30 beautiful photos of swimsuits from 1940, bold and open, each one can make you blush and your heart beat faster

In most of the world's traditional cultures, swimmers are either naked or wearing only underwear. During the Renaissance, swimming was strongly discouraged, and by the 18th century, swimming was even considered an indecent behavior. In the Victorian era, swimwear was actually the style of outerwear, which was cumbersome and even dangerous when swimming, especially women's dress-style swimwear. Eventually, since the beginning of the 20th century, swimming began to be seen as a legal leisure activity or pastime, and clothing made specifically for swimming became the norm. Since then, women's swimwear fabrics have been used less and less and more closely, and the use of high-tech materials has become more common.

Women's swimsuits in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century increased the degree of abdominal exposure. Youth magazines of the late 40s and 50s of the 20th century published similar navel designs. However, navel-baring clothing is only suitable for beach and informal settings, and wearing these in public is still considered inappropriate.

Since swimsuits can show off the figure, since the 40s and 50s of the 20th century, people wearing swimsuits have often appeared in photographic works. This type of glamour photography eventually evolved into swimwear photography, exemplified by the annual Sports Illustrated swimwear special issue. The pageant also requires participants to wear well-fitting swimsuits.

In 1943, under the wartime rationing system, the government ordered a 10% reduction in the fabric of women's swimsuits, and two-piece swimsuits began to appear in the United States, which did not have the usual skirts and other excess materials. At that time, two-piece swimsuits were everywhere on American beaches. Hollywood stars such as Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner have all tried similar swimsuits or beachwear. The image of Hayworth and Esther Williams wearing this costume was also widely disseminated.

The last and most challenging swimsuit was the 1946 Moonlight Buoy, which weighed just 8 ounces for its lower and upper body. The "moonshine buoy" is unique in that the bottom has a large cork buckle to which the top can be attached. Life magazine ran a photo of the "moonlight buoy" and wrote: "The name of this swimsuit suggests that night naked swimming is quite attractive. ”