A wave of discontent was sweeping through Rehoboth, and the town commissioners had to act. In 1905, the resort’s commissioners decreed that it was illegal “for any person to bathe in the ocean unless clad in a bathing suit which shall cover the body from the shoulders to the knees.” Such suits were to be “of material of suitable texture not to appear vulgar when wet.”
When Rehoboth was established in the Victorian era, few people owned specialized clothing for a quick dip in the ocean, and the early ocean bathers entered the water wearing garments adapted from their everyday clothes. Men and women wore bathing attire that covered the torso and extended to the elbows and knees.
Women also wore bloomers, stockings, slippers and hats. It goes without saying that the combination of bloomers, stockings and other paraphernalia that people wore for a dip in the surf made it nearly impossible to move about in the water, much less swim.
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20th century brings on more practical bathing suits
By the early years of the 20th century, the cumbersome bathing attire that beach enthusiasts at Rehoboth inherited from Victorian times had begun to give way to bathing suits that were becoming more practical for a splash in the ocean. Men were still expected to wear a shirt that was worn outside of the trunks. Women wore blouse and bloomer suits, and more daring women were discarding the long stockings that had once been considered a required part of a female swimming ensemble.
In the early 20th century, the Rehoboth town commissioners hired a policeman to regulate the shrinking bathing suit styles, but he ran into so much opposition that he quit. A few years later, on Aug. 6, 1919, the Newark Post reported “The women of Rehoboth, particularly those of the younger set, are enjoying perfect freedom as to their dress on the beach. Whether in bare knees or without stockings … there is no policeman or other minion of the law to shoo them off, or tell them to be more careful the next time they come out to bathe. They feel relieved at being able to go out on the beach in any manner of clothes they happen to have without the approval of the police.”
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In Roaring ’20s, suits ‘leave practically nothing to the imagination’
Two years later, the Roaring ‘20’s were well underway, and the Wilmington Evening Journal reported on July 2, 1921, “This year bathing costumes are prettier than ever — and each season styles grow more practical. Some people frown and protest they grow more immodest with each succeeding season; these are the folk who held up their hands in horror when tunic and trunk swimming suits began to be worn by women, four or five summers ago.”
In 1924, the Wilmington Sunday Morning Star commented, “One-piece bathing suits that leave practically nothing to the imagination … the young people and the liberal-minded call them chic. The elderly women turn aside and say, ‘shocking.’ ”
In 1931, in its never-ending quest to curb the shrinking bathing suits in the resort, the Sunday Morning Star reported “The Town Commissioners of Rehoboth have adopted an ordinance making it a violation of the law, subject to a fine of $30 for ‘any person to appear on the beach with an incomplete bathing suit.’ Just what an ‘incomplete bathing suit’ is will have to be determined later.”
Following World War II, female bathing attire continued to test the limits of acceptability, and some coastal residents were shocked when brief two-piece bikinis appeared on Delaware beaches. In 1961, the Rehoboth Beach commissioners sprung into action by prohibiting the wearing of bikinis on the beach. As usual, the ordinance did not stem the tide of the incredible shrinking bathing suits.
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Principal sources
Delaware Coast Press, July 19, 1962; April 1, 1998.
Newark Post, August 6, 1919.
Evening Journal, July 2, 1921; July 15,1922
Sunday Morning Star, July 20, 1924; July 12, 1931.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: The case of the incredible shrinking bathing suits in Rehoboth Beach
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