I realize that I'm about 10 days late for this month's Vintage Spotlight. I've been going back and forth on what I wanted to do for this month's Spotlight and vintage-inspired swimwear was originally the idea I had, but then I scrapped that because I wanted to do a history lesson sort of post on vintage swimwear like the one I'd done with the hair last year. But after I got started I realized I'd gotten in over my head; right now I just don't have the time....or energy....to give the post the research attention it needed because I've been working a lot more on the design changes to come, so I had to backburner it for later in the summer when I have a bit more free time.
So now I'm back at my original concept, which, admittedly, was a lot more fun to research. This Spotlight is more of a guide for beginners who want to bring a little vintage into their swimwear and don't know where to look. I also want to include some vintage candids and swimwear pics if you just want a little inspiration. It's sort of funny to me that I'm making this post now because I have to admit that I was late on the bus for retro swimwear. As I've mentioned a couple of times, I used to hate older swim/beachwear but I found some styles that I really liked a few years ago and I've been hooked ever since. Let's get started!
*Note: I claim no ownership to any of the photos from the companies featured in this post.*
1. Pinup Girl Clothing
Pinup Girl is one of my favorite vintage repro sites. All of their designs are so classy and put a bit of a modern touch on vintage wear, which I love. I can't afford the clothes, but a girl can dream. LOL All of their clothes, swimwear included, are plus-size friendly and the swimwear is both flattering to one's figure and varied in terms of style/print. They also feature swimwear from different companies, some of which you'll see later in this post. Here are some of my favorite pieces.
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Pin Up Pink & White Polka Dotted
Bikini, $75 |
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Bettie Swimsuit in Black Cherry,
$78 |
The latter bathing suit also comes with a matching swim skirt that is so fetching and would be adorable to wear when not in the water. Now that I'm an older (ha!) broad and realize that not all dimples are good dimples--hint hint--I'm much more willing to wear a sarong or towel when not in the water. Why not go with a cute-and matching-cover up? I'm a sucker for polka dots anyway, but the ruched waist in the bottoms would probably disguise any bloating and flatter my figure even though the bottoms end at my problem areas. Pinup Girl has an awesome selection of both swim and everyday wear and their catalog is definitely worth checking out.
2. Unique Vintage
Unique Vintage is another of those shops that I love digital window shopping at, the prices aren't quite as much fun but life goes on lol, but the clothes are amazing. Like Pinup Girl, said compliment extends to the swimwear, which has a lot of really fun prints and styles. There is a wide range of swimwear options on this site and they too are plus-size friendly.
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1950s Pin Up Style Polka Dotted
One Piece Bathing Suit, $78 |
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| Red & Leopard Open Back Halter One Piece, $102 |
I love this polka dot suit, but I put it up here because I liked the style. The skirt style of the bottom is flattering to the figure and would keep the tops of the thighs covered if it was just a little longer. I didn't think I'd like the second suit, but after getting another look at it I've decided I love it. The front is cute but simple, but the back of it is what sold me. There's a strip of red double ruffling across the bum and two red straps on the lower portion of the back. It's super cute and not like every other swimsuit.
3. ModCloth
ModCloth is my ish. Just about all of my past Vintage Ensembles come from there and it was the first repro site I found after I discovered vintage. Their clothes have a modern touch of quirkiness that agrees with me, even though, yet again, their prices do not. In case it has not already become evident, I am not only on a fixed income, but I'm cheap. LOL But anyway, I love going to ModCloth because I think the clothes have a touch of both modern and vintage in them, and I like the variety of styles in both everyday and swimwear. Again, these are plus-size friendly and made well; some of the suits are also good pieces if you just intend to spend the day by the beach and not get wet.
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Queen Bay One-Piece Swimsuit,
$80 |
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Blue Gingham Party Pool Picnic Swimsuit,
$50 (clicking on the photo will take you to
the page for the top only) |
Now this first suit is why I said that some of the pieces were practical as well as water-friendly; I probably wouldn't wear this for a day of straight swimming as the shoulders would probably be a little confining for me once they got wet. But if I was going to have a day by the pool or beach and might dip my toes in the water later, I'd probably wear something like the Queen Bay swimsuit. I think it would look great with a maxi skirt or sarong. I love the second one because I've always been a sucker for a good gingham print. The wooden buttons were a unique touch, and I like that the bottoms are high waisted for this type of print as well.
4. Babygirl Boutique
This is a site I've stumbled on a few times over the years but never really stopped to peruse for a long period of time. Of the sites I've seen so far, this one has the most categories and is probably the most extensive collection of bathing suits I've seen yet. Something I found especially awesome is that in addition to the repro suits, there is also a smaller collection of authentic vintage swimwear. I don't often see original pieces that aren't in really bad shape due to wear and tear, so that was pretty cool to see. The site itself is pretty extensive and accommodating to the pinup, rockabilly and even psychobilly styles.
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High Waist Nautical Swimsuit with Polka Dot Push-Up
Bikini Top, $50 |
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1950s DeWeese Pinup Bullet Bra
Maillot Swimsuit in Black, $130 |
The suit on the left is a more modern twist on the nautical theme and I love the buttons going down the sides. For some reason I think the angle of the buttons makes the bottoms more flattering. Is that weird? I also like the difference in pattern from the waistband to the rest of the bottoms; I hate the 'long butt' effect in high-waisted bottoms and the printed waistband sort of detracts from that. I'm not usually one for different patterns in one suit, but the polka dots and stripes seem to go well for this outfit. The second suit is an authentic piece from the '50s, bullet-style bra and all. It's figure flattering and looks to be in good condition. Love it.
5. Miss Rockabella
I recently found this swimwear company through Twitter and I'd seen a couple of their designs on Pinup Girl Clothing, so I went to check them out and fell in love with the bathing suit on the left. What I like about these swimsuits is that they're not the regular high-waisted bikini bottoms, they're more like short shorts than anything else. Currently, there are three brands featured on the site and I believe more products from each line are still being added. Each of them have the vintage feel you'll be looking for, but they have a bit more sass than some of the other brands and I like that. By the by, the prices below are converted from euros so if you do decide to buy anything, keep that conversion calculator nearby!
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Lucille Bikini Top & Dottie Bikini
Bottoms by Sugar Doll, $83 and $84
(this link is to the page for the bottoms
only) |
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Merry Meadows Bikini Top & Poppy
Bikini Bottoms, $102 and $70
(this link will take you to the page for the
bottoms) |
I saw the Lucille/Dottie set and fell all the way in love. It'll keep my problem areas covered, love the tiny gingham-like print on the top and the thicker halter straps, adore the simpler bottoms and the fact that they're more shorts than regular bikini bottoms. But the Merry Meadows/Poppy set grew on me immediately after I saw it as well; I like the smaller floral print with the darker pattern in back and the red accent on the top. I also like the silhouette it creates. I wonder how tight it is, though.
6. Retro Swimwear
I just found this shop while prepping for the post and I've loved the majority of the suits I've seen; the style of most of the suits veered more toward the rockabilly side of the spectrum. Something that I liked about this shop is that there's a section with site-curated suggestions for first-time shoppers. Each piece is custom handcrafted and the entire line is plus-size friendly as well. Unfortunately, after I did some checking I saw that their Twitter has been inactive since 2011 and as of last summer, they were not taking any orders so I believe the company is now defunct, which is a shame because their swimsuits were awesome. I still wanted to show off the suits though, so here are a couple of them that I favored.
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| Skull Print Halter Swimdress |
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Peggy Sue Gingham Retro Halter Swimsuit
Top & Hipster Bikini Bottoms |
The swimdress on the left side is a plus-size suit but I still thought it was super cute. It definitely has that darker rockabilly feel to it, it hits a decent length on the thigh, and isn't too tight. It's also playful and covered enough so you can wear it out of the water without needing an additional cover up garment. I went back to gingham for this second suit, firstly because like I said earlier, I just love gingham print. I also like it because of the style of the top. The bottoms are lower waisted and you'd definitely need a cover up for it if you're out of the water, but I thought it was cute, simple and can either be modern or vintage.
7. Amazing Vegas Fashions
This is a cute little shop I found on Etsy (did you really think I was gonna do a fashion post and leave that goldmine out??) that specializes in vintage-inspired repro swimwear. I like this shop because although the vintage silhouette is intact, it's sexier without showing a great deal of skin. The shop is still a bit small right now, but these pieces are handmade so I don't expect there to be a massive amount of products just yet. Here are two suits that jumped out at me.
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| Colorful Retro High Waisted Pinup Swimsuit, $45 |
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| 3-in-1 Retro/Rockabilly High Waisted Swimsuit, $45 |
I love the style of the first suit and the versatility that it's willing to accommodate. If I want to do something more modern and wear my bottoms low-rise, I can. If I want to wear them high waisted, I can do that without having to buy another pair of bottoms. If I want to change the bottoms and do something different, I can do that as well. I like all three variations of the bottom. The second suit reminds me of both summer and the '70s with the different colors and style of the bottoms. The colors chosen for the suit are light and playful and suit the style they were chosen for.
8. Concetta's Closet
This was another of the shops I found on Etsy and while swimwear isn't the primary category that the shop carries, I did like a lot of the pieces that were for sale. These are authentic pieces from the '50s--'70s, so I'm sure upkeep of the suits will probably be slightly different than today's suits. I admit I don't know much about vintage swimwear material and how it holds up. I wonder if they'll be adding more suits to the collection in the future.
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| Vintage '50s Elisabeth Bikini, $218 |
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Vintage '60s Bathing Suit--July's Girl,
$68 |
I'm not normally a huge fan of one-piece suits. I might make an exception for suits like the Queen Bay one from ModCloth or the July's Girl suit here, but usually I try not to wear them. I have fears of my bum hanging out the back, wedgies galore and cameltoe taking up residence. I've also never worn a one-piece with an actual belt before, so I found this kind of interesting but I do wonder if it would be uncomfortable. I like the second because it's more subtle in color, more casual in style, and again, problem areas are covered. I love that it's an original from the '50s but I wonder why it's so expensive compared to the July's Girl. I still like it, though.
This was a fun Spotlight to put together. I know I've been slacking on those posts but they're in draft, waiting for me to finish them and if I ever get the time and I'm feeling okay, I fully intend to finish all of them. I have some fun Spotlights for this summer that I really hope you enjoy--and don't worry, I'll do those on time. LOL I figured with summer on the way, May was the perfect time to bring some attention to swimwear if you're a newbie to vintage and haven't learned where to look for or purchase appropriate water-friendly garments. I suppose this was more a Vintage Spotlight on companies that offer vintage-inspired swimwear rather than the swimwear itself, but regardless I hope you were able to find some color/style inspiration for your bathing suits!
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