Swimming Costume Collection

Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer, 1926. On 6 August 1926 Ederle (1905-2003) became the first woman to swim across the English Channel, which she achieved in a time of 14 hours and 30 minutes

France, Paris, The Bathers, Biarritz, Summer 1918
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), The Bathers, Biarritz, Summer 1918

Holiday Haunts guide book, 1947
A 1947 edition of the popular Holiday Haunts guide books published by the GWR. A glamorous blonde poses in a white two-part swimming costume in front of a lively beach scene

Young woman with blindfold balancing on diving board

Miss United Kingdom Grand Final, Blackpool. Miss Wigan, Kathleen Winstanley, sitting on the back of a settee. Swimwear Section, 8th of August, 1968

Glamour girl / actress June Barry at Hammersmith Pier. June 1960 M4372-004
Glamour girl/actress June Barry at Hammersmith Pier. June 1960 M4372-004

Its the minikini. The tiny strapless triangle which is spring-loaded so that it seems to stay up by magic. Student teacher, Jackie Kerr-Moller and her friends, Vera and Kate from Germany and Belgium

A man on his boat looks admiringly at model Carol Dwyer, wearing a revealing swimsuit May 1976

Bather in black swimming suit. Artist: Marval, Jacqueline (1866-1932)
Bather in black swimming suit. Private Collection

1960s Surfers Running in the Water
Group of surfers running in water with surfboards, smiling. Tom Kelley Archive

Marjorie Leete aged 18 (black costume) of Sunderland kneeling down drinking a yard of ale in a field assisted by Janet Bell holding the glass

General view of the Piscine swimming pool, where the smartest foregather, and sport the most arresting beach wear. June 1954 P012311

Channel Swimmers: Little and Large, people who attempt to swim the English Channel come in all sizes. August 1957 A497-002

Swimsuit Fashion: Fashion show of Spirella foundation garments and new made-to-measure Swimsuits, was held today at Spirella House, Oxford Circus, London

Woman in swimming costume up to her ankles in the sea on a beach holding a crab. Costume de bain
5893045 Woman in swimming costume up to her ankles in the sea on a beach holding a crab. Costume de bain. Handcoloured pochoir (stencil)

Water, from Falbalas & Fanfreluches, Almanach des Modes Presentes, Passees et Futures, 1926 (colour litho)
STC226843 Water, from Falbalas & Fanfreluches, Almanach des Modes Presentes, Passees et Futures, 1926 (colour litho) by Barbier

Women body boarding in the surf at Newquay June 1960 M4303-002

Four stages of swimmer performing rapid turn

Miss Great Britain 1965, Diane Westbury, 21 year old model from Bowden, Cheshire, pictured at Morecambe, 25th August 1965

Miss UK, Della Dolan, aged 20 from Grimsby, prepares for next months MIss World contest at a Marbella hideaway. 25th October 1982

Bathing Beauty Competition, Daily Mirror Blackpool Week 1963, judged by singer Matt Monroe & Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, August 1963

Prince Charles pulling up his shorts on a beach in Australia royal Prince of Wales having fun in the water Funny picture taken from behind in the ocean March 1979

Sylvia Syms Actress on a boat at sea May 1959

Prince Andrew with Vicki Hodge on Mustique October 1985

George Best with Angela MacDonald ex Miss World before their marriage began to crumble 1976

George Best and Susan George on the Beach in Majorca

George Best and Susan George on holiday in Palma Nova Majorca

Catherine Bach (27) actress who stars as Daisy Duke in tv series The Dukes of Hazard; pictured at home in Los Angeles California May 1982

Prince Charles plays with model Jane Priest on Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Western Australia. Prince Charles girlfriends March 1979 1970s

Catherine Bach (27) actress who stars as Daisy Duke in tv series The Dukes of Hazard; pictured at home in Los Angeles California May 1982

Glamour model Felicity Jane wearing the "Thong in Brighton (Saturday)
Glamour model Felicity Jane wearing the " Thong in Brighton (Saturday). March 1975 75-1708-002

Model Zorenah Osborne seen here modelling the latest beachwear fashions. 1964
Model Zorenah Osborne seen here modelling the latest beachwear fashions.1964

Ruth Calvert seen here modelling the latest 1959 springtime fashions posing with blossom. May 1959

Unsinkable swimsuits worn by Jean Marsh and Lillemor Knudson. September 1952 P017653

Ruth Calvert seen here modelling the latest 1959 springtime fashions posing with blossom. May 1959

Top glamour model Stephanie McLean posing on a sailboat January 1975 75-00129

Vicki Michelle left the world of showbiz to take over a boutique but soon returned a little later to make a television commercial

Old Fashioned swim suit. So this is what grandma used to look like on the beach in Edwardian times. Trying out the swimsuits is Yvette Carroll, 18 from London who travelled north to Scarborough

Yvonne Marsh and Ann Hanslip seen here bathing in the sea at West Wittering. August 1952 C3902-001

Valerie, 1938. Creator: Unknown
" Valerie", 1938. Valerie Hudson was a well-known model and showgirl in the late 1930s and 1940 s. From " Modern Beauties"

Joan Jay, 1938. Creator: Unknown
Joan Jay, 1938. From " Modern Beauties"

Jousting in rowing boats (chromolitho)
2783037 Jousting in rowing boats (chromolitho) by European School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Jousting in rowing boats. Liebig card, published in the early 20th century)

Doctor, U.S. Volunteer Life-Saving Corps, between c1910 and c1915. Creator: Bain News Service
Doctor, U.S. Volunteer Life-Saving Corps, between c1910 and c1915. U.S. Volunteer Life-Saving Corps. The doctor's commitment to service during that era is commendable

A swimming costume design for women and men
3118539 A swimming costume design for women and men; (add.info.: Photographic print of a swimming costume design for women and men. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG

A swimming costume design for women
3118541 A swimming costume design for women; (add.info.: Photographic print of a swimming costume design for women. Dated 19th Century.); Universal History Archive/UIG

An engraving depicting a man teaching a woman how to swim. He has tied one end of a rope around her waist
5311329 An engraving depicting a man teaching a woman how to swim. He has tied one end of a rope around her waist and the other around a pole which he holds up to keep the swimmer afloat

Coney Isl. 1/3/15, 1915. Creator: Bain News Service
Coney Isl. 1915

Saint-Brévin, ses plages, son climat, c. 1930. Creator: Lelong, René (1871-1933)
Saint-Brevin, ses plages, son climat, c. 1930. Private Collection

Le Tréport-Mers. Chemins de fer du Nord et de l'Ouest, 1897. Creator: Gray (Boulanger), Henri (1858-1924)
Le Treport-Mers. Chemins de fer du Nord et de l'Ouest, 1897. Private Collection

La plage de Saint-Quentin, 1897. Creator: Bac, Ferdinand (1859-1952)
La plage de Saint-Quentin, 1897

Antibes, ca 1928. Creator: Broders, Roger (1883-1953)
Antibes, ca 1928. Private Collection

A young athletic woman using a stand-up paddle-board in a calm bay of Hawaii, United States of America, Pacific

Champagne in Endell Street open air swimming pool for the 500, 000th visitor since it opened in 1946, who is Ann Reeve. 17th June 1957

Simone Silva (left) and Harriette Johns, actress stars of play Meet Mr. Callaghan at the Garrick Theatre in London, enjoy a day off at Brighton Beach in Sussex, Saturday 26th April 1952

Sunbathers, Gower Peninsula, Swansea, Wales, 13th July 1990

Barbara Windsor, Actress, 7th July 1976. Pictured, taking a break from an unusual role for her, she plays Maria in Shakespeares Twelfth Night at the Festival Theatre in Chichester, Sussex

Miss World contestants go for a swim at the Butlins Hotel, Margate. The girls are relaxing before the final tomorrow. 13th October 1957

The Oasis Lido Pool, Endell Street, London was almost crowded to capacity with men and women sunbathing. August 1953 D5086

As Merseyside bathed in sunshine, two Wirral fashion and photographic models have been ordered to cover up. This summer, their bathing suits may get wet, but their skins must not get tanned

Filming on the new series of the BBC comedy programme Monty Pythons Flying Circus at Walton On Thames. Actor John Cleese dressed in a bikini poses with five other girls wearing bikinis alongside

Beauty contest girls playing on the beach at Torquay, Devon. 7th September 1960

Woman wearing swimming costume. 1955

Miss World Competition, Lyceum Ballroom, London, Friday 19th November 1965. Miss United Kingdom - Lesley Langley - is crowned Miss World

Maria Stevens, Beauty Queen and reigning Miss Aston Villa, aged 21 from Edgbaston, Birmingham, 5th April 1985

Maria Stevens, Beauty Queen and regional winner of Miss Hawaiian Tropic competition, 13th July 1948

The Miss Tyne Tees Television beauty contest at Tynemouth Open Air Swimming Pool 24 July 1971 - Winner Lynne Charlton, is crowned by Roderick Griffiths of Tyne Tees Television

Jennifer Gurley wins title of Miss UK at Blackpool. She is a fashion model and already Miss England. 22nd of August, 1967.Jennifer Gurley wins title of Miss UK at Blackpool

Aileen Kearney (right) and her friend Marjorie Greenhalgh throwing a bucket of water over photographer Cyril Maitland during the weekend heat wave at Butlins holiday camp in Ayr, Scotland

Wallsend Swimming Baths re-opens after an extensive modernisation. 28th July 1980

Swimwear collection by Tweka showing nineteenth century latest 1969 and space style 1990

Miss Brighton beauty queen semi-finals Holiday Princess 1974

George Best football goes jogging on a beach in California

George Best Football player - May 1986 at age 40 wearing just shorts and a towel round his neck

A couple of girls have some fun on the sandy beach at Clacton on sea, Essex 22nd July 1946. Slimming exercises on the sands at Clacton on Sea

Beauty contest girls playing tug of war on the beach at Weston-Super-Mare. 7th September 1960

Beach beauty girls sitting on a boat in Whitley Bay. 28th July 1960

Model wearing a bikini as she stands next to a cactus in Africa April 1975

Model wearing a bikini as she poses against a wall in Africa April 1975

Julie Alexander models the latest swimwear whilst on a sail ship in the channel. July 1957

A model wearing bikini swimwear bounces on a trampoline on a beach in the French Riviera. 2nd August 1961

Models Wendy and Jackie seen here modeling the latest in swimwear on a wet Oxford Street, London: Model Wendy wearing a bikini by Mitex

Blackpool Bathing Beauty competition today. Albert Modley who judged hear with the first three Angela Ryder of Sheffield (left) who was 3rd

Model Vyoyan Dunbar wearing a frilly bikini outfit. July 1965 P009023

Beauty contest girls playing on the beach at Ramsgate. 31st August 1960

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"Dive into the Past: A Fashionable Journey through Swimwear" In the pages of the vintage "Holiday Haunts guide book, 1947, " a young woman with a blindfold delicately balances on a diving board, capturing the essence of summer fun. Meanwhile, an admiring man aboard his boat gazes at model Carol Dwyer in her alluring swimming costume from afar. Fast forward to the vibrant 1960s, where surfers energetically run through crashing waves, their colorful swimwear reflecting their carefree spirit. Alongside them stands a woman on a beach, clad in an ankle-length swimming costume and holding a crab - an enchanting scene reminiscent of Tommaso Antongini's Journal des Dames et des Modes. The allure of water transcends time as showcased by Falbalas & Fanfreluches' Almanach des Modes Presentes, Passees et Futures from 1926. A handcoloured pochoir (stencil) etching portrays a woman immersed up to her ankles in the sea while donning an elegant swimsuit - capturing both grace and style. Moving continents to Newquay in June 1960, women body boarding amidst rolling surf paint an exhilarating picture of adventure and thrill. Their choice of swimwear reflects both functionality and fashion-forwardness. Witnessing four stages of swimmers performing rapid turns showcases not only athleticism but also how swimwear has evolved over time to enhance performance. From Australia's sunny shores in New South Wales to Sydney's bustling beaches, these athletes embody determination and skill. Glamour takes center stage as actress June Barry graces Hammersmith Pier in June 1960. Her radiant smile matches her stylish swimwear perfectly – epitomizing elegance against London's picturesque backdrop. Lastly, we encounter moments filled with laughter and joy as snorkel-clad men proudly present lobsters beside smiling women.