Back in the 1800s, hanging out at the beach had an entirely different meaning and method. Not wanting to violate the Victorian practices of being “proper,” men and women sea-bathed separately. It was a pretty big “no-no” for each sex to see the other wading in the water in swimwear — even though that swimwear was close to today’s regular clothing options!
So, along came the bathing machine. Picture this: A wooden cart, often with a two doors and wide wheels, waiting on the beach. The bather would enter through the front door on the beach and change in the dark, placing their clothes on a high shelf to keep them dry. The bathing machine would then be wheeled out into the shallow water – by horses, steam engine, or even pulled by hired helpers!
The back door of the bathing machine would then be shielded with an awning or a curtain – lest anyone on the shore catch a glimpse of you as you stepped out! Finally, the sea-ready swimmer would exit through the back, down a set of steps into the water and begin wading. The ladies could hang out together and be blocked from the shore.
When the 1900s hit and it became socially OK for men and women to swim together, the popularity of the bathing machine declined. Lucky for all of us modern folk, the machine exists no more and we can relax and strut our stuff on the beaches in things like these:
Enjoy your beachwear!
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haha!! i’m glad i wasn’t in that era…
i am glad as well but love the bikini shown here.
yeah! ondademar… i saw it and it’s great, great color and i love the detail on the bottom
its sweat i like it
that would have been so crazy, and is such a laugh to even think about now, ha ha
yeah when everything is so liberal… there are even people naked in beaches now! lol
no one really cares any more its a free world do as you please
yeah everyone is so free spirited
what an absolute crazy time in their era 1800’s i can’t bare it
so extreme and ridiculous
out of my league, i wouldn’t even want to be back there
I am SO glad I am from this era! Love your swimwear!
yeah, those were very extreme…
very extreme buts thats what they knew
yeah of course, that’s what they thought right
so am i can’t imagine that one
it must have been so uncomfortable to go through all that trouble
I think if I had to live back then, I’d take a machete to that damn thing and strip down to my skivies and take a dip, only to later end up in the back of a horse drawn police carriage and on the front page of the local newspaper….
that would be so funny and the cops would love it
you would’ve probably made it in the history books! lol
thats halarious, good idea lol
now that’s a way to spice things up