The Newest Swim Trunk on the Californian Horizon
Date1938
Object numberANMS0442[015]
NameAdvertisement
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 305 × 220 mm, 6 g
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Dale O'Sullivan
DescriptionAn advertisement in Men's Wear magazine for swim trunks made by Hollywood Silk Mills featuring the American Olympic diver, Harold 'Dutch' Smith.
The caption reads "The Newest Swim Trunk on the Californian Horizon" and is promoting the "Real Fit' range which features woven Lastex (woven satin finish elastic and silk material first used for girdle manufacture).HistoryHollywood in the 1930s was a scene of both glamour and innovation. The idea of a healthy outdoor lifestyle was accentuated by a wardrobe to match and swimmer began to take off as an option to wear by pools and to the beach. Los Angeles was an exciting, wealthy backdrop to this new range of sportswear.
Sportsmen and women of the era, such as emerging swimmer Esther Williams, were well known to the public and they were role models for a more active and outdoors lifestyle. Diver Harold 'Dutch' Smith also played this role. An Olympic gold medallist and national diving champion, Smith also served in the Navy during WWII teaching marines to survive in the water under combat conditions. He became a well-known fixture in Palm Beach California as a swimming instructor who also advocated the sport as a healthy past time.
SignificanceThis advertisement encapsulates the incorporation of Hollywood glamour and a newly growing sportswear industry. Swim suits were becoming more adaptable to an active lifestyle and new fabric technologies encouraged designers to challenge conventional modesty boundaries.
1930 - 1938
Archive Series (item)/Archive Item (series)