I recently received a box in the mail that made Christmas look like a second-rate holiday. Reader June Lepidow had written and asked If I’d like a pair of 1950s clam diggers and a pair of jeans from the 1940s. Well, of course I would.
When the box arrived I was shocked to also find the above swimsuit, and early 1950s skirt and an Hawaiian print halter dress from the early 1960s. That June really knows how to pack a box!
The label in the swimsuit was Surf Togs. That little R in a circle means that the trademark is registered, so I was able to locate the information about the company in the US Patent and Trademark Office website. The name dates from 1933 as a maker of knit swimwear. They were located in New Rochelle, New York and was owned by Jacob Soloman.
I love the lines of silver lurex. I do think a bit of effort could have been made in matching the check.
The inside structure consists of metal boning, which you can see has begun to rust, and which has poked a hole in the fabric. The use of metal in a swimsuit is quite puzzling, but a suit like this one is probably more suited to pool and ocean-side lounging, rather than actual swimming.
I’ve written before about how bathing suits from the 1950s were styled much in the same manner as a sundress. Just visualize a long circle skirt with the top of this suit. A lot of vintage sewing patterns for bathing suits show a coordinating skirt or shorts. You could go to the beach wearing the bathing suit with the skirt over it and not have to worry about finding a changing room.
With this bathing suit you might have worn these clam diggers. The gingham is not the same, of course, but the color is very similar. This piece was another of the gift from June. According to her, all the clothes came from the same woman, so maybe these pieces were worn together at one time.
Sometimes, it is all about the details.
The Vintage Traveler 