I've been looking at what today's swimsuits are made of - elastene, lycra, spandex, nylon, polyester, microfibre, polyamide and cotton. I'm sure that there are multitudes of other fibres that I don't even know the names of. When I was little, in the 50s, the choice of swimsuit fabric was cotton or wool.
My parents used to take me to Balmoral beach. We had some friends with a car who drove us there and we would make a day of it in the shade of huge beautiful Moreton Bay fig trees.
Other families would also set up their picnics and enjoy the lovely surrounds. My family and friends had the most conservative massive cotton swimsuits but the Italian families weren't so shy. Whilst the mothers mostly hid under tent like structures their children ran about naked ( I was shocked) and the fathers who played soccer before plunging into the briny wore the equivalent of modern 'budgie smugglers'. Tiny little strips of, probably woollen fabric, that didn't always succeed in smuggling those budgies! My eyes were out on stalks!
Eventually, having had a good eyefull, we'd all go about having a wonderful day.
I had an assortment of swimmers over the years but the ones I remember most fondly were made of bright lipstick pink cotton, ruched with elastic at the top and with a big bouffy bit around the top of the legs. The pink faded fast, leaving only hidden nooks of bright pink to remind me of their former glory, the big bouffy bit would fill with air so that if I tried to dive my bum would be trapped at the surface of the water like a life buoy. After my swim the cossie (as we called it) would literally take hours to dry. I loved those swimmers nevertheless.
Our German friends and relatives would often send parcels and it was in one of those parcels I received another pair of swimmers ( I had grown out of the pink ones). This time the swimmers were blue and made of wool! When first put on they fitted quite snugly, however as soon as they got near water they would stretch impressively and become extremely heavy. They also had the ability to attract sand which added to the weight. I hated them but seeing we were so poor I had to wear them until I outgrew them. My mother even suggested I put them on wet so that they would fit a little longer. I probably wept and wailed at that suggestion.
At some stage I coveted Speedos. To my absolute delight I received a pair for my birthday. My mother didn't believe in buying things completely the right size - she figured I was growing so I needed something to grow into! Speedos were shaped and the pair I received made provision for a bit of boob. As I didn't have any boobs at the time I got the swimmers, I had to put up with two flappy bits of nylon fabric in the chest region. I was dreadfully embarrassed and remember that swimming season being artfully draped in towels.
As time went on and new fabrics such as nylon started being used in swimwear the drying time was considerably improved which made wearing them so much more comfortable. I had a variety of swimmers that I liked in the years that followed. One pair was navy blue at the bottom with blue and white stripes at the top. They also had a little belt. I thought them very stylish. Unfortunately they were of some type of knitted nylon that caught on absolutely everything so that the once smooth fabric ended up having threads poking out all over, especially around the seat.
As I became older, bolder AND had a bit of my own money I bought myself some bikinis. Those were the days of perky boobs and tight tummy and bottom, so I looked pretty good, if I do say so myself.
Since then everything on my poor old body has slipped downhill and swimmers have become functional and a chore to buy. I can, however, reminisce about the good times and I'll never forget my bright pink cotton favourites.
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