1910 - 1919

The swimsuits of this decade were the most revealing swimsuits yet. They were much tighter fitted and even exposed some of their skin.

Origin - The swimsuits from 1910 - 1919 evolved from the previous decades swimsuits. They had even less fabric to make them even more practical. Water sports became more popular to women. They needed better outfits for these activities. Although the swimsuits had a lot less material they still covered a lot of the woman’s skin. Women were progressing and becoming less conservative with their clothing so the amount of skin shown was more acceptable than it would have been even ten years ago.

Purpose - These new swimsuits made it much easier for women to participate in water sports. These swimsuits were much less restricting than the previous ones. They did not have a lot of excess material. These new swimsuits allowed women to participate in water sports. It gave them an opportunity to do the same activities as the men of the decade.

Value - This new type of swimsuit represents women’s progress in society. Women were doing more and more of the same things as men. They were doing the same jobs as the men and the swimsuits allowed them to do the same fun activities as the men. Women were also wearing less conservative clothing during this time. During this decade the women’s suffrage movement was a very big part of society. These swimsuits are only one example of the changes and progress that women made during this decade.

Limitations - Knowing the purpose of the new swimsuit and how it had changed can tell us a lot about the women’s rights movement during this decade. The swimsuits themselves cannot tell us the reactions people had to these swimsuits. People could have had bad reactions to the swimsuits, they could have had good reactions to the swimsuits, or the reactions could have been in between. The swimsuits cannot tell us this. We can connect the swimsuits to the women’s rights movement but the swimsuits can’t tell us the effect that the swimsuits had on the movement. The swimsuits can tell us a lot but they can’t tell us everything.