Evolution of suits over the years

[Byron]

Thanks James - long time no see and they seem to have a lot more cataloged in detail now.
We hadn't mentioned "paper" suits previously for the various fabrics and they are there for Seoul 1988 (and some board memberrs still have some).

[JamesSwim]

I remember from long ago a brief with stretch that was not made with Lycra.
I think it a Jantzen suit and was woven with nylon and some latex rubber -- kind of like an Ace ankle brace supporter.

[Byron]

Remember it just as you describe. A great fit and I had it in light blue. Never did know what to call that fabric but did not as I recall appear in any other than Jantzen suits. All I remember was a slight dimpled or honeycomb surface - not silky or shiny.

[JamesSwim]

Yes, mine was navy blue. It was cut with a front center seam, and the fit was good. It didn't stretch as much as like Lycra, and that made for a snug, different kind fit from suits you find today.

I don't think Jantzen sells men's suits anymore in the US, and I see some in eBay sold from Asia, but I think they just use or license the name.

[dorcas3]

I had a Catalina suit with side split going to nearly the waist. Yellow with blue trim. When sunning you could fold the sides back revealing a very skimpy liner.

[Brent]

Interesting thread. I swam competitively in the 90's, The common view back then was the smaller and tighter the speedo the better. For competition we had special racing suits. We wore them 1 size smaller than normal. This was to maximize the compression. It was more contoured and smaller on the sides than the regular speedo, very tight, and difficult to put on and take off. It didn't reach up all the way to cover my butt, and was unlined except for a thin layer of the same material up front. Visible penis (and balls) lines were the rule. We had to shave everywhere on our bodies, and i do mean everywhere. My obsession with swimming faster over-rode any modesty or embarrassment I felt. We switched to Speedo Aquablades around 1997, tight, striped, still worn a size too small, and semi-transparent. Supposedly it channeled water around the suit. I believe that the technology behind it led to idea that fabric could be less resistant than skin and therefore the larger suits evolved.

[Torchwatch]

At any time where performance takes priority over modesty then sportswear becomes briefer and/or tighter. When modesty takes over due to child protection, homophobic or religious issues sportswear becomes longer, baggier and looks more frumpy.
Performance demands that a swimmer in a tight brief suit shaves.
When materials that perform better than naked shaved skin are permitted than sportwear design can go anywhere, and resulted in bodysuits for swimmers.
Big baggy shorts accepted by prudes and frumps are great for sports fans, they can look sporty wearing the same gear as their heroes whilst tanking up on 10 pints of beer in a bar.

[Lap Counter]

Originally Posted by Brent

I swam competitively in the 90's, The common view back then was the smaller and tighter the speedo the better.

My obsession with swimming faster over-rode any modesty or embarrassment I felt.

During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Speedo plastered the city with bus stop posters of a U.S. team swimmer (I think it was Gary Hall Jr). He was wearing the smallest, tightest suit I'd ever seen. Suit top just barely high enough to cover penis base. Zero hair. Talk about over riding modesty and embarrassment! Wearing that suit would take balls, (but there would be no place to put them). Sticking your pic all over the city would take big brass ones.

It made the suit worn in the famous Mark Spitz poster look huge.

Brent - did those '90s suits stretch to accommodate you, or did the downsized compression just crush your balls? Did you learn any special tricks of how to place your goodies for comfort or look? Wondering, because the Speedo poster showed no hint of any detail. Might have been suit compression, or they might have air-brushed the detail out to make it acceptable for public viewing on a bus poster.