Walking into the Rochester Historical Society Museum, aka East Rochester Congregational Church, you can’t miss the mannequin poised at the edge of the altar. She’s pretty imposing and what you probably don’t realize is that you are looking at a “Bathing Beauty” who is ready to go to the beach and who has a connection to the railroads.
Our mannequin is dressed in a stylish bathing suit circa 1915. This style of suit with its
short sleeves and black stockings were considered daring compared to the original attire considered appropriate for women to wear to the beach. The stockings are important. There was a case of a woman arrested for removing hers before heading into the ocean.
The history of bathing suits goes back to the days of nude bathing for both men and women (sort of) in early Greece and Rome. However, in western civilizations into the 1700’s, swimming by anyone was considered “morally questionable”. By the 1800’s, women’s acceptable attire was cumbersome and even dangerous if the wearer actually went into the water. One of these suits would have been an ankle- length, long sleeved chemise style made of wool or flannel. These were the fabrics of choice because they were not see-through and therefore protected modesty.
During that same time period, men went from no suits to long sleeve tops with ankle-length pants all made of flannel to “keep the wearer warm in cold water”.
The bathing suit on our model was donated by Elizabeth (Bowen) Florindo and would have been worn just a few years before the focus for beach goers switched from “taking in the water” to “taking in the sun”. The evolution of the bathing suit picked up speed after form fitting one- piece suits were worn in the 1912 Olympics. This style moved into the public domain and helped usher in two-piece suits by the 1930’s and bikinis in 1947.
Oh, and the connection to railroads. The popularity of going to the beach began in the 1800’s when railroads made it easier to get to the ocean.
By Connie Eshbach
