image from Esther Williams Vintage Swimsuits
Well now that I’m here at the beach and far away from my sewing machine, the quest towards my own handmade swimsuit has taken a turn. I bought a suit at Target to have for vacation, and I do like it, but now I’m all invested in the process of making a suit. So I’m browsing online sources for vintage suits and patterns.
The thing about true vintage suits is that they are made of silk, cotton or maybe polyester. Not the most comfortable swimwear, if you plan on actually swimming. And therefore the patterns used to make these vintage suits, though I could buy one, I couldn’t use it directly to make a suit with current swimwear fabrics. So the best I can do I search both for images of vintage suits, and then images of vintage inspired suits to see where I can add elements like shirring and ruffles to create the illusion of a vintage suit. Here are some modern suits with the vintage feel that I’ve been using for inspiration.
Esther Williams Vintage Style Swim Suit
Vintage Inspired Tuxedo Suit by Stepankalicious
And here is a huge collection of actual vintage suits, which are awesome, but I would never actually try to swim in from a site called Glamoursurf.
oK, I just bought one of those Esther Williams vintage swimsuits. It is irresistable! I’ll bring it to Ohio when I come next and you can study it.
-Ellie