What is happening to my Aussiebums
 

I have one of the first suits they made. Light blue double panel front, single on the rear. The rear portion is almost see-thru, but a little stiff (not that guys). The double panel front is smooth as always.

The other issue is the waistband it seems that the drawstring is glued to the suit. I cannot get it to slide either way. I have always rinsed in the shower and air dry, never in the washer or dryer.

According to my database of lycra it was given to me in 2004 by Phil.

Any ideas?????

Lycra AB deterioration
 

How/where stored?
How often taken out?
Just how many years applies to "one of the first"?
Were they nwt when donated by Phil?

I found that Aussiebum nylon suits do last a lot longer than the lycra or other blends, but not as good as the old speedo nylon. The material seems to break down and the color fades. I have nylon speedos that were my fathers when he was in school in the 60's that are as good as new.
The draw string stuck in the suit is a sign the rubber in the waist is breaking down. It has a tendency to either become brittle and break up, or turn liquid and into glue. Either way, it goes along with the fading suit as far as longevity of a suit goes.

If a suit is past it put it in your personal speedo museum then get out and buy a new pair.
There is great excitement to be had from searching and trying on suits in your local stores, and the experience of handing a skimpy suit over to the girl at the checkout hoping she hasn't noticed the bulge that trying it on has caused.
Of course searching the internet you will find a cornucopia of styles, colours and print patterns to explore, imagine yourself wearing and dare to buy.
Hanging on to just one pair of swim briefs until the fabric has gone saggy and see through and the elastic has collapsed brings speedos into disrepute and puts the manufacturers and their workers out of business.
Use and enjoy your swimwear but the more you love to wear it the sooner you will need to replace and upgrade.

chlorine
 

sounds like you may not have rinsed them as well as possible... the chlorine residue wreaks havoc on man made fabrics, like Nylon and/or lycra.

that is true for lycra or spandex, however, 100% nylon can go on forever in salt or chlorine. Providing it is a quality nylon to start with. Like I said, I wore the same nylon suit my father wore when he was on college swim team and even after years in a chlorine pool they are almost like new. Sorry to say that Aussibum nylon suits, for some reason don't hold up as well. I don't think the nylon is as sturdy as Speedo uses and amazed how the color fades.

Its a game
 

If the suits lasted indefinitely, the companies that make them would not get to sell more suits as replacements. Same issure the car companies have run into..with cars now routinely going 100,000+ miles, people end up keeping their cars longer, trading less often, and the compsanies do not sell as many. Products can be too good to make money on.

Thank you all for you insight. I am not making disparities against Aussybums, was just curious.
Unfortunately all my nylon, and nylon /lycra are stored in plastic boxes. Lid are tight, but not air tight. Space is the problem since I have been collecting for 30 years. Some of that time I dedicated a closet to the collection, but I cannot now.

Heck, yesterday I came across an origin Finals suit with the Speedo board logo on it.

collection
 

:) LOL - time to have a historic speedos museum website I think

what?
 

A Finals Speedo... talk about the ultimate brand conflict.