1930s / 1940s ? Lastex swimsuit

[melanostalgia]

I was hoping someone might be able to help me date this lovely swimsuit. I keep finding ads (see below) ranging from the late 30s to early 50s - all of which somewhat similar to my suit (I'm looking at the combination of lastex /shirring + cut open back). Since the suit is completely unlined I think it is more likely to be late 30, but I'm really not sure. The suit has no company label, only a "incorporating Lastex yarn" label. The actual color is a bit more green.

I was also wondering if anyone has an idea about the strange slit opening in the back. It looks very odd to me, yet there is no indication of the opening ever having been closed. There is back stitching at the end of the seam with the original thread and no indication of there ever having been a zipper, for instance.

1937, thanks to Glamoursplash

 

[Pinkcoke]

Hi, you may like to read about three ruched elastic swimsuits I found a while ago:
late 1930s Peter Pan turquoise satin ruched swimsuit
late 1930s Peter Pan red cotton 'towelling' ruched swimsuit
1950s Martin White rose print hourglass ruched cotton swimsuit

I do believe your swimsuit is from the 1930's. My two above are also unlined. The blue one has the same fully ruched seat and is closed until the waist, the Martin White, ruched with a small section at the base of the back not elasticated. Both are quite the feat to get into, as the widest part of your body (the hips) has to get through the smallest part of the suit (the waist), so I rather suspect yours was undone at this point for the purpose of inserting a zip to make it easier. The owner could have stitched this edge in preparation for this.
The difference between the 1930's and the 1950's examples are the later versions tend to have cup shaping or lining. You can see my 1950's example is fully lined inside and has built in bra cups.

 

[melanostalgia]

I rather suspect yours was undone at this point for the purpose of inserting a zip to make it easier. The owner could have stitched this edge in preparation for this.

Thanks for your input Melanie, and yes I had already seen your lovely suits! They were also one of the reasons I was tending towards 30's.

The back slit was left open by the manufacturer, I can tell because of the thread that has been used to back stitch the end of the seam. It seems logical that there would have been a zipper in it, but the fabric is completely intact - no stitch holes! But maybe this fabric just recovered very well and therefore did not leave any holes?

 

[Pinkcoke]

That's quite possible, the more open the weave the easier it is to remove the holes with a little rubbing.

Can you show some photos of this opening and the stitching please? Btw I'm assuming the elasticated fabric meets in the middle of the back, there is enough fabric there yes?

 

[retro ruth]

Thanks for your input Melanie, and yes I had already seen your lovely suits! They were also one of the reasons I was tending towards 30's.

The back slit was left open by the manufacturer, I can tell because of the thread that has been used to back stitch the end of the seam. It seems logical that there would have been a zipper in it, but the fabric is completely intact - no stitch holes! But maybe this fabric just recovered very well and therefore did not leave any holes?

Could it have had poppers, or even hooks and eyes? Zips weren't very common in the 1930s. There would be less stitching to show with poppers.

 

[melanostalgia]

Okay I have to correct myself! Now that I gave it another inspection I noticed that I missed something I don't know how I could have missed. On the other side of the seam the thread has a different color! (meaning they used a different color for the top and bottom thread). It seems this is the case for most of the seams, but not all. I also noticed that the seams have been stitched with the legs already hemmed. In other words: It seems someone has restitched almost the entire swimsuit! The thread on one side matches the original thread exactly so I never suspected anything! I really have to inspect more thoroughly

 

[Pinkcoke]

It sounds as though they have changed the entire size.