Wednesday, June 20, 2007

My Great Grandmother's Swimming Cap


Photo & Text Copyright 2007 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

I adore the linen suit, but the 60s style deco swim cap's got to go. . . :^) Thought you might like to see what summer fashion in Seattle is shaping up to be this season. I passed this shop window at night and the great lines of the suit caught my eye. Looks like layers, linen, a looser and feminized kind of retro Annie Hall look to this ensemble. Do you remember those decorated swim caps older ladies used to wear in the pool back in the day? I'd completely forgotten about them until I passed this mannequin. Perhaps in daylight her flowery chapeau would look more appealing to me.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

No comment about the long sleeves hanging from the scrunched coat sleeves....or that fact that she didn't tuck in her shirt...or even that she's barefoot? I think this would be a fashion "don't" in the latest issue of Glamour magazine....

Tara said...

One Easter one of the older ladies at my church wore a fabric flower swimming cap as her bonnet. The best part was, she really didn't care what anyone thought, she just wanted to rock out with the flower hat that day.

Kim said...

Anonymous. . .ah, good point, and the window dresser definitely had fun here with the exaggerated bits you point out; but, that's a calculated ploy to get you to notice something's out of whack, then get you to take in all the details of the clothing construction to really see what it is. It's up to the buyer how it will be worn, but it won't be bought unless it's first noticed. West coast urban chicas see a lot of fashion window displays, so some detail a little different and "off". . .even off-putting, will draw the weary, wary eye. . .something you'd more often see in edgier publications like Vogue than in Glamor I guess. The fabrics in this, and the wonderful design details made this a standout for me, even though I'm not tall enough to carry off willowy proportions like this myself.

Tara, that is so cute! I hope I'm as uninhibited when I'm aged. My great grandma who had a similar flowery swim cap used to enter her senior lady's group Easter bonnet contest, and always came up with something humorous. I still have a newspaper clipping she sent me from the time she won! Oh it would have made Queen Elizabeth cringe!
-Kim
-Kim