Black swimsuit with mesh panels

This Expozay swimsuit belongs to Dianne Ludwig, co-curator of At the Beach. "Growing up my favourite times were spent on holiday at Waikanae, Orewa and Mount Maunganui beaches. For Mum and Dad it was the getting away that was the holiday, neither of them or my older sister were beach lovers, and rarely swam. However, I made up for that. My entire day was spent swimming and tanning on the beach. As a teenager our beach holiday became even more exciting as it invariably involved boys and summer romances. Getting the tan and having a great swimsuit was all part of looking good. My fashion heroes back then were American models like Cheryl Tiegs, who was sunkissed and always in the latest swimwear. It’s no wonder I baked myself to golden brown, and my love of swimwear developed. By the time I was earning my own money, holidays saw me pack at least 10 swimsuits, a number of which would get worn on high rotate throughout the day. Going for a swim and getting wet was a great excuse to change togs. Sadly, all the dozens of great suits I had have been worn out; lycra doesn’t survive too many seasons. The only reason this Expozay one-piece has survived is that it seemed a bit too glam for the beach."

 

Details

Credit: Garment loan courtesy of Dianne Ludwig
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Designer: Judy Alvos
Maker: Expozay
Manufacturing location: Tauranga
Garment type: Swimsuit
Material: Nylon/lycra
Features: Mesh inserts
Colour: Black
Label: Expozay
Date: Circa 1995