Men's Swimsuits From the Early 20th Century, One of the Most Awful Costumes of All Time

Swimsuit regulations were the strictest in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when men were prohibited by law and custom from going bare-chested in public. Woolen one-piece suits with cutoff sleeves and legs were the common style.

In the 1930s, that began to change, and men actually organized protests arguing for the right to go topless, many of whom were cited for public indecency. Finally, in 1936, the topless ban was lifted in Westchester, New York, and other cities and states followed suit, mostly for economic reasons.

From that point on, swimsuits were more about function and style than modesty. Specialty suits began to evolve in the ’60s and onward, leading up to today’s world of wetsuits, boardshorts, drag suits for training, and more.

These photos will show the reason why men’s swimsuits from between the 1900s and 1920s are so awful.

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Here's How People From 1893 Imagined What We Would Be Wearing From Every Decade Up To the 1990s

These illustrations from a delightful piece called the “Future Dictates of Fashion” by W. Cade Gall and published in the January 1893 issue of The Strand magazine.

On the premise that a book from a hundred years in the future (published in 1993) called The Past Dictates of Fashion has been inexplicably found in a library, the article proceeds to divulge this book’s contents – namely, a look back at the last century of fashion, which, of course, for the reader in 1893, would be looking forward across the next hundred years into the future.

In this imagined future, fashion has become a much respected science (studied in University from the 1950s onwards) and is seen to be “governed by immutable laws”.

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

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These Astonishing Vintage Photographs Show Just How Tough Kids Raised in Yesteryear Were

Those were the days before they put the word ‘care’ into childcare. Author Chris Wild has unearthed some astonishing historic photos for his book — The Retronaut Guide To Raising Children: The Past Like You Wouldn’t Believe.

These pictures show just how tough kids raised in yesteryear were. A far cry from the cotton wool parenting of today - parents of the past raised their kids tough. While the Mumsnet generation of parents must be reaching for the smelling salts, we can only say: Please, don’t try this at home!

Got a light, kid? These kids look far too experienced at smoking cigarettes for their age.

Hung out to dry: These babies certainly don't look like they are enjoying hanging out the washing.

Fighting fit: Baby boys given tiny boxing gloves in a makeshift boxing ring.

Children receiving sun ray treatment at the child welfare centre in Harrow Road, west London. It was thought the treatment prevented anaemia and chest infections.

Synchronised swimming: Novice bather's learn on a 'merry go-round' at their school in Cincinnati in 1930.

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Everyday Life of the Great Britain During Edwardian Era Through Amazing Found Photos

These found slides from John Rochon that document everyday life of the Great Britain from Edwardian time.

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Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson: Portrait Photos of The Hero of the American Civil War (1861-1865)

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863) was a war hero and one of the South's most successful generals during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

After a difficult childhood, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in time to fight in the Mexican War (1846-48). He then left the military to pursue a teaching career.

After his home state of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, Jackson joined the Confederate army and quickly forged his reputation for fearlessness and tenacity during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign later that same year. He served under General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) for much of the Civil War.

Jackson was a decisive factor in many significant battles until his mortal wounding by friendly fire at the age of 39 during the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863.

These rare photos are portrait of this hero from the late 1840s to the last days of his life.

Portrait of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson during the Mexican-American War, 1847

“Stonewall” Jackson as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War, 1847

Jackson in 1851

Jackson in 1851

Portrait of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in 1855

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35 Interesting Vintage Snapshots of 1960s Women With Bouffant Hairstyle

A bouffant is a type of hairstyle characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.

The modern bouffant, considered by one source to have been invented by British celebrity hairdresser Raymond Bessone, was noted by LIFE in the summer of 1956 as being “already a common sight in fashion magazines.”

The style became popular at the beginning of the 1960s when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was often photographed with her hair in a bouffant, and her style was widely imitated. Generally speaking, by the mid-1960s many well-dressed women and girls were wearing some form of bouffant hairdo, which in one variation or another remained the fashionable norm until supplanted by the geometric bob cut at the end of the decade, and the looser shag or feathered styles of the early 1970s.

Middle-aged women who dressed conservatively clung to the style a little longer, while their teenaged daughters, imitating the look of popular folk-rock singers such as Joan Baez, Mary Travers, and Cher, began abandoning bouffants in favor of long, straight “ironed hair” as early as 1965.

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France in the XXI Century: Here's What People Predicted Today’s World Would Look Like From One Hundred Years Ago

A series of futuristic pictures by Jean-Marc Côté and other artists issued in France in 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1910. Originally in the form of paper cards enclosed in cigarette/cigar boxes and, later, as postcards, the images depicted the world as it was imagined to be like in the then distant year of 2000.

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