Russian beach fashion and etiquette: How our grandmothers and great-grandmothers rested by the sea

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The sea remains unchanged from year to year, and it is safe to assume that in ancient times the inhabitants of the coast were spoiled by the same waves as now, the sun was shining just as brightly, warming the coastal waters, and the blue-green water also beckoned to swim. But swimming etiquette and beach fashion have changed very radically over the past couple of hundred years, and our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would be amazed at how different modern beaches are from what they are used to.

Men and women can not swim together, do not open any parts of the body

Of course, the etiquette of bathers was the prerogative of the upper class - the bathing of peasants, even though it was regulated by various rituals with echoes of pagan times, did not imply any special fashion, nor any devices at all - they bathed as it is, without resorting to any sophisticated devices or to special "Sea" ways of dressing. But the aristocrats, representatives of high Russian society, were forced to obey unwritten rules in order to enjoy bathing and not shock others.

Interest in outdoor water procedures is associated with the idea that came to the fore in the 18th century on the need to return to naturalness, to, albeit conventional, but unity with nature. The fashion for bathing came from Europe and to Russia. True, at first, such a "unity with nature" could not be called bathing. Clothes for water procedures did not differ much from the usual ones, and included those details that were also found on "land" dresses. The women wore several petticoats, put on stockings and shoes, certainly a hat, and went into the water at most knee-deep. Joint "bathing" of men and women was not allowed, this rule also came from Europe.

Gradually, swimming in reservoirs became an increasingly attractive pastime, and in response to the growing interest in swimming in England, and then in Russia, "bathing machines" or "bathing vans" appeared. They were needed in order to hide the bather from prying eyes. The bathing machine was a covered wagon with a ladder and a door on the back. A bather or a bather entered the carriage in their usual clothes, changed into a "swimsuit" there, and then the driver on horseback drove the "car" directly into the water. In large resorts, special rails were built for this purpose. In the water, the car was turned around, so that the bather was hidden from prying eyes and could go down directly into the water. Often the ladies were accompanied by a strong woman who helped to get out of the water back into the car after swimming.

On permanent beaches, especially where the imperial family settled down for rest, they also installed "bathing rooms" - structures created on the same principle as the "vans", but installed on a kind of pier, in the water, with wooden Numerous layers of clothing, in which bathers climbed into the water, getting wet, became heavy, and unlike the men's suit, which remained conservative, women's "swimsuits" were sensitive to fashion, and therefore were supplied with crinolines and sleeves of various shapes, and even corsets.

Swimming as a sport

Since the end of the 19th century, bathing has ceased to be just a hygienic or entertainment procedure, turning into an important component of a harmonious life for a person - sport. And the passion for swimming as a sports event, especially after this sport entered the program of the Olympic Games, allowed the swimwear fashion to take a big step forward: clothes appeared much more comfortable for swimming. When going to the river, they put on a suit made of paper fabric (flannel), and at sea they swam in wool clothes, the thick material made it possible to keep warm even after getting wet. In addition, they wore rubber shoes and a hat. The degree of body openness was strictly regulated.

True, even then there were rebels who did not recognize the established rules. Anna Akhmatova in her memoirs admitted that in the Crimea, as a girl, she herself loved, despite sidelong glances, to put on a dress directly on her naked body and swim barefoot for two hours, while well-mannered young ladies wandered on the beach in boots, only knee-deep in water They also loved to swim in the royal family: the children of Nicholas II, like himself, often took "sea baths", either in Peterhof, located near the capital, or in the warm season in the Crimean Livadia, not far from Yalta, where the imperial family visited from 1862 every summer.

For children, the bath was organized right in the sea and was a fenced area of water with a board-lined passage to it - this made it possible to smooth out the inconvenience of walking on pebbles. This is how one of the educators of the offspring of the imperial family described the children's bathhouse: "".

Emperor Nicholas, as follows from his diaries, bathed at the first opportunity, but Empress Alexandra Feodorovna could only occasionally walk on the water - and even then for the company with her children.

Bathing suits of the early 20th century for both men and women became similar: they were sewn similar to a vest, with blue or red and white stripes.

Bathing fashion in the USSR

In the Soviet Union, the evolution of swimwear was already proceeding at a much faster pace - this was due to world achievements in the sports field, and with state health programs, and with the proclamation of equality between men and women. An equally important factor was the fashion for tanning. In the thirties, separate women's swimsuits appeared - even if they were still far from bikinis, which were open models of separate swimsuits; bikinis began to be produced in the late forties in America.

True, it was far from always possible for residents of the USSR to buy a successful model of a swimsuit, and it was much more difficult to sew it than another piece of clothing.

In the fifties, knitted swimwear came into fashion, as well as various skirts, tunics and bathing dresses, and then the time came for the already classic open bikini, a swimsuit that now holds the leadership among the names of swimwear.

Men's swimwear is a little more conservative, but it was also influenced by global trends, for example, when the fashion for Bermuda shorts came from America. Now it is already difficult to imagine that once those who spent their summer days by the sea were deprived of the now usual ways of rest - to sunbathe and swim to their hearts' content. And the appearance of those who came to the coast not so long ago now causes surprise, and sometimes even a smile.

And here - a little more from the history of clothing and accessories.