Look out, it’s Jaws off the West Pier!

Brighton Argus, 10 May 1976

Sharks a mere 200 yards off  Brighton this weekend frightened swimmers and went dangerously close to two boats off the West Pier.

On Saturday afternoon, when the sharks were first spotted, police toured the beach with loud hailers warning swimmers not to go out too far. Among the first to spot the sharks was Susan Trangmar, of Ditchling Crescent, Brighton. She and her boyfriend, Roderick Coyne, were rowing about 200 yards from the West Pier when a passing speedboat hailed them.

“We looked around and saw the fins, Susan said. “There were two of them, really quite close to the boat.

“The most frightening moment was when one of them dived and we panicked for about three minutes, thinking it might come up underneath the boat, like something out of Jaws.”

Find this and other fascinating stories in our collection of local newspapers at the Brighton History Centre.

Women’s Fashion in the 1920s

Women’s fashion changed so significantly in the 1920s because of the social and political changes that occured in this exuberant decade.

Social Life and the Arts

After the horrors of the First World War, when thousands of young men died fighting in the trenches, there was a general relaxation of social rules. What followed was a decade of parties, typified by the new dance crazes, such as the Charleston, and a growing interest in jazz music. The arts flourished with Modernism and, after the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925, the Art Deco movement. Literature included novels such as The Great Gatsby by the American F. Scott Fitzgerald, works from the Bloomsbury group, including Virginia Woolf, plays by Noel Coward, or poetry by T. S. Eliot, including The Waste Land (1922). In Hollywood the film industry continued its steady growth, with influential starlets such as Louise Brooks, and in 1927 the introduction of the ‘Talkies’.

Political and Economic Upheaval

However, the decade also saw much political, economic and social upheaval. Women’s emancipation continued on from the Suffrage Movement of the previous decade. In 1919 women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote. However, it was not until 1928 that women were granted equal voting rights as men allowing them to vote at 21. There was growing industrialisation, and major investments were made on the stock exchanges. Meanwhile, poorer sections of British society were hit economically and discontent was expressed by the General Strike of 1926. Finally, the bubble of the Jazz Age of the 1920s finally burst on 24 October 1929 when the New York Stock Exchange crashed. The Wall Street Crash led into a period of financial hard times known as the Great Depression.

Clippers, with original box, used to style hair in the 1920s, CT002069

Fashion

In the immediate post-war period the lost youth of Europe were replaced by androgynous looking women who emulated and aspired to the slim, straight figure of an immature boy. This aesthetic replaced the maternal, feminine, hour-glass figure of the Edwardian age and earlier Gibson Girl. Constricting corsets were gradually replaced by lighter foundation garments, such as brassieres, first invented in 1914, and girdles. Flesh coloured silk stockings came into fashion, manufactured with back seams, although cotton lisle stockings were popular for more everyday use and sports.

Many women cropped their hair into a short bob, trimmed at the back with shingling-clippers. The look was dubbed garçonne, meaning ‘boyish’ in French. Often the bob was styled using the ‘Marcel Wave’; a method of waving the hair along natural lines using a pair of tongs, first invented by Marcel Grateau in 1872. The new smart, short hairstyles suited a new style of hat introduced in 1923 known as a cloche. These hats had deep, close-fitting crowns and no brim.

The look for the ‘bright young things’ was thoroughly modern, with clean lines and a feel of ease and comfort in the clothing they wore. Eligible ladies were presented at court Drawing Rooms, subsequently appearing in fashionable London society and were photographed wearing the latest designs from London and Parisian designers for the pages of Vogue and other, increasingly more numerous, varieties of women’s magazines. However, it was still possible to see older or less affluent women dressed in Edwardian clothing.

Dark red silk chiffon evening dress designed by Norman Hartnell,
1929, CT004010

Designers, Dressmakers and Department Stores

Gabrielle Chanel, known as ‘Coco’ to her friends, opened her couture house in 1919 and was one of the leading designers of the 1920s. She was famous for her easy-to-wear knitted garments, including sweaters and twin-set ensembles. Her clothing combined luxury with simplicity and was often teamed with stunning pieces of cosmetic jewellery. On 5 May 1921 she launched her first perfume, Chanel No.5. Other influential designers working during the 1920s included Poiret, Jeanne Lanvin, Vionnet, Schiaparelli, Edward Molyneux and Norman Hartnell, who opened his couture house in 1923.

As the number of designers who produced couture lines increased, so did the number of department stores who offered ready-to-wear trickle-down copies of the most up-to-date designs for the masses. With women’s emancipation, gradually more and more young women were going out to work, and thereby increasing the amount of money they had to spend on the latest fashions. Meanwhile, there still continued to be a large percentage of clothing made at home or by local dressmakers. In response to this market, a growing number of women’s magazines offered patterns and advice on making women’s and children’s clothing for the home dressmaker.

Trends 

Skirts

The beginning of the decade saw ankle length skirts and dresses, with a slightly dropped waistline. Lanvin, in particular, specialised in producing dresses with slightly flared or tiered skirts, with additional width over the hips. However, as the decade progressed, the line became more tubular with the skirt becoming increasingly cut in a straight line with the bodice. Skirts were at their shortest c.1925-1926, coming to just below the knee. Towards the end of the decade the look became more feminine, hemlines became longer, first unevenly with handkerchief skirts or cut longer at the back than the front. By 1929 ankle length skirts were back in fashion.

Egyptmania

The 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings in southern Egypt led to a period of Egyptmania, with Egyptian inspired motifs and hieroglyphics appearing on a variety of decorative art objects as well as clothing

Cosmetics

Also in this decade the use of cosmetics became increasingly popular. Both Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein had begun experimenting with new facial creams and a new variety of more skin friendly products began to emerge on the market. The fashion was for doll-like faces with pale faces, plucked eye brows, rouged cheeks, and red lips with the paint applied to the central lip and Cupid’s bow to produce a “bee-stung” silhouette.

 

This blog post was originally published on the Royal Pavilion and Museum’s website.

Brighton’s Beaches and Bathing Pools

Stylish, flamboyant and fun, Brighton has evolved over hundreds of years from a tiny fishing community into a vibrant, modern ‘city by the sea’. Today, Brighton is identified with many things – its festival, universities and fine Regency architecture among them – but its status as a fashionable seaside resort, along with its fascinating history, is perhaps its greatest attraction.

Brighton, pre 1869, HA920862

Early visitors to Brighton were motivated not by leisure or pleasure but by their health and wellbeing. Seawater cures were popular by the mid 18th century and Brighton’s proximity to London made it a good alternative to spa towns such as Bath. Lewes-based Dr Richard Russell moved his practice to Brighton in the 1750s, famously recommending that his patients not only swim in the sea, but also drink the salty water. Other physicians offered similar advice, prompting an influx of wealthy visitors to the town.

A Dip in the Sea

Public bathing was highly regulated, of course, and bathing machines were a familiar sight on Brighton’s beaches in the 18th and 19th centuries. These enclosed wooden carts were wheeled right into the sea so that bathers, having changed in private, could step into the water without exposing themselves in any way. Some swimmers employed a ‘dipper’ or ‘bather’ to help them into the water and provide further invigoration by plunging them up and down. Separate beaches were established for men and women and, in line with this segregation, male ‘bathers’ assisted men while female ‘dippers’ – of whom the most famous was Martha Gunn – attended to women.

Bathing carts, c1875, HA920345

Seawater swimming baths were also popular with Brighton’s aristocracy, since they provided the therapeutic benefits of the sea along with greater seclusion and protection from the elements. Few people swam for the sheer fun of it in the Georgian era; the healing powers of the water were the driving force.

Fashionable Society and the New Daytrippers

The Prince of Wales first visited Brighton in 1783 and was instantly seduced by its charms. The royal connection enhanced the town’s reputation as a sophisticated resort, despite the raffish behaviour of the prince’s circle of friends. Life in fashionable society in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was all about seeing and being seen, and this led to the creation of elegant public spaces and promenades in which to take the sea air. The 1820s in Brighton saw the development of Kemp Town’s imposing crescents, the construction of the Chain Pier and the opening of seafront carriage drives such as King’s Road, all to meet the needs of wealthy tourists.

Brighton beach and Chain Pier, c 1890, HA920305

However, it wasn’t just the rich who made their way to this part of the coast. The arrival of the railway linking London to Brighton in the mid 19th century brought an entirely different class of visitor. Thanks to the shortened journey time and affordable fares, working people were able to enjoy a day at the beach for the first time. Families packed into third-class carriages and descended on the town in their thousands, eager to enjoy the sights and sounds of the seaside. Punch and Judy shows, acrobatic displays and ice-cream stalls, not to mention paddling and picnicking on the pebbles, were all things that appealed to the new daytrippers.

The beau monde, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic about rubbing shoulders with the lower classes, so the fashionable ‘season’ shifted to the cooler months. Luxury hotels, including The Grand, were built on the seafront to accommodate guests searching for winter sunshine, while the newly opened West Pier allowed them to take the sea air.

Changes Through the 20th Century

By the mid 19th century, swimming had become a popular pastime. Brighton Swimming Club, founded in 1860, provided ‘aquatic entertainment’, ranging from swimming races and water polo matches to diving displays, all of which could be viewed from the pier. Many of the club’s traditions have survived, including the annual Christmas morning swim, which has been taking place for more than 100 years.

The end of the Victorian era coincided with a gradual relaxation of the more formal codes of behaviour. Mixed bathing was finally sanctioned in Brighton in 1901, giving greater freedom for couples and families to enjoy a day at the beach together. Swimwear became less restrictive – and a whole lot more stylish – while the 19th century obsession with retaining a pale complexion became a thing of the past. Instead, holidaymakers sunned themselves on the terraces of the Aquarium and the Palace Pier, at the outdoor pool at Black Rock, and the Art Deco lido at Saltdean. Beauty pageants, such as the Bathing Belle competition, reflected the carnival atmosphere of the period, while photographs taken during the 1920s and 1930s capture the sense of fun and frivolity. In contrast, Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, which was published in 1938, depicted a darker side to life.

Thinking of you at Brighton, 1920s, HA920359

Brighton’s beaches were closed during the war and, in the years that followed, the effects of rationing and of financial hardship were clearly felt by the town and its inhabitants. An air of optimism returned in the 1950s, as people flocked to the piers and beaches once more – in 1957, 95,000 people were reported to have visited the Palace Pier during the August Bank Holiday weekend. This was the age of helter skelters and slot machines, rock shops and paddle steamers. The introduction of the Promettes – chic, uniformed young women who were employed to answer questions and provide assistance to weekend visitors – was one of the more memorable initiatives of the 1950s. Described in one local paper as ‘walking information bureaux with sex appeal’, they added a touch of glamour to the promenade.

But the holiday industry was changing and, in the 1960s and 1970s, the English seaside faced competition from package deals to the Mediterranean. Coastal resorts were forced to reinvent themselves in order to survive, and Brighton was no exception. Key developments that have come to define the town include the establishment of Sussex University in the early 1960s, the annual Brighton Festival, which first took place in 1967, and the Marina, a controversial idea that came to fruition in the 1970s. Since then, Brighton – along with Hove – has been awarded city status and, while much has changed, much has remained the same. People are drawn by its unique character, and there is still a sense, as you step off the train and head down the hill to the beach, that this is a place where anything might happen.

Kate Elms, Brighton History Centre