This Is What Mid-Century Women's Swimwear Looked Like
Actor Natalie Wood sits on a swing wearing a leopard-print bikini and a red scarf in 1959.
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A young woman at the seashore in 1956.
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A model wears a gray V-midriff swimsuit by Claire McCardell in an April 1945 issue of Vogue.
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Three women pose on the beach outside the Idlewild Club House in Idlewild, Michigan, in 1938.
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Actor Jane Russell sits by the side of a swimming pool, circa 1950.
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A woman models a knitted swimsuit by the ocean, circa 1935.
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A pair of women (left) lounge poolside at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore on July 19, 1947. A young woman (right) strikes a pose at a swimming pool, circa 1940.
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Actor Jayne Mansfield models a swimsuit in 1953.
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A group of women lie out by the pool with anti-tan masks, circa 1950.
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Actor Ann Miller (left) poses beside a swimming pool, circa 1950. Janet Leigh (right), also an actor, poses while leaning against a patio chair in the 1950s.
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Actor Dona Drake, in a two-piece swimsuit, takes aim with a rifle on the balcony of her home in 1942.
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A pair of women model the latest style of swimming hat in 1954.
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Singer and film star Dorothy Dandridge relaxes in the sunshine on the French Riviera as she prepares for a swim during the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.
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A young woman on a French beach, circa 1935.
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Actor Mitzi Gaynor poses by a swimming pool in a green swimsuit, circa 1955.
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Members of the Apex Barber and Beauty School in Philadelphia enjoy a day at the beach in 1959.
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A group of women in London walk down the street in the latest beachwear fashions in 1946.
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Actor and Olympic swimmer Esther Williams poses at the edge of a swimming pool, circa 1945.
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Actor Joan Crawford (left) poses on a diving board during the 1930s. A woman (right) poses on the beach outside the Idlewild Club House in 1938.
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Czech figure skater and actor Vera Ralston models while reclining on a diving board over a swimming pool, circa 1945.
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A group of women in swimsuits walks along the promenade in Eastbourne, UK, 1935.
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