Q&A: Vintage Men’s Swimsuits – 1930s, 1940s, 1950s | The Vintage Dancer

Today's post Q&A: Vintage Men’s Swimsuits – 1930s, 1940s, 1950s from Vintage Dancer.

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Daniel asked: I was just wondering, I know what ladies used during the 30’s-40’s (swimming suits). But what did the men use?

Let’s take a brief look at vintage men’s swimsuits by decade:

1930s Vintage Men’s Swimsuits:

While the 1920s swimsuit was a one piece tank top and shorts, the 1930s embraced the change to the swim trunks. The strong, superman body, ideal of the 1930s made a man’s torso something to show off at the pool or beach. Short swim shorts made that happen. Most were made of a wool knit that was roomy around the front bug snug at the leg holes and backside. Wide horizontal stripe were common in colors of brown and yellow, yellow and blue, red and tan, black and gold, blue and white and green and gray. Solid of colors of blue or black were the most common.A white cotton belt with metal clasp held the short in place. As the decade progressed short became shorter into a high waisted brief and fit a little less room in the front.

1930 men’s one piece vintage swimsuit with striped top and black shorts.

1937 Mens Swim Trunks- hello soperman!

1940s Vintage Men’s Swimsuits:

1940 Men’s Swim Briefs

1940s men’s swim briefs continued to be the trend for the beach or pool. Many were simply rib-knit wool. However, rayon ‘Lastex’ fabric, which utilized spandex for stretch (and dried much faster than wool!) was coming into use, eventually replacing wool and cotton altogether. They were very high in the waist and had low-cut legs as well. Colors were usually dark – navy, hunter green, blue and maroon. Some had little patch or zippered pockets on the front and a thin fabric belt.

1947 Swim Shorts

Swim trunks were rising in popularity during the ‘40s. The shorts were made with cotton and had an elastic waist. They were also worn with a high waist and were cut straight, coming to mid-thigh. Trunks were usually in the same colors as briefs, but were also made in loud tropical prints. They were worn with a matching short-sleeved button-up shirt.

1948 Men’s Bathing Suits

1949 Men’s swimming shorts and briefs

1950s Vintage Men’s Swimsuits:

In the 1950s brief swim shorts were still in fashion but the most popular seller were the knee boxer length swim shorts. The idea was they looked like men’s walking shorts so that would be worn with a matching shirt at any beach side resort and not be under-dressed. The shorts had pleated on the side so they fit offered more leg room. Some had zipped flys but most had elastic waist bands. They came in any length from no leg brief to long Bermuda length called swim-walkers. All bright colors and tropical prints were trendy.

So many varieties of 1950s swim shorts

Men’s Swim shorts and Women’s Shorts were not too different from each other.

Reversible print swim shorts

Have a question for Q&A Fridays? Comment below or contact me via email. Each week I will select a question and post the answer to the blog here. Have a great weekend!

PS. Vintage men’s swimsuits are coming back in fashion. Here are some options:

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