From the Amazon Files....

As the month of Swimwear draws to a close, I sincerely hope that at least one of these posts has helped one of you, whether it be with finding inspiration for your next suit, showing you different places you can buy your desired suit from, or just giving you a history lesson on what ladies wore to the beach/pool back in the day. These next two months to come will have completely different themes, so this will probably be the last time I go all out for the swimwear portion of summer. I hope that I was thorough enough to teach you a little something, show you something new, because after all, that is the point of this here blog. I said all that to say that I hope you've enjoyed these last few posts; exploring vintage swimwear has been loads of fun for me and it is my wish that it was fun for you as well. 

Vintage Bandeau Skirted Swimsuit, $31.56

I love this skirted swimsuit for multiple reasons. Firstly, I think the ombre print is interesting. Instead of it being the normal two color ombre as is the current trend, this is actually three different shades of blue. I love that it's a skirted suit rather than a suit with a separate swim skirt. I'm really digging the silhouette that the suit creates and I think the darker upper half along with the gathered material would help to disguise if the problem area is in the midsection, and I like that it could also pass for a cover-up dress. 

Vintage Poster of South Beach, 20"x 16", $9.99

A concept I've been digging lately is seasonal artwork. I'm a big fan of landscapes and season-oriented backgrounds, but I always wondered how they would look in my house. I'm also new to the concept of 'accent walls/spaces' in the home, and I just put the two together. A few things came together for me and the idea of using seasonally-based artwork in an accent space was born. Since I live in a desert, the beach artwork would answer a lot of decor things for me. Firstly, it would give me a perfect reason to put a piece up and having an accent space would give me the location to do so. Secondly, I can bring some vintage artwork into my home, which I've been looking to do for a long time. Third, a photo like this one would epitomize summer and having an accent space that speaks to the seasons and my love of vintage sounds like a lot of fun to decorate. This poster of South Beach in Miami is so well-done, it feels like you're there. Would be perfect on the wall. The price is fabtacular too. 

Women's Polka Dot Rockabilly Swimsuit,
$40

I have to admit that I fail to see how this suit is rockabilly, unless the polka dots and style of the neckline are what the shop owners consider the rockabilly style. To me, it seems like a mesh between '50s fashion and early to mid-century suits. I still like the suit; but I do have the worry of wedgies since this looks like cotton. lol It looks like a comfortable suit, love the polka dots, and I like the skinnier straps for this suit rather than the the thicker halter straps or the tube top style, which causes fear in me for exposure reasons. LOL

Retro Polka Dot Bathing Suit with Black Trim,
$20

I'm sort of surprised that I like this as a bathing suit. I love it as an everyday summer outfit, but normally I wouldn't wear this for a day in the water. I think it's cute and playful for regular wear, but it's almost too cute for me to get it wet. lol I also think those shorts would end up being a little longer than I'd prefer on me (I have stumps for legs) and I don't do long shorts for water time. Now if the shorts were shorter like the length on the suit above, then I'd probably be fine. Some cute Keds and a casual updo would make this a super fun (and sun-friendly) summer ensemble. 

Vintage Inspired High-Pointed Cat Eye Sunglasses, $5.61

You can never go wrong with a good pair of cat-eye sunglasses I say, but I think they create an even larger sense of glamour when wearing a pair while lounging by the pool or beach. I happen to think cat eyes are year-round essentials when it comes to accessories, but they're at their peak during the summertime. They're glam, these are super affordable, and I love the ombre tint to the bottom of the frames. Another thing I love about cat eyes is that because of the larger spaces in the frames, they're easily customizable. You can do gems, rhinestones, little flowers, whatever your heart desires, because there's enough space and if you buy them for cheap they won't be hard to replace if you make any mistakes. Which brings me to my next point, if you want a pair of cat eye sun shielders but you're on a severe budget like yours truly, I found my pair at my local Dollar Tree for--you got it--one buckaroo. $1.07 with tax. lol

Esther Williams Solid Vintage
Sheath Swimsuit, $76

It's pretty cool that the name of this shop was named after such a graceful swimmer. I feel like Esther Williams wore a similar suit in Bathing Beauty but even if she hadn't, I love this suit. It's sultry, silky, and I'm in love with this shade of red. The thicker halter straps go nicely with both the neckline and the style of the suit. I didn't get a look at the back, but I doubt its low. The more glamorous hairstyle also seems to agree with this suit. A pair of cat eye glasses with this would be so fab. 

Lindy Bop 1950s Miami Floral
Sarong Style Wiggle Dress, $55

This wiggle dress is so bootiful to me. It's funny, I'm not crazy about floral prints like this on a lot of clothing items. They remind me of sofas or shower curtains. But somehow, it really works on this dress. I think you could wear this to an outdoor summer event without it being too uncomfortable and I love the sarong style of the dress as well. This would be fantastico for a vintage festival. It's sexy without being stuffy, bright without being overwhelmingly busy, it has the added bonus of the ruffles on the side and hello--it's a wiggle dress! What's not to like?

Vintage Bandeau High Waisted Bikini, $15.75

I couldn't do a vintage swimwear post this month without featuring anything with a nautical/sailor theme, which brings me to this high waisted two piece suit. I would normally be a little self-conscious with such a small top, but I love that the bottoms are as large as they are. I also love the cut of the bottoms; they're not the typical high-waisted bikini bottom. They have this little skirt cut going on in the front that I really like as well. I'm not sure if the shop selling these is one of those where you get what's advertised or you'll end up with something different (it's sort of touch and go with some of the Amazon shops, a lot of trickery going on), but I still wanted to show off this bathing suit because I really liked it. Very simple but still cute. 

Sourpuss Berry Cute Gingham Top,
$30

I'm sure you're becoming acquainted with my love for gingham prints. Something cute about this little gingham shirt is the strawberry accenting and the tie on the back of the shirt. The buttons are described as a strawberry red and as you can see, there's a tiny little strawberry embroidered on the left side. You can go rockabilly or professional with the bottoms you choose to wear, and the lighter material is still appropriate for the warmer weather. 

$13.85 Paperback

Finally, I wanted to end the post on an educational note so I included this copy of Vintage Swimwear by Jill Salen. Unfortunately, I didn't see a digital copy of the book for those of you who prefer e-books, but the good thing is that with the physical copy, it'll be easier to make copies of certain patterns and you can make different notations in the book if necessary. This book covers swimwear patterns and techniques, so it's a bit of a history lesson in swimwear as it will not only show you these different patterns but it will also give you the tools necessary to make these things yourself. Sounds like an awesome book to me. 

And with that, our final Files for May has come to a close. This edition was sort of difficult as first because it is amazing how many imposters there are with their own Amazon shops and I had to be really careful not to accidentally feature one. I'm not 100% sure I was successful, but I'm quite sure of it. Fortunately, the Photoshop job on one shop in particular was so bad (and I recognized a few of the suits from the last couple of weeks) that they were either resellers or Internet shysters attempting to dupe the hell out of consumers. Watch out for that when shopping on these sites. Anyway, hope you're having a great Hump Day and I'll see you on Twitter tomorrow if you're watching Citizen Kane for TNT!