Swimwear for the 19th Century
Manolo says, the Manolo he cannot but welcome the return of Victorian swimwear.
In celebration, the Manolo he already placed decorous coverings on the overly suggestive “limbs” of his piano. Tomorrow he will begin the laborious process of separating the books written by unmarried female writers from those of the male authors on his book shelves.
Viva Prudish Wholesomeness!
P.S. Many thanks for the link to the always amusing, and certainly not prudish Fashion Addict.
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Comments
Leah 19 years ago
As someone who has many Jewish orthodox relatives, I can see the point in these modest swimwear. It has nothing to do with fashion, to sell it as fashion is a travesty.
Ripley 19 years ago
I have fundamentalist Christian in-laws who would probably be thrilled at seeing this. At least it would stop my sister-in-law from sewing skirts on to her and my niece’s regular tank swimsuits. I should forward the link to her…
Kourtney 19 years ago
I know people who sew swim gear like this for themselves & their children – not out of any fundamental religion, but instead because of the EVIL SUN. It’s not enough that they are gooped in SPF 9 million, they’re also swaddled in these. I mean, a good idea is a good idea, but this seems a bit extreme.
The Baron, surprised, 19 years ago
With respect and tongues in cheek, Maestro Manolo. That is not modern victorian swimwear. This is – http://www.modestapparelchristianclothinglydiaofpurpledressescustomsewing.com/modest_swimwear.htm
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
(La BellaDonna raises hand) Hola to the Kourtney, and if she knows where La BellaDonna can obtain the sunblock of the SPF 9 million, she would be very grateful for the information. La BellaDonna was excited by the prospect of the SPF of merely the One Hundred. La BellaDonna is one of those persons who would doubtless burst into flame if she were to try standing on an actual beach during the actual sunny day in the actual summertime. La BellaDonna does not give the fig so much for the modesty, but she has wistfully thought about the propriety of swimming in, perhaps, the wetsuit, and has wished that there was the full body coverage for the person who would like to swim without actually being exposed to the sun.
Redhead 19 years ago
The Baron: The Redhead wonders if Lydia of Purple makes the wedding dresses in the, um, off-white?
Kate 19 years ago
Being a typical pale redhead who bursts into flame when exposed to direct sunlight, I want to like this idea. However, the chances of drowning while tangled up in all that cloth is simply too great to risk it…
What no wholesome swimwear for men? No colorful necklines to highlight a gentleman’s magnificent moustaches? The shock! The disappointment! Excuse me while I revive myself with my smelling salts. Ah, that’s better.
Dear Baron, does that Victorian swimming costume actually include boots? And a matching hat? All I need is a really frilly coordinating parasol! Assuming I’m don’t break any ribs when lacing my corset, of course, then I’d have retire to my bed chamber and leave orders with the footman that I am “not at home,” to visitors.
elayne 19 years ago
I’d buy one, were it not for the fact that I now know I’d be laughed out of the pool (again). Between an estrogen-deficiency-related weight gain and an unsightly skin condition on the backs of my legs, I haven’t owned a bathing suit in over 15 years. And I live in a very hot climate, where it’d be really nice to be able to swim now and then – my son would love it if I joined him in the pool, not to mention the benefit of aqua-exercising! But the last time I did – some 60 pounds ago, even, so I can only imagine how much worse it’d be now – I left the pool sobbing, and didn’t come out of my house again for three days. Several young men found it amusing to taunt and jeer, at top volume and incessantly, about my skin condition. I just can’t bring myself to risk that kind of humiliation again. (Haven’t worn shorts since then, either.)
Hm. Maybe I’ll buy one of these and then invent my own religion as a PC explanation for it….
jackie 19 years ago
my dear manolo – how can you possibly waste such valuable “Manolo” website space with this nonsense? i don’t find it funny at all! if i want to see waitresses in spandex, i’ll turn on old episodes of “Alice.”
JayKay, not amused 19 years ago
Ok, so there are several ways to go about this whole “modesty” thing…One being that heinous atrocity against “swimwear” that the Manolo posted…another being something a little less ridiculous (yet still something I would personally never wear) from our friends at Speedo:
http://www.speedousa.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.detail/categoryID/26e8d8e8-00bb-4459-846c-2ffda1ffc1ef/productID/a3f5a8bd-2377-467e-a38c-d753e40563ca/
I have spent most of my life in various competitive water sports and swimwear and can only postulate that the number of deaths from drowning would increase exponentially in women’s water polo if such STUPID, UGLY, LAUGHABLE garments were to become the norm…
To Elayne: I’m sorry to hear about your story. People just suck sometimes. :(
catrandom 19 years ago
Being from a beach city in L.A. where there are always people running around naked, I think these are a nice contrast to all that flesh bounding about. Up with modesty!
Tinuviel 19 years ago
It is possible to obtain much more stylish sun-blocking swimwear than what is pictured here. Just Google “sun protection swimwear.” In particular, the Australians (Stingray, for example) do an excellent job of making attractive full-coverage swimsuits. I’ve found these suits are very convenient for playing in the ocean in the tropical sun. You don’t get as cold in the water, and you don’t have to worry about reapplying sunblock or getting scorched.
never teh bride 19 years ago
Where, I wonder, is the modest, nipple-covering swimwear for the men?
I feel that were such swimwear to become popular, the rates of drowning children would go up, up, up. Note that in boating accidents, one is advised to take off one’s clothing, not put more clothing on.
Atomic Bombshell 19 years ago
Oh my… Those things are horrifying!
CyndiF 19 years ago
Typical that the modest swimwear is for women.
The Mom 19 years ago
Many of you think these are ugly, but clearly you are not parents of an adolescent girl who is bursting with boopishness. My own daughter, Miss Boop, is past the age where I can influence her fashion choices, but I can tell you that a swim suit like this would have made her brother happier. Nothing creeps out a teenage boy like the fact that the sexiest girl at the pool is his sister. “Mom, make her put on a shirt! It’s creepy!”
19 years ago
For the modest girl who wishes to be stylish, here are some lovely options:
http://www.revampvintage.com/bathingsuit.html
natalie 19 years ago
Anonymous, thanks for that link! Those swimsuits are gorgeous! I must have the red one.
As for the modesty swimsuits, it reminds me of how bad I used to feel for the Pentecostal girls that went to school with me. Hair down to your knees, long denim skirts, long sleeve shirts and tennis shoes can’t be the most comfortable thing to wear in Baton Rouge, LA in the 99-degree, 99% humidity weather. I always wondered how they didn’t pass out. I’m happy to think that, with the modesty swimwear, they at least may be able to cool off in the pool or at the beach.
The Baron dryly 19 years ago
Redhead, certainly not. How shameful.
theprincess 19 years ago
are these people serious??????????????
Fred the Fourth 19 years ago
La BellaDonna and others who tend to burst into flame in the tropical sun (like redheaded Fred himself) can also obtain high-quality all-over swim coverage from Scuba dive shops. Go ask to see “dive skins”. They come in various weights and types of materials, and (dare I say it) some are even very stylish. Coverage can be neck to wrists to ankles. For the tropical sea snorkeling, for instance, they are the essential.
One caution, though: some materials, especially the high-lycra blends, do not tolerate the typical oily sunblock well. Ask before purchasing.
Fred “time for another dive trip” Drinkwater
Fred the Fourth 19 years ago
I should add, though, that modesty is not the strong suit of most dive skins. They are, after all, “skins”, hence very shape-revealing. Also typically flamboyantly colored. I get lots more attention when wearing my diveskin, than I do wearing a Speedo. (Hmm.. perhaps one is verging onto Too Much Information, here?)
Lori 19 years ago
Those vintage swimsuits are adorable, yet sexy! They’re just the thing for a woman who is fit and wants to feel attractive, yet is no longer as firm and smooth as a volleyball.
dgm 19 years ago
those are just wrong. for those who cannot stand to be in the sun, you’d do better to stay out of it completely than to don these garments. i can’t even get used to those little skirt-like bottoms of modern bathing suits because it’s clear the wearer is self-conscious about her saddlebags. i say if you have the saddlebag, embrace it (well, presumably “them”). self-confidence can do a lot for what nature has not provided (or has since taken away).
tommytimp 19 years ago
Given the choice between the old flesh-peddler and the peddlers of “wholesome” swimwear, tommytimp would always side with Hef. A thousand pardons if this displeases the Manolo.
Phia 19 years ago
It’s nice this is available. I wouldn’t wear it myself and I’d -hate- it if everyone had to wear some version of this, but like allowing headscarves, it’s as much freedom to hide one’s body under fabric as to display it. Mind you, the suits could use some better colors. The dark blue is okay, but the patterns on the bodysuit beneath are odd looking.
Penny 19 years ago
“Several young men found it amusing to taunt and jeer, at top volume and incessantly, about my skin condition. ”
Elayne, those were not men, they were churls. Their boorishness and bad taste will bite them back, probably in the form of girlfriends they deserve.
And I must buy a Revamp swimsuit now.
Birgit 19 years ago
There are modest swimsuits that are modeled after dive skins, but have the, ahem, support and lining that us older ladies require.
These aren’t half bad.
http://ohanaswimwear.com/onepiece.php
desertwind 19 years ago
The desertwind is so grateful to Anonymous for posting Revamp Vintage.
And brava to those wacky kids with their workshop in the Old Theater District, downtown LA.
http://www.revampvintage.com/index1.html
The desertwind pictures herself in the 19-teens before the War to End all Wars, before the Great Flu. She would love to reflect her grandmother. Those hats!
Too cool.
shoelover 19 years ago
Yummy Amish swimwear. Next Up, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition…..Amish Version.
And to follow Amish Lingerie
A Friend 19 years ago
Manolo, you mentioned that you have a piano. Do you play piano? I take piano lessons and enjoy it. Thank you for your enjoyable blog.
carmie 19 years ago
i am eternally grateful my mom never heard of these. it was bad enough having to swim in a swimsuit with a skirt sewn on, covered by an oversized t-short and baggy gym shorts.
those vintage suits are really cute! i like the white and black one.
elayne, those men were troglodytes. i would have pepper-sprayed them for you, had i been there.
pbird 19 years ago
I raised three daughters. Believe me, it is not fun seeing disfunctional male objects leer at one’s daughter’s developing figure. A little more coverage would be nice. We managed by sewing things. Even Landsend carries nice little suits with shorts and so on now for those who want to fit in better.
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
Many thanks to the Anonymous, who has provided links to the swimwear that La BellaDonna will wear at least in the indoor pool. And many, many thanks to the Fred, who has provided exactly the information for which La BellaDonna was searching. She does not particularly wish to wear the baggy sunproof shirt over the bathing suit, nor does she wish to wear anything resembling shorts. She wishes for the all-over coverage which does not make her look like the big bag of fabric; for La BellaDonna, modesty was not the issue, merely the need to block the sun. Many safe and happy dives to the Fred!
Cat 19 years ago
I must echo the many thanks to the Anonymous for the Revamp Vintage link! I ordered the “Ivy” bathing suit and cannot wait for the chance to wear it!
mocha soul 19 years ago
i’m a little dissappointed. what happed to the rest of the out fit? no stockings, shoes, gloves, or scarves?
kelly 19 years ago
Most of you make me sick. I have been searching for a website with modest swimwear and it picked up this blog. I decided to read it, and really wish that I didn’t. IF maybe more people were modest, we would have a much better world to live in.
prudence 19 years ago
Kelly, don’t be ashamed of your body. I’m sure you wouldn’t force your husband into a spandex tarp. It is possible to maintain modesty while wearing any amount of clothing. It is how you carry yourself, not how much is covering your shameful dirty pillows.
jenny 18 years ago
I don’t think that “modesty” always indicates a lack of self-esteem, body-related shame or a deflated self-image. As a matter of fact, I think that sometimes the reverse can be true: over-exposure often indicates someone whose self-esteem is too completely based on the reactions of others to their bodies.
For Pete’s sake: when it comes to swimming, give people permission to wear whatever they feel comfortable in! (Oh dear, I can already tell that I’m going to regret having said that. And the regret will start the next time I see an 80-year-old man wearing only knee socks, hiking boots and a Speedo.) Personally, I’ve longed for the return of the “swim-dress” many a time, at all of my varying shape- and size-phases. Although I can’t imagine that the “lydiaofpurpledresses” suits could be very comfortable soaking wet (and dang you, Baron, for having posted the link before I could!), kudos to the woman who makes these so that folks who otherwise might have to spend the summer on the sidelines can participate!
The shores of the Red Sea and Dead Sea, and–yes– even Monte Carlo, are covered with women and children in suits like the blue one above (although most I’ve seen are black), alongside leathery German and Italian tourists wearing nothing but a leopard-print bikini bottoms; and while I doubt that either is thrilled about what the other is wearing, I’ve not seen any name-calling or insults slung either way. Good grief, WHO CARES if someone’s wearing what you consider an “ugly suit?!” If I got my knickers in a twist every time I’d seen someone in an unflattering swim suit, I’d have died of an apoplectic fit years ago…
(I personally love this plaid suit and this flowered shorts-suit combo from Orvis.)
Mary 18 years ago
I like the option of more modest suits. It gets a bit tired when most bathing suits seem created with showing t&a. I mean, if you really want to show it go nude, or be a stripper and make some MONEY from the display, hell.
Sometimes I’d like to go swimming and look damned good, not like “Hey, who wants to f*@k me? You all want to f*@k me, right?”
Uh, there actually IS more to life than getting f*@ked. If you don’t think so…god, how dull are YOU?
Actually, I like the idea of these swimsuits for little girls. Start ’em with the idea that provocative display of sexual characteristics just isn’t all that important for them to be worrying about and they’ll be less likely to turn into Paris Hilton for whom it is the be all and end all of living.
Gives the young girl freaks less to leer at too.