Evolution of suits over the years
We're forgetting about "Ocean"!! They had "racing" suits well before Speedos started to be imported from Australia. Ocean "Champion" - a 7 or 8 inch side cut which was well over twice as much fabric as in the modern "Speedo".
And, yes, before that there were those horrible, itchy, heavy, water-logged wool suits which tended to drag you to the bottom of the pool.
Does anyone remember silk racing suits? I'm told that they existed before WW II. At that point all silk went into the war effort - parachutes.
If memory serves, Speedos were first imported into the US following the 1960 Olympic Games, I bought my first one in the summer of 1963 - a solid maroon nylon suit with ~7" sides.
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