European Bathing, Beach & Swimwear
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of over 80 items of European bathing, beach and swimwear dating from 1900 to the present day.
Bathing became popular during the 1800s, not only for health, but also as a leisure activity. During the late 1800s and early 1900s appropriate clothing was developed that allowed Victorians and Edwardians to dress decently respectably while having freedom of movement to swim, such as the red-and-white striped man's and woman's two-piece bathing costumes. Over the following century the design of swimwear has evolved, from knitted bathing suits made by Meridian and Jantzen in the 1920s and 1930s through early synthetic fibres in the 1940s and 1950s to cutting edge technical fabrics found in today’s competitive sports wear and sun protective clothing. In the early 2000s new designs were introduced that that allow swimmers to dress modesty, such as the burqini® made by Ahiida.
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