It's Summer and it's only natural to stumble upon pictures of swimwear on various fashion sites or magazines. Yet, most times these images look more or less all the same and quite often they can be reduced to a series of plain bikinis.
Want to look less ordinary? Find some vintage images and get inspired by them or, even better, if you have the skills, find a pattern for a swimsuit and try to make it by yourself.
In this post you find three creations by Italian designer Maddalena: all the designs were created in 1951 and, while they look rather simple and their silhouette seems to be the same, they actually hide some secrets.
The first one was indeed made with two large scarves, the darker part of the fabric (in a deep shade of blue with yellow flowers) was employed for the side panels, a trick to make the wearer look slimmer.
The second swimsuit (originally it came in red, even though this image is in black and white) was aimed at women with a fuller figure and featured a well-constructed bustier and a slightly longer skirt compared to the first design.
The third design was a combination of the previous two swimsuits, but the skirt was made with two different layers and featured a delicate decorative white motif around the edge (a motif repeated around the breast area).
Fancy trying your hand at swimwear making? Here's the pattern (in Italian) for the third model. The designer suggested to make it with a 2,80m x 70cm piece of fabric (for women with the following measurements: shoulder line 39cm; chest 86cm; waist 70cm; add or take away 2cm if you need a larger or a smaller size), but if you don't feel so sure about what you're doing, try making it using paper or make a miniature one for a doll. Enjoy your Summer!
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