Sleek Revive

The sleek black swimsuit is a survival from the era when swimwear was not a costume but an element in the composition of a picture. The materials are modern, but the concept harks back to the days when the men wore trunks and the women wore something that suggested they might be about to dive off the springboard at the old Stamford baths. This swimsuit wouldn’t look out of place in a colour movie of the 1950s, perhaps with Esther Williams in the starring role. It has a square neck that could have been a scoop, and spaghetti straps that might have been wider. The fabric is described as highly stretchy, meaning that it will maintain its shape until a certain point, after which it will maintain some other shape. The care instructions are of the kind that means you can risk it in the machine if you can’t face the thought of rinsing it out in the sink. The swimsuit is suitable for outdoors or for the beach, which just about covers the options. The polyamide content is lower than the elastane, which is the right way round if you care about stretch. The picture shows a swimsuit that is a triumph of style over fashion. The moment when it goes out of style will never be the moment when it goes out of style.