Wool swimsuits once dragged swimmers down when wet
Swimsuits exist for swimming, surfing, diving or sunbathing, and sometimes layer under wetsuits. Styles swing with modesty norms and fashion. Before the 1930s, typical suits were wool—baggy when dry and heavy once soaked—before stretch fabrics changed the silhouette.
Classical swimmers went naked; Roman murals show women exercising in two-piece outfits that resemble bikinis, but no image links them to swimming. Other traditions swam in everyday undergarments such as the Japanese fundoshi loincloth. Britain had no national ban on nude bathing until 1860, and Bath set its own rules: a 1737 order required males over ten to wear drawers and a waistcoat and women a decent shift. In 1687 Celia Fiennes described ladies at Bath in stiff yellow canvas gowns with huge sleeves that ballooned in the water to hide their shape. Men's drawers, or caleçons, spread in the 1860s despite protests from those who wanted to keep swimming nude.
Materials transformed the garment. Rayon produced tighter suits in the 1920s but fell apart when wet. Latex and nylon arrived in the 1930s, and nylon's quick drying let suits cling to the body. Spandex joined nylon in the 1960s for a snug fit, though chlorine degrades it, and durable but less stretchy polyester is gaining ground. Some makers now spin recovered fishnets and shoreline plastic into fabric.
Colour affects safety: blue, white or grey suits can almost vanish underwater, while solid blocks of neon pink or orange are easiest for lifeguards to spot. For warm-water diving above 25 °C, spandex dive skins guard against jellyfish, sunburn and scrapes. Racing suits use low-drag fabrics, and in July 2009 World Aquatics banned non-textile suits from 2010, limiting men's coverage to navel-to-knee and women's to shoulder-to-knee. Swimmers also train in loose drag suits to build endurance.
Rules and customs vary. French public pools require close-fitting trunks for hygiene, and doctors warn that lingering in wet swimwear breeds infections. The full-coverage burkini, called a Sharia swimsuit in Egypt, serves Muslim women seeking modest swimwear.
Source: Swimsuit
