 

They also have their detractors, and I have heard them categorized as deeply unflattering, lacking the necessary support for the womanly attributes, and of course the wool content is frowned upon nowadays for being itchy and to do with concerns of how it behaves in  water. 

Whilst these are all valid points, in my book there's simply no hotter swimwear and there's no itch as itchy as the urge of owning a bathing suit such as the beautiful examples in these patterns.

cca 1934 swimsuit, via cemetarian etsy



 
1934 swimsuit knitting pattern via Pamoolah etsy


1938 bathing suit via thevintagepatternfiles.blogspot.co.uk


 via K D Wildflowers pinterest


1930's swimsuit via Baby Dee Vintage Knitting & Crochet.

 
 via gaskella.wordpress.com

via barbaraknitsagain.blogspot.co.uk
 

1930 knit swimsuit via cemetarian, etsy

via needlewoman.etsy


via atticmagpie etsy

via adeline'sattic.tumblr

Call of the stripe

via Marilyn Wojdak on pinterest

 

Marlene Dietrich on the beach via the knittingneedleandthedamagedone.blogspot.co.uk 
- this woman had "cool" running through her veins

1929 bathing suits via Marilyn Wojdak pinterest

 1928 Deauville fashions via glamoursplash blog

 

Dorothy Sebastian, via Doctor Macro

via Cynyia Valente pinterest

don't know about you, but when it comes to bathing suits, 

ultimately all I want is a simple one like this

 A young Myrna Loy via imfeelingbeachy. tumblr - so, so lovely!

Anita Page via valentinovamp tumblr - how glamorous is this ??

1930's stripe swimsuit at the Metropolitan Museum New York

***

This blog entry is an ode to the stripe.

 No other pattern conveys summer and seaside better than the modest, ubiquitous stripe, then and now.

Here is to the stripe! Until we meet again.

via Marilyn Wojdak on pinterest

At the seaside in vintage illustrations

 

illustration for La Vie Parisienne 1923 via maudelynn.tumblr

 

AMPHIBIOUS, 1924, by ENOCH BOLES via sydneyflapper.tumblr.com

 Postcard by Corbella via anything goes tumblr

 

  Back From Palm Beach’ art by Walter Beach Humphrey, on the March 14th, 1925 cover of Liberty via whataboutbobbed tumblr

 

soyouthinkyou can see tumblr

 

 

via soyoucansee.tumblr 1927

 

 Hearst cover art by Penrhyn Stanlaws via thevintagetraveller.tumblr

 

A drawing of Gloria Swanson by Penrhyn Stanlaws for the cover of The New Movie Magazine, September 1930

 

 

cover art by Tempest Inman for The Saturday Evening Post

via silent screen queen flickr

via valentino vamp

  
1939 magazine cover