This Is What Mid-Century Women's Swimwear Looked Like

Actor Natalie Wood sits on a swing wearing a leopard-print bikini and a red scarf in 1959.

A young woman at the seashore in 1956.

A model wears a gray V-midriff swimsuit by Claire McCardell in an April 1945 issue of Vogue.

Three women pose on the beach outside the Idlewild Club House in Idlewild, Michigan, in 1938.

Actor Jane Russell sits by the side of a swimming pool, circa 1950.

A woman models a knitted swimsuit by the ocean, circa 1935.

A pair of women (left) lounge poolside at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore on July 19, 1947. A young woman (right) strikes a pose at a swimming pool, circa 1940.

Actor Jayne Mansfield models a swimsuit in 1953.

A group of women lie out by the pool with anti-tan masks, circa 1950.

Actor Ann Miller (left) poses beside a swimming pool, circa 1950. Janet Leigh (right), also an actor, poses while leaning against a patio chair in the 1950s.

Actor Dona Drake, in a two-piece swimsuit, takes aim with a rifle on the balcony of her home in 1942.

A pair of women model the latest style of swimming hat in 1954.

Singer and film star Dorothy Dandridge relaxes in the sunshine on the French Riviera as she prepares for a swim during the 1957 Cannes Film Festival.

A young woman on a French beach, circa 1935.

Actor Mitzi Gaynor poses by a swimming pool in a green swimsuit, circa 1955.

Members of the Apex Barber and Beauty School in Philadelphia enjoy a day at the beach in 1959.

A group of women in London walk down the street in the latest beachwear fashions in 1946.

Actor and Olympic swimmer Esther Williams poses at the edge of a swimming pool, circa 1945.

Actor Joan Crawford (left) poses on a diving board during the 1930s. A woman (right) poses on the beach outside the Idlewild Club House in 1938.

Czech figure skater and actor Vera Ralston models while reclining on a diving board over a swimming pool, circa 1945.

A group of women in swimsuits walks along the promenade in Eastbourne, UK, 1935.