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Hot Fun in the Summertime

Curated by:
Selma Assephia, Summer Caudell, Chloe Ross, Sydney Todhunter

This exhibition provides a glimpse into hot summer fun through the decades. The late 1940s through the early 1970s was when tourism and vacations became truly a “mass” phenomenon—both literally in terms of who went on vacation and the extraordinary proliferation of mass-mediated cultural representations of vacations (Furlough, 2004). By the early 1970s, the highest proportion of vacationers headed for the beaches, a trend representing significant democratization of space formerly reserved for elites and the cultural power of mass media imagery linking a successful vacation to the sensual pleasures of the beach (Furlough, 2004). Bright colors, floral patterns, and lightweight fabrics in beachwear are consistent summer trends time after time. We hope that this exhibit will inspire you for your next summer look!

The Bikini

In 1943, an order was issued stating that the fabric used in women’s swimwear needed to be reduced by 10% to conserve materials and direct them toward the WWII effort, eliminating the midsection and introducing the 2-piece bathing suit (Chang, 2014). Originally worn in Europe, it took some time for the United States to accept the style due to the country’s conservative roots. Fast forward to the 1960s, various factors led to the acceptance of the bikini; Most notably, films of the period acted as vehicles for the bikini’s eventual mainstream appeal (Blanco, 2015).