BATHING, AND BATHING COSTUMES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2221, 30 December 1920, Page 2

BATHING, AND BATHING COSTUMES.

Talking of bathing, which is a subject of interest at present, ap English writer is of opinion that,*with Britannia ruling the waves, her | people have no rea.T conception o:f ihc true art of bathing. Costumes are thought of and elaborated for boating, tennis, racing, hunting, social functions, etc., but .the writer considers that bathing altogether is neglected. “With unlimited sea, with unlimited rivers, only a handful of mosquitoes, bafhing hardly exists as a spurt or a convention. People, of course, bailie. Some of them i-Avim. -Most of them only get wet and splash. During the summer you can see people gelling wet and splashing. . . . It is-only recently that families bathe together at all.

. . . . And as for the dress — i here seems to be nothing between nothing-at-all and a garb calculated to .disillusion anyone who ever dreamt of human form divine. Leech’s pictures of young women draped in serge, witli frills and folds, arc recalled as against the cheat) and nasty skin-tight jerseys,' without any regard to line, with colours that know nothing beyond Turkey red with a white aneiioi-. These, the writer considers, are not dresses at all, but merely coverings, to meet the demands of I lie local authorities. The bath robe and graceful cloak are, it appears, creeping in here and there. Flea didress is lamentable. There is nothing, apparently, between" the' ugly bath-cap, with all its india-rubber blackness, and the-useless fantasies which let in water and spoil the hair., American women tjjiuk out dainty eostnm-

cs. of materials and colours calculated to resist the action of the waters; they have stockings and suspenders; becoming and practical headgear; wraps and huge towels as a. matter of course. The bathe is a social function where you meet your friends, swim with them, perform v feats, and generally carry on joyously. In France, it seems, that the bathing convention goes lo'the other extreme. It implies a dress less suitable for the bathe than the beach, one which is regarded in the, light, of beauty and beeominguess. i It is true that some French people bathe wjfh. parasols, and English folk laugh at them, and it is true that their fashions are extreme. Fur . instance, some have given up stockings, but paint designs on their legs! The writer considers that the German and Dutch folk are the most sensible about bathing and swimming, and urges a x’eal reform in bathing facilities as given by municipal authorities, accompanied in the English-speaking bathing places with suitable and beautiful clothing,- I *', plenty of lime, adequate refresh- ,/rr meat, and a modicum of comfort all round, so that people could really enjoy one of'the finest, prettiest and most invigorating of sports. ■'