How did pre-Lycra suits fit

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

JamesSwim,

My pre lycra swimsuits were made of nylon and poly. They had some stretch to them, but not nearly as much as lycra. Other than less stretch, they pretty much fit just like swimsuits fit today. If you go back to some of the pictures of swimmers like Mark Spitz, I am pretty sure the suits they have on are not lycra. The older Ocean suits were all nylon and while they were technically briefs, I recall they were a pretty loose fit, in fact after we got our first Speedo briefs, we wore the old Ocean 5 inch briefs over them sometimes as drag suits. The old Nylon suits material was a bit shiny, but I had a some suits back then that were really cool looking. They also lasted much longer than lycra blends in the chlorinated water. I had a black and gold Speedo that lasted years, and I wore that suit all the time. I had an Arena suit that looked really cool, and it lasted until I accidentally left it at the pool... it was a favorite and I was heartbroken when I lost it.

The only difference is they were not as clingy. They were also tighter in some ways, and less forgiving to changes inside... so, if your parts grew a bit, the stretch only went so far and then thing like the leg openings might start to pull away, whereas lycra just expands around you.

Even today some of those nylon blend suits are still around. Some of the truly chlorine resistant suits sold today are actually the same Nylon/Poly blends of old.

STS