Retro Bathing Suits: Summer Trend

The "new" look for bathing suits in 2008 is decidedly old-fashioned.

For some reason or other, fashion magazines love to place bathing suits in separate categories in fashion features. Standard categories include "floral", "girlie", "trendy", but one that has shown up repeatedly for summer 2008 is "retro".

Among others, the June issue of British Glamour featured retro swimsuits. The look has been spotted in collections of high-end designers and trickled down to affordable stores such as the GAP and H&M.

What makes a swimsuit "retro"? It can be either a bikini or a one-piece. The most popular print seems to be polka-dots, either in 1950s black and white or nautical navy and white. Other patterns have a more colorful, 1960s/Pucci vibe.

Retro bathing suits generally have more coverage than their modern counterparts, be it a boy-short bikini or one-piece tankini/boy short duo.

My appreciate for retro swimwear started with the 1959 film Gidget. Though Gidget's friends wore some questionable bikinis (one of the bikini bottoms seriously resembles a diaper), Gidget's one-pieces were cute and sporty.

When I was a kid, I was ectastic to find two Gidget-inspired bathing suits. Both were one-pieces, with the bottom resembling boy-shorts. One was bright yellow (wouldn't that be good for this season?) with yellow embossed stars; the other was bright blue with a flat, plastic flower over one of the straps. I wore them both frequently. The only reason I started to wear them less was when I found a new style -- long-sleeved surfer bathing suit tops that, even though I don't surf, protect much better from the sun (I recommend these -- they also help in adjusting to a cool pool or a hot jacuzzi). Paired with boy shorts or bikini bottoms, they're very flattering and protective... because as much as we all want to be retro, some things (like the sun's sharp rays) make us change.