The Freedom of Infancy

Women being paternalized societally wasn’t uncommon during a time when women were trying to find their place. Bathing suits were form-fitting one-pieces, a two-piece that accentuated the bust, or a dress-style piece that included a contoured waist along with a flared-out hip. These three different types of swimwear along with the general fashion trend of the time were to highlight Christian Dior’s “New Look” which was at its peak. The “New Look” strayed away from the straight and disciplined lines of wartime clothing and allowed a new type of silhouette that celebrated curves of the wide bust, small waist, and wide hips. While this was being celebrated, Claire McCardell began working on a line that celebrated women's fashion while still allowing the functionality that was lost in the “New Look”. McCardell’s Playsuit and the bloomer silhouette itself encouraged women to embrace a new look that wasn’t an accentuation of their curves and challenged the roles they were forced into.

Amidst the feminine movement, and rebelling against the societal culture that involved the expectation that women must be mothers, there was a boom in finding femininity separate from the male gaze. The 1950s was the time for leaving the mindset of war and ushering in modernity with the atomic space age and technology. During the war, women were called to the lines as aid to the soldiers and to fill the space left by the men leaving home. With the end of World War II, women were finally allowed back the space to exist beyond the constraints of war and embrace their previous gender roles. This epidemic of exploring peace started in smaller areas that they could control like fashion. Fashion for the time was bigger than just a place for self-expression. For fashion, this was the time of exploring the female form as more than a mother figure and leaning into the joy that was lost to the war. 

Claire McCardell’s line created a more practical “American Look” which included fewer lines and allowed women to participate in ready-to-wear clothes that they could be active in. The Playsuits were highlighting without sacrificing, which made McCardell's look out of the box. Including the fact that it may infantilize the women wearing the suits because infant clothes were the main inspiration behind these creations. It was a breakout from the expected role of the mother figure and sexual objectification that women were constantly subjected to. This isn’t the first bathing suit to do this with the “Ballerina swim dress” allowing the women to resemble the look of younger girls as well. The infancy of the romper kills the objectification and lets in the peace of not having to worry about your body.

 The bloomer silhouette allowed the piece to shatter what women had constantly been demoted to and let in a playful look. The ruching flare held by the thin strings at the top covers the chest area and keeps the curves of the chest hidden, morphing the usual dissected body into one form. The stripes give a lively energy which were a common clothing pattern throughout this time on men's clothes. Taking from the men's style and putting it on the women masculinize the bathing suit along with the form itself. It’s no secret that bathing suits were, and still are, for the eye candy they provide, and the bubble form fought against that. The bubble form takes away and the cinching at the thighs keeps the legs separated while still being protective, and true, to the bubble. It encases the woman's form and makes it her own again without losing the joyous feel of going to the beach with your family and having fun. The playsuit allows a childlike whimsical look when wearing it, especially at the beach where you often see infants playing in the sand in similar suits. Women getting tired of what they had to do by the rules of society such as having children, and this infantilization of their clothing is a different type of way for them to rebel. The playsuit was made with activity in mind for the woman without sacrificing her autonomy as it had been through time. 

McCardell created multiple versions of the Playsuit with different colors, different bloomer bottoms, and even a bikini style. The Playsuit represents leaving the objectification in the past and moving into the future where women are allowed to exist without being paternalistic.