Allow me to obsess for just a moment. I am consumed with proportion and cut. I think anyone who gets really into sewing probably is. I am basically Stacey from What Not to Wear when it comes to being really exacting about what is flattering, and nothing hurts me more than seeing lovely ladies in clothes that just don't flatter their figures. Which is why most swimsuits make me want to set things on fire. It's like the swimsuit designers of the world meet once a year Bilderburg style to plot how to make our bodies look as shitty as possible. If you are a curvy girl, it is really hard to find a great suit.
Which is why I was so psyched when vintage suits came back into style a few years ago. This Vanity Fair cover made me SQUEAL WITH JOY:
Norma Kamali is responsible for the red & white suits, and has been making the same styles since 1974! Unfortunately for me, I soon discovered that her swimsuits cost +$400 (although she recently debuted an inexpensive version of the red suit for $98 - you can find here). So a few years ago I hired someone to make me a knockoff of that red guy in black. This was long before I started sewing, so please forgive me. For $100 she made me this pretty awesome number:
I wore the crap out of this. Unfortunately there were a few weird construction issues with it, and it has stretched out and lost its shape over the years. Plus, she used A LOT of fabric and when it gets wet, it becomes a little.... droopy. So I've been thinking a lot about what to replace it with. Last summer, I found a blue version of this guy at TJ Maxx in Puerto Rico for a song:
And this leads me to the biggest issue with a lot of "vintage" style suits today: they ruin your butt. If you don't have a tight little tushy, the seats of these bathing suits are going to give you 4 cheeks, not 2 (Caitlin Moran has a really great rant on this issue when it comes to underwear in this amazingly awesome and hilarious book). With the exception of a rare Anthropology or ModCloth selection, most vintage-style suits have a more contemporary high-cut rear end. And unless you are doing squats on a regular basis they are not half as flattering as the originals they are modeled on.
Let me show you what I mean:
Why OH WHY doesn't the back of that suit on the right come down 2 more inches? In my humble opinion, a traditional bathing suit bottom cut is just not flattering if you have a booty. What IS flattering is a modest brief that cuts straight across under where your fanny ends. Think SUPER short spandex mini skirt. No bumps, no bulges, no 4 cheek surprise. Just pure 50's ass magic.
So, in my quest for the most perfect of all suits, one that gives me the coverage I want, the vintage moxy I demand, and the ass flatterage I require, I will be making the perfect swimsuit in the coming months. I've done a bunch of research on patterns for vintage suits and have found a few I like, but they are hard to find and not exactly what I am looking for. I basically intend to make this, but about 1-2 inches longer:
How you ask? Well, Burda Style, light of my life, has this pattern. FOR FREE. A bunch of enterprising ladies have modified it to their whims (I especially like this one, this one and this one) so I will be using it as a base, but modifying it to include the ruched bodice. I found this tutorial via Pinterest on installing bra cups so I'd like to add that for a little extra support.
What I love about the green Kamali up there is that it looks so exquisitely well made - the ruching details and the quality of the material look almost couture, for a swimsuit. I would really like to try and capture that quality and attention to detail in my version. And thankfully, I have a friend who's father is in (get ready for this) THE SPANDEX BUSINESS. I'm going to pop over to their warehouse and find a really nice, heavy-weight spandex in a beautiful colour (hopefully in that jade green). And then enjoy every Sunday this summer at my favorite pool on the mountain in Montreal. With a perfectly attired bottom. No 4 cheek swimsuit butt massacre on this girl.
Some more inspirational swimsuits from heaven:
I love the straps and front panel ruching on this Jantzen.
The details on this make me happy. Someone commented on Pinterest where I originally posted this that it looks like something someone would wear to the bar these days. A swim-up bar maybe!
Ri-Ri in a high waisted white bikini by Norma Kamali. I'd like to recreate this bottom but make it more of a mini skirt and do a top with a little more support.
More Kamali magic. If you like this suit you should check out her site. She has a million versions. This is soooooooo chic and Parisian and amazing. I feel like millionaires would fall in love with you if you wore this. I'm not super into millionaires but I am cuckoo for this mesh.
AYE CARUMBA!! I lurve it, I loaf it. The chevrons make your waist appear teeny weeny and that faux corset?? Get out of town! To a beach vacation!
Swimcaps are the best. That is all.
I love the ruched back on this - gives the bum a little shape and definition.
Some great patterns:
This could be AMAZING in the right fabric. I think it only looks granny on your granny. On a cool girl, this would be such a sexy suit.
Vogue 6771!!! That sheer cover-up has no point other than to be amazing and I love the cut of that bikini's jib.
The back of this is PERFECT IN EVERY WAY.
And for the piece de resistance (currently on sale for $150 on ebay!!!!):
Yeah, I know. I want to die too.
I LOVE vintage swimsuits! All of those are amazing and good luck with your Burda suit.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean by wishing the butt of the suit was 2" longer. I actually just bought the perfect high-waisted retro bikini on eBay and I googled to find out more about the brand (Pez d'Or) and found out it was a maternity line! Hahaha! I am not pregnant but it's still a totally cute suit.
That's hilarious! Hopefully it doesn't give you baby bump! It's much easier these days to find great vintage style suits these days. I just googled that company and they make some cuuuuute stuff.
DeleteGreat post and thanks for the Burda patter heads up. Just so you know Blogger no longer has click through for URLs, go you can not get to the original photo location that way any more. I just found out that through my blog, and I know it is a pain, I just wish they would tell us these things first. Have a great weekend honey. ax
ReplyDeleteThank you for the heads-up Amber! I'll have to go and fix that now... Nothing worse than finding a great picture and not being able to see the source.
DeleteWhat a wonderful post! I adore vintage swimsuits, but it's impossible for me to get a good fit on my 5'10" modern size 6 frame. And the $98 Norma Kamali's are great, but her size chart shows that the medium won't fit my height. Experience dictates that I could probably wear it, but talk about four cheeks! I've never made a swimsuit, but I've come to the conclusion recently that the only way I will get to wear this fabulous style is to make it myself. Thanks for sharing what you've learned; you've really given my a push in that direction!
ReplyDeletexo, Anita
Thanks Anita! I think especially if you have fit issues in general making them may be the way to go - plus you don't have to go try them on in a store, which is basically my worst nightmare.
DeleteI'm not sure if you've looked at Esther Williams swimwear, but I have 2 of her suits and love them! Very much in the style of the NM/vintage ones. Their website is a bit cumbersome, but you can find the suits in various places online, such as Modcloth and Leisure for Women... there's even have a blue velvet (!!!) one/
ReplyDeleteThey were some of the first I found when I started looking (I linked to them on the Mod Cloth site). They are super cute! I think the Burda pattern is very similar to her classic suit, although she has more ruching.
DeleteI've been intrigued by the Burda pattern as well. I made a couple vintage-esque swimsuits about 4 years ago for a cruise and haven't worn them a single time since. Now I live 1 mile from Venice Beach, so the Burda swimsuit is in my sight, but I don't swim and the fact is that two-pieces are easier for sand management than any one-piece.
ReplyDeleteI'll be very interested to see what you come up with! The vintage suits are lovely, and make me want to lounge on the deck of a cruise ship all day.
Sand management!! It never occurred to me. When I lost quite a bit of weight last summer I was rocking the bikinis but I just feel more comfortable in a one piece these days. I think a high waisted two piece could be the best of both worlds but if it is not cut PERFECTLY they can be extremely unflattering. Experiments to come!
DeleteLove this post--these are just fabulous and inspiring images! I've been meaning to make myself a swimsuit like this once I master how to make bras (so it can have a built-in supportive bra).
ReplyDeleteP.S. And I am so with you on butt coverage... I just don't understand why "high cut" sides and butt are supposedly more flattering... UGH.
DeleteI KNOW RIGHT?! It is seriously infuriating. I have a speedo type suit I wear to swim laps and it really makes me hate my body every time I put it on. I may need to make a "practical" suit with low cut sides for this exact purpose....
DeleteOh my LORD!! This post makes me realize the sad sad state of my swimwear!! And I LIVE at the beach!!! Basically my swimwear consists of some mismatching and cobbled together articles that I've been unintentionally collecting since - oh I was 13... How do they still fit you ask?? Because the elastic has long long ago decayed on those babies... Its a lot like my underwear drawer - except I GO OUT IN PUBLIC IN THESE!!
ReplyDeleteOy. I need to remedy this. fast. You've kicked me in the rear. No more sad swimsuits!! That shit needs to be glamorous!!
Ha ha ha. I needed that laugh today Sallie, so thank you. I think the best way to get over the anxiety of being half naked in public is to be as overly the top glamorous as possible. My favourite city pool is up on the Montreal "mountain" (really it's just a large hill) that is too inaccessible for families with children, so it has basically become the sunning ground of the hottest people in the city. The only way I can roll up in there without wanting to wear a Burqa is by having on a really rad vintage suit, 5 inch cork platforms, huge sunglases and an enormous wide-drimmed sunhat. It's almost drag, but sometimes drawing attention to yourself in a positive way that you can control is the most empowering kind of attention there is.
DeleteWell said Heather!
DeleteWow, great post and I love all these examples, every single one. (That last Vogue suit--maybe it's the tied up to the knee sandals, but wow.) Norma Kamali endlessly fascinates me--I love how she makes "vintage" looks out of very unorthodox materials (parachute dress!). She makes spandex fun. It'd be a dream to own one of her suits. A few years ago before vintagey suits came into style I found a rare red number with perfect butt coverage at Urban Outfitters... it looked a lot like the Burdastyle suit, maybe not as much ruching, but I wore it to pieces on a vacation. I've always been hyper self-conscious about showing off too much, but this suit helped me get over that. Strangers were coming up to me to compliment and I was the only non-bikini lady on the beach. Enormous sunglasses are a must!
ReplyDeleteI think people are so used to seeing a bikini flesh parade at the beach/pool that it's super refreshing to see someone trying something different. I love Kamali too - she did a great interview in Harper's recently and I fell in love with her perspective and attitude. Such a rad lady.
DeleteYou should also check out Pattern School which is all about making swimsuits. It has patterns and blocks that are customizable by entering your measurements. You should do the Burda suit first and when you are ready try one of thiers. However, the sources and instructions should be helpful right now. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great resource! Thank you!
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