Our Friday Find: Picture this: it is 97 degrees out, sweat is pouring down your back, the sun has beating down all day. You decide to go to the Long Lake Beach and have a nice dip in the cool lake so you shed your clothes and put on…your wool bathing suit?
This photo taken in the late 1920s shows the throngs at Long Lake in their finest swimwear. Believe it nor not, swimming for recreation was just starting to be popular round this time. Resorts, like the Long Lake area, were being created all over the United States.
Bathing suits were made of wool, in part, because it was available. Cotton would sag once it was wet, even if tightly woven, and wool would be stretchier. But, as you can imagine, it became very heavy when wet – not ideal for swimming. Silk, taffeta, and jersey fibers might also be used. Gradually synthetic fibers became the preferred material providing more comfort and fashion. Interestingly, natural fibers are again being used in the manufacture of swimwear in the name of sustainability and eco-friendliness. Just please don’t make us wear bloomers with full-length stockings! And, sorry, but few men could pull this little number in our collection off.
Long Lake’s heyday was in the late 1920s, as this photograph shows. With the building of the camps, city folk would come to spend summers in Littleton taking advantage of cooler air and the lake. On a nice summer day, hundreds of people would gather to enjoy our little “resort.” The photo of the cars parked is at the end of Beach Road. The town better not get any ideas to turn that back into parking. Don’t make me regret posting that picture!
- Gayann Tricarico BarbellaI have one my mom gave me!!
- CV VirtueI do historical costume and have worn wool in the summer. It can be quite comfortable — think a lighter weight suit wool, for example.Margaret GeanisisI love these Friday posts.Kristen KiKi DonahueWow. This is so cool thank you for sharing this!!Judy WarnerI remember wearing a wool bathing suit in the 1940s