Kenosha Knitting Company (American)

Bathing suit, 1920s

Knitted wool

Gift of The Herberger Foundation     2004.28

Throughout time, swimming has been valued for the promotion of personal cleanliness, health and the ability for self-preservation as well as for its pleasure and benefit to the mind. By the mid-nineteenth century swimming at seaside resorts was a popular attraction for both sexes. Bathing times which segregated the sexes were signaled by flying color coded flags. Men still had the option to swim nude during the male only hours. Many men used this privilege to rebel against the adoption of the “clammy clutch” of these “damp, unpleasant, clinging garments,” typically made of knitted wool. By the early twentieth century, the interest in vigorous swimming and men’s general dislike of heavy, more fully covered suits prompted a streamlining of suits to the point where rules of decency were debated. Bare chests were forbidden, but as the deep armholes in this suit allude, the limits were tested. 

The suit shown here was made by the Kenosha Knitting Company, a knitwear manufacturer in Wisconsin. Like many companies who manufactured knitted undergarments they also made swimwear. One of the chief concerns with the acceptance of swimwear during the nineteenth century was its resemblance to underwear and a distinction between the two had to be made through color. Dark colors and nautical stripes differentiated swimwear from undergarments and had the additional benefit of modesty when wet. 

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