As a city surrounded by water, going to the beach is an integral part of both our wardrobe and our Vancouver identity.
Get a little inspiration for your beach style this summer from a very unlikely source: The Vancouver Maritime Museum.
Babes & Bathers: History of the Swimsuit, on now until Nov. 2, is a summery exhibit that shows off a side of Vancouver that even most Vancouverites probably don’t know about.
See the modest, revealing and outrageous swimming suits that have been on our beaches since the 1890s.
“Most people don’t know that many of the key developments in the design of swimsuits occurred right here in our own backyard,” says exhibit curator Patricia Owen.
In 1938, for example, Canadian swimsuit designer Rose Marie Reid began her career in Vancouver when her husband complained about how uncomfortable and heavy wool bathing suits became when wet.
Reid created a pair of trunks out of an old cotton duck-fabric coat and a new trend was born.
By 1946, Reid’s company had over $800,000 in sales and made 50 per cent of all the swimming suits sold in Canada. Her career was so successful that in 1955 Sports Illustrated named her Designer of the Year.
“Nowadays, most people associate going to the beach with swimsuits and swimming, but it hasn’t always been that way,” says Owen. “This exhibit is a fun, upbeat way to explore how the swimsuit has evolved from wool to wow.”
Go to VancouverMaritimeMuseum.com for a full schedule of events, including A Surprising Amount of Nudity, led historian Neil Whaley July 24 at 6pm.
