Vintage Beauty Pageants, Retro Bathing Suits 20s-50s

Labor day always signals the imminent end of long summer days, beaches and bathing suits, but for one more weekend let's celebrate the season! And nothing typifies the summer like vintage beauty pageants! So I thought it would be fun to celebrate this weekend by putting together a little tribute to the whacky and wonderful history of pageants.

1920's

"Beauty show at the Washington Bathing Beach", Washington DC 1922

Be sure to open these panoramas to view the full size image! They're stunning! And prints are available to purchase from this awesome vintage photography site, Shorpy!

"The Third Annual Pageant of Pulchritude / 9th Annual Bathing Girl Revenue", Galveston, TX, 1928

"Miss Atlantic City", 1927

"Miss Bobbed Hair", 1925

1930's

"Miss America" 1930

"Miss Radio Queen", 1939

1940's

Miss Philadelphia crowned Miss America, 1940

"Miss America", 1943

"Miss Toronto", 1946 - Love those early Catalina swimsuits!

1950's

By the 50's Catalina began sponsoring its own beauty contests!

Behind the scenes - getting ready for the evening gown portion

"National Catfish Queen", 1954

This newsreel highlight of the 1955 Miss California pageant features a quick tour of Santa Cruz, the arrival of the contestants, the pageant's bathing suit portion, an evening gown competition to die for, and a beachfront crowing. The winner was Barbara Harris, age 20. And for those as nosy as I am, you'll be happy to note that the reporter did his job very thoroughly - Miss Harris weighed 120 lbs, was 5'6",  and measured 34.5" - 23.5" - 34.5"!

1960's

How could I not include this goodie?!...

"Miss Mink", 1960

Enjoy the holiday! And don't be afraid to show off your best pageant wave this weekend!