Bathing suit 1882 - 1887

Curator: Looking at this piece, a mixed-media textile work entitled "Bathing Suit", made sometime between 1882 and 1887, now residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art…well, it makes me feel a bit melancholy, like a faded memory of summers long past. Editor: It strikes me as rather austere, almost severe in its geometry. The strong horizontal stripes dissecting the dark fabric. There's a rigidity here that feels almost... un-summery? Curator: Exactly! I find myself wondering about the wearer. Was she confined by these stripes, a prisoner of Victorian modesty even at the beach? Or did she feel liberated, defying expectations, dipping her toes, maybe even diving into the ocean despite the constricting layers? Editor: The high collar and buttoned bodice definitely speak to constraints. The lines pull the gaze upward, directing attention to the neck and face, almost objectifying the figure. But that slight puff at the shoulder? It hints at something more, doesn't it? Curator: Perhaps a quiet rebellion! Imagine, a subtle assertion of self amidst the social restrictions of the era. It reminds me of old photographs – ghostly figures barely visible under layers of heavy clothing, and then BAM the spark in their eye... defiance or, who knows...pure fun? Editor: There’s a clear emphasis on structure here. Notice the use of repeated linear motifs, framing and defining each section of the garment. It functions almost like an architectural blueprint for social acceptability. Curator: And yet, it's strangely…whimsical. Those ruffles peeking out beneath the skirt - unexpected bursts of frothy fun in what appears, on the surface, to be an uptight design. Maybe the wearer used those ruffles to whisper something. To the waves, perhaps. Editor: Whispers... An intriguing possibility. It definitely complicates the rigid formalism I initially perceived, which ultimately provides an unexpected layering into what, or whom, this textile is meant to signify. Curator: See, I told you this wasn't a downer! Thanks for coming along this imaginative exploration of swim fashion through time! Editor: Indeed. An unlikely journey of visual texture and semiotic inquiry!