Vintage Photos Showing Women Who Weren’t Afraid To Push Fashion Boundaries At The Beach
Despite constant changes to trends, beauty standards, and fashion boundaries, one constant aspect of the human experience is the desire to strip down to the skivvies and head to the beach.
While swimsuits and beachfront (or poolside) settings have created some great memories and memorable photos over the years, it’s safe to say that many of the women featured in this list were testing boundaries — and, in some cases, crossing the line.
Carrie Fisher is iconic.
Carrie Fisher first entered the mainstream consciousness with her memorable depiction of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Fisher was also notable for her playful attitude and sense of humor, so she likely didn’t mind posing for this silly Star Wars-themed photoshoot in the late ’70s.
Ann Sheridan was one of the biggest stars of her day.
Actress Ann Sheridan is shown in this carefree pic with a badminton racket and birdie outside of a Los Angeles house in 1948.
At the time, Sheridan would have been 33 years old. The following year, she’d star in I Was a Male War Bride with Cary Grant.
Nothing goes together quite like bikinis and palm trees.
This pic shows a woman named Rae Stratton, who’s described as a “bathing beauty” with no further information.
While Rae Stratton appears to have been lost to history, this sunny photo of her demonstrates the timelessness of fun bathing suits, palm trees, and beaches.
It was all optimism after World War II.
Four years after the end of World War II, a carefree Deirdre de Peyer is shown here climbing out of the deep end of a swimming pool in Roehampton, southwest London.
The young actress had not appeared in anything of note at the time this photo was taken, but would go on to have a brief film and TV career in the 1950s and ’60s.
Elizabeth Taylor was stunning.
Those of a certain vintage, or anyone who appreciates Hollywood history, will immediately recognize Elizabeth Taylor in this pic.
While Taylor’s signature smoldering violet eyes don’t pop as much in black and white, there’s no denying the magnetism of this Hollywood icon.
She had a long career.
Born Margaret Yvonne Middleton, this Canadian actress would be best remembered for her stage name of Yvonne De Carlo.
While the peak of De Carlo’s career came in the ’40s and ’50s, she continued acting well into the 1990s.
The “it” girl of the 1940s.
This photo of Chili Williams had an absolute hold on servicemen during World War II, becoming one of the most popular pin-up photographs of the era.
The pic was snapped as part of a photoshoot for Life magazine. Its popularity led to Williams being cast in various motion pictures in the following decade.
Bikinis as a sales tool.
Corporate America always finds innovative new ways to advertise its products, and one such example can be seen in this vintage photograph from Miami Beach.
Pinup model Bunny Yeager is seen here doing her best sales pitch for a local Italian restaurant.
One of the stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
This 1944 photo shows actress Janis Paige in a contemplative mood at the beach. At this point, the 22-year-old had barely started her film career.
At the time of her 2024 death, Paige was 101 years old and was one of the last stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The south of France has always been popular.
Beachgoers Sasi Tschaen and Yolande Blatt are showing off their million-dollar smiles in this photo from the summer of 1949 in the south of France.
Just four years after the end of hostilities in World War II, people were flocking back to locations like the French Riviera for sunny vacations.
Always a timeless pose.
This photo is short on details, as the woman seen here isn’t named, the location isn’t known, and the date isn’t listed.
Still, it just goes to show how iconic it is to snap a photo of a beachgoer just as they emerge from the crashing surf.
Flashing those pearly whites.
Norma Ellis wasn’t an actress, model, or any kind of celebrity. She was just an ordinary woman who was enjoying her day at the beach when her photo was snapped.
While she didn’t know it at the time, this candid pic would capture a moment in time — one that’s still being shared decades later.
A daring swimsuit indeed.
While the caption for this photo identifies the bathing suit as a “one-piece, strapless bikini,” it’s hard to see any one-piece bathing suit as a proper bikini.
The photo looks tame by modern standards, but would have been considered risqué at the time for the amount of skin it reveals.
When she was Norma Jeane.
Some of the most famous beach photos of all time were snapped during this legendary photoshoot with a young Marilyn Monroe.
Monroe, who was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, would go on to become one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures in the years to follow.
It was an in-depth shoot.
Further images from the same shoot show Monroe in a variety of bikinis and beachwear. She would have been about 20 at the time.
It’s a fascinating look at the early days of an icon — and while she’s immediately identifiable, she still hadn’t settled on her eventual blonde bombshell look.
The early days of the bikini.
Model Pat Hall is shown modeling an early bikini, which is referred to as “the newest in swimming fashions” in the caption.
Bikinis are a beachwear staple today, but for many years — decades, in some cases — the swimsuit was seen as scandalous.
Jayne Mansfield was memorable.
This studio shot shows Jayne Mansfield — an actress who was nicknamed Hollywood’s “smartest dumb blonde.”
Mansfield starred in numerous films in the 1950s and ’60s but sadly died in a 1967 car wreck at the age of 34.
Attitudes were more relaxed in Italy.
This unnamed woman smiles broadly at the camera as she sits on a rock at Corsica, Italy in August of 1957.
While beaches in the United States often had enforced modesty, the laissez-faire attitude at European beaches made them a hotspot for bikini aficionados.
Bikinis are great workout wear.
While bikinis are generally seen as a swimsuit for sunny days at the beach, actress June Hodgson shows here that they make for good workout wear as well.
Hodgson is best known for appearing in one episode of The Avengers — as well as this photo from 1975.
Balancing on a speed boat.
Even as she poses for this photo, you can see the concentration in the face of Lise Michaud as she balances on top of this speed boat.
In the background, one can just make out the coast of Cannes, France as it appeared in the early 1950s.
She won Miss World 1974.
If Anneline Kriel looks confident here, she has good reason: When this photo was taken in 1975, she was one year removed from winning Miss South Africa 1974 and Miss World 1974.
While Kriel wasn’t widely known around the world, she became a high-profile and popular celebrity in her native South Africa.
There will always be sun worshippers.
Despite concerns over sun exposure and skin cancer, practically every beach has an array of people who are dedicated to tanning.
This 1948 pic from Cannes, France shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Testing the new bikinis.
Jean Carmen, an American actress who sometimes went by Julia Thayer, models a new bikini in this 1940s image.
The pic was taken in the middle of winter — on New Year’s Day, in fact — so Carmen is shown indoors, dreaming of warmer days to come.
Next year’s swimwear – today.
This is a publicity photo from 1971, designed to showcase a brand’s upcoming beachwear.
The image was snapped on a Tunisian beach and features a model named Christa from London — but unfortunately, no further context is given.
A towel for everyone.
Yet another photo that demonstrates the timelessness of the beachgoing experience, this classic image shows several young women lounging on their colorful beach towels.
It’s likely that the photographer climbed a lifeguard tower to capture the unique vantage point of this shot.
Fun in the sun.
Different people seek different experiences when they come to the beach. While many people are content to lie on a towel and splash in the surf, others have the need for speed.
The waterskiing woman in this photo looks like she’s dangerously close to the adjacent boat — but it makes for a fantastic image.
Those Bette Davis eyes.
Don’t let the background fool you — this image of actress Bette Davis was taken in front of a fake background at a Warner Brothers studio, not at the beach.
Davis had a long and venerable career in Hollywood in a career that spanned six decades.
A vintage photo from France.
While many of the images in this list date back to the middle of the 20th century, this pic from 1933 goes a bit further back.
This woman stripped down to her skivvies at the Molitor swimming pool in Paris — yet more evidence of more permissive European attitudes.
Raquel Welch was a stunner.
The beauty of Raquel Welch was well documented, but Welch managed to turn convention on its head through the sheer force of her acting ability.
While she played more stereotypical characters early in her career, Welch managed to break this typecasting and transitioned into stronger roles.
She started in silent films.
The transition from silent film to “talkies” spelled doom for many movie stars, but Myrna Loy made the switch with ease.
Like many other beautiful actresses of the 20th century, Loy found herself in stereotypical roles early in her career. She went on to appear in film productions for more than half a century.
The calm before the storm.
The 1930s was a difficult decade around the world, beginning with economic collapse and ending with the outbreak of World War II.
This photo was taken at an Austrian lake in 1933. While things would get grim in the years to come, this carefree moment is frozen in time.
She was a legendary pinup girl.
Actress Betty Grable was immensely popular in the 1940s, with her images decorating the lockers of many American infantrymen during World War II.
Her beauty was so iconic that her studio insured her legs for $1 million as part of a sexist publicity stunt.
It’s tricky to decipher that expression.
This image of Ava Gardner likely dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, and its candid nature offers a refreshing break from the posed images that were all too common.
Gardner was discovered in 1940 and went on to become an acclaimed actress.
Surfing culture got big.
Legendary actress Joan Crawford can be seen here showing off the latest trend (at the time): Surfing. While the location isn’t listed, it appears to be one of the Hawaiian islands.
Crawford was not known to be a surfer, but she did become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, as much for her personal life as her on-screen roles.
A crowded 1940s scene.
Far away from the exotic locales and glamorous movie stars, this candid 1940s shot was snapped by a photographer at East Hampton Beach, on the southern shore of Long Island.
The sign clearly shows that no dogs are allowed — but the attire shows that bikinis are allowed, or at least tolerated.
She helped inspire a Stephen King piece.
Rita Hayworth was a noted pinup girl of the mid-20th century — yet another actress whose image was coveted by soldiers during World War II.
It was one of these pinup images that served a pivotal role in the Stephen King novella that was adapted into The Shawshank Redemption.
A star who burned bright.
Carole Landis was a star who could do it all, from singing to dancing to acting. Her career peaked in the 1940s, where she became a popular pinup girl.
Sadly, Landis was so heartbroken by a failed relationship that she took her own life in 1948.
Susan Hayward rocks a colorful bikini.
Color photography wasn’t widespread in the 1940s, but it did exist — and it’s thanks to this development that we can truly appreciate the magenta, olive green, and daffodil yellow number worn here by Susan Hayward.
Hayward got her start as a fashion model, then transitioned into acting. She won numerous accolades, including an Academy Award in 1958.
There’s always something to see at the beach.
The beach has always been a place not just to relax and blow off steam, but also to show off in front of a captive audience.
This young couple is showing off their physical strength in front of a rapt crowd at the beach in 1950.
She starred with Fred Astaire.
Ginger Rogers, seen here in 1944 during the early days of her career, is best remembered for dancing with Fred Astaire in numerous 1930s musical films.
Rogers’ career spanned more than just her early work with Astaire, however. She made 73 films in total during her 62-year career in Hollywood.
Dorothy Lamour shows off her smile.
Dorothy Lamour, born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton, was frequently cast as an exotic temptress in her early roles, and was one of the most popular stars of the ’30s and ’40s.
Lamour can be seen here, lounging on a diving board, in 1944 at the age of 30.
She was a vaudeville star.
This 1944 photo shows 19-year-old Joan Leslie, who was already an established performer even as a teenager.
Leslie and her sisters were vaudeville performers during their teen years, and Joan Leslie went on to become the biggest star of them all. She was active in Hollywood until 1991.
Hollywood stars stick together.
Hollywood can create fierce rivalries, but the environment can also lead to friendships.
Here, actresses Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers, and Helen Parrish enjoy some time together at the beach. They were apparently trying to create “sun tattoos” to honor their boyfriends who were serving in World War II.
Barbara Stanwyck was a versatile star.
Stanwyck, seen here in 1945, first made her mark on Hollywood as a Ziegfeld Follies dancer in the 1920s and quickly transitioned into acting.
Her long career spanned more than six decades, and she was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1982.
A vibrant shade of red.
Jeanne Crain, seen in a bright red bikini in this 1945 photo, was on the verge of stardom when this pic was taken.
Just four years later, she’d win an Academy Award for Best Actress, and went on to appear in productions until the early 1970s.
Posing as the waves crash.
This pic shows actress Janis Carter in 1945, when she would have been about 32 years old.
Carter was a minor pinup star of the World War II years, but is best remembered for hosting and co-hosting TV shows in the 1950s.
She appeared in Gone with the Wind.
The stark black bikini worn by Evelyn Keyes forms a sharp contrast with the striped red-and-white beach towel underneath her.
Keyes got her start in Hollywood as a chorus girl and went on to appear in Gone with the Wind, along with many other films, during her career.
Beachside at Cannes.
The Cannes Film Festival is a major event to this day, but vintage photos like this one show that the allure of Cannes has always stemmed from its beautiful weather and scenic beaches.
Here, a woman named Nicole Queva wraps a towel around her waist as she does a quick wardrobe check.
A Goldwyn Girl.
This photo shows Georgia Lange on the left, one of the ‘Goldwyn Girls.’ This was a group of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn to compete with the Ziegfeld Follies.
While Lange didn’t go on to Hollywood superstardom, several of her contemporaries — including Lucille Ball — did.
