MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
 
JUMP TO PAGE   100  >  200  >  300  >  400  >  500  >  600
VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Splendor in the Grass: 1942

July 1942. Washington, D.C. "Sunday at the edge of the municipal swimming pool." Medium format nitrate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.

July 1942. Washington, D.C. "Sunday at the edge of the municipal swimming pool." Medium format nitrate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Bathing suits

I remember reading that Clark Gable brought about the end of the undershirt by not wearing one in It Happened One Night. Maybe he brought about the end of the swimsuit that covered the torso?

Or maybe it was the war effort, saving on the cost of fabric. Women's skirts shortened appreciably between the thirties and forties, too (as they did pre- and post WWI.)

Earlier style

While this is 1930 and Canadian, men's sleeves and covered legs have already vanished.

What a face

She's so young and sweet and happy it hurts my heart a little. Her affectionate boyfriend looks older -- perhaps he was in the service. She looks like she'd gladly stay right there with him forever.

War

What war?

Re: Unhand

My very thoughts, too. Or it seems as though he has two left hands. He must have tucked the Thing hand underneath himself to avoid the head of smoking lady close to him on the far side. I know if I contort myself into such a position while sleeping, I wake up with massive pins and needles in that arm.

Going Topless

It seems to me that until the mid-1930s, men's swimwear usually covered the upper torso. By 1940, as this photograph shows, swimming trunks had mostly replaced the old-fashioned suits. Why did the fashion change so suddenly?

Unhand me

I had to study this to mentally attach the random idle hands to the correct arms belonging to the couple in the foreground. It was a challenge; at first I thought they'd brought Thing Addams along just for kicks and giggles.

Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.