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June 16, 1923. Washington, D.C. "Arlington bathing beach." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
I love the boy making "suspenders" out of his bathing suit on the left. He's adorable.
"Not a tattoo to be seen"? Even in this day, these kids would still be considered untouchable by any professional tattoo artist. They all appear to be under 18.
The first girl in the line look strangely contemporary. Perhaps it's the absence of a bathing cap, but she sure looks pretty, too.
Their parents' generation would almost certainly have worn stockings, and then some, at the beach. I suspect the girls wearing stockings are those who were slightly more conservative and the others perhaps more daringly fashionable.
I find the stockings at the beach odd too. Was it seen as inappropriate to go without or was it just those particular girls' preference? Nice "people watching" pic.
He looks a bit on the husky side. I wouldn't say they were all perfectly fit.
And a couple of the girls are wearing socks! What's up with that?
You'd be hard pressed to find a class of students anywhere in this country today as fit as this typical bunch. Incredible.
Only the first girl on the right is sans cap, only two boys wear them. Gotta chuckle at the fourth boy from the left (the shorter one), he looks proud.
Interesting that the boys had to wear tops too back then!
Never could quite understand that.
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