Sixties swimwear

[Thom]

On DVD, I've been watching a TV series from a few years ago called "Mad Men." It's set in the sixties. They had a scene at a swimming pool in Southern California. They showed boys wearing square cuts. Even though this series was made about eight years ago, the 60s period detail is very accurate. Back then, when I was in high school, I had a friend who had a sunga style suit that laced up the sides. He looked hot, and I wanted one. I had a square cut. It was stretch material but very heavy--not light like lycra. In 1968, I bought my first Speedo. Also in the sixties, I remember seeing ads for very brief mens swimwear (well, two inch sides maybe. Very brief for back then), small ads at the back of of my mother's women's magazines like Better Homes and Gardens. Go figure.

[blueflinch]

That's cool, Thom. Wasn't Jantzen a popular brand of men's swimwear in the 50s and 60s? They seem to have done a lot of print ads anyway, and they suits seem to be square-cut. Attractive, but a little high-waisted for modern tastes. I imagine the actors on Mad Men would be modelling something similar to a Jantzen suit, if not an actual Jantzen suit?

[SEASPEEDO]

I had a Jantzen suit in the midsixties. It was black with a white “waist band” but only in the front of the suit. As I remember, it was a little high waisted too.

[blueflinch]

I had a Jantzen suit in the midsixties. It was black with a white “waist band” but only in the front of the suit. As I remember, it was a little high waisted too.

Cool! I use to think the models and the suits were so sexy when I saw pictures. Obviously, I led a ridiculously sheltered life for many years. The most pornographic thing I ever saw were male models in underwear/swimwear.

[PNWGuy]

My recollection of 1960s men's swimwear is that we all wore what today would be called square cut suits. There really wasn't much choice at the time. I do recall that one year I purchased a suit that was more like Tarzan's breechcloth, but with a built-in undergarment to protect one's modesty. A high school friend and I both had them, purchased in our small-town "department store." The 1960s were my elementary, middle school, and early high school years.

[BozeHawk]

They were a tad high waisted in the '60s.

Jantzen-Swimsuits.jpg (31.42 KiB) Viewed 9538 times

[blueflinch]

Something so wholesome about the sexy pin-ups of the 50s and 60s, no? And even the 70s and 80s. Of course, it was all make-believe. Just like today. But the "sexy yet wholesome" fantasy (Flipper, Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, etc) is very compelling. The dads in all these shows were always so sexy. Not like real-life dads at all. I reckon they made half these shows for the bored middle-aged women at home watching. (Eye candy for sexually frustrated mums).

[BJE]

I remember this sort of men’s swim suits from the sixties and early seventies. As I recall everyone wore them. I remember old pictures and home movies of my dad and grandpa waterskiing in this type of suit. Yes they were high waisted and had a lower cut on the leg. They also were really thick but nevertheless the bulge was still visible and nobody freaked out over it.

[Thom]

That's cool, Thom. Wasn't Jantzen a popular brand of men's swimwear in the 50s and 60s? They seem to have done a lot of print ads anyway, and they suits seem to be square-cut. Attractive, but a little high-waisted for modern tastes. I imagine the actors on Mad Men would be modelling something similar to a Jantzen suit, if not an actual Jantzen suit?

So far in the series, only teens are wearing square cut suits. The adults seem to be wearing the really awful boxers of that era. I think I had one Jantzen suit (without the belt) when I was in high school. It was stretch, but the fabric was heavy almost like canvas. As I've posted somewhere before, my Scandinavian relatives were wearing speedo cut suits in the sixties when I visited there. And they had the bodies to wear them. I didn't have any swimwear when I visited, so they dragged out some plaid boxers and said that they kept them for their visiting American relatives.

[Thom]

Something so wholesome about the sexy pin-ups of the 50s and 60s, no? And even the 70s and 80s. Of course, it was all make-believe. Just like today. But the "sexy yet wholesome" fantasy (Flipper, Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, etc) is very compelling. The dads in all these shows were always so sexy. Not like real-life dads at all. I reckon they made half these shows for the bored middle-aged women at home watching. (Eye candy for sexually frustrated mums).

Your knowledge of American TV astounds me.

There was a short-lived sixties show set in California (where else...) first called The Aquanauts and then Malibu Run. It followed the adventures of two SCUBA divers, and I thought their wet suits were hot.

[blueflinch]

Your knowledge of American TV astounds me.

American TV IS Australian TV and American music IS Australian music. We import all our culture from you guys!

[landoffrozensheep]

Your knowledge of American TV astounds me.

American TV IS Australian TV and American music IS Australian music. We import all our culture from you guys!

And we import ours from Australia and the US, (when UK tv isn't making cringeworthy ultra low budget remakes that is...Hence why I don't want broadcast TV....)

[diveguy]

American TV IS Australian TV and American music IS Australian music. We import all our culture from you guys!

Unfortunate in that it explains why the majority of your young men now wear long baggie "bordies" instead of speedos. That part of American "culture" should never have been allowed to pollute practically every speedo-friendly nation on Earth.

[blueflinch]

Unfortunate in that it explains why the majority of your young men now wear long baggie "bordies" instead of speedos. That part of American "culture" should never have been allowed to pollute practically every speedo-friendly nation on Earth.

Did boardies start in America? I know Billabong is an Aussie brand and boardies are associated with surfers. I thought Aussie surfing culture might have something to do with boardie dominance in the 90s? Obviously, America sets global trends. Is surf culture big in America?

[rmf]

Birdwell board shorts started in Newport Beach CA in 1961. They are a two ply nylon similar to thin sail material. I use to have a pair of their lifeguard board shorts back in the late 80's for work and I think you either like them or hate them (because of how they feel) . They are indestructible - I am bummed that I got rid of them because I really did liked them for board shorts. At the time, Birdwell only made the shorter length which sat about 5" above the knee.

[Thom]

Birdwell board shorts started in Newport Beach CA in 1961. They are a two ply nylon similar to thin sail material. I use to have a pair of their lifeguard board shorts back in the late 80's for work and I think you either like them or hate them (because of how they feel) . They are indestructible - I am bummed that I got rid of them because I really did liked them for board shorts. At the time, Birdwell only made the shorter length which sat about 5" above the knee.

I still have a pair that I wore when I was a kid in the 70s. They never wear out.

[blueflinch]

Birdwell board shorts started in Newport Beach CA in 1961. They are a two ply nylon similar to thin sail material. I use to have a pair of their lifeguard board shorts back in the late 80's for work and I think you either like them or hate them (because of how they feel) . They are indestructible - I am bummed that I got rid of them because I really did liked them for board shorts. At the time, Birdwell only made the shorter length which sat about 5" above the knee.

Wow. So boardies started in California? Thanks for the history lesson, rmf.