Esther Williams as Caroline Brooks in 'Bathing Beauty' Designed by Irene Sharaff / Irene

Beige silk one-piece bathing suit ornamented in diamond motif with square framed rhinestones. The elastic straps are ornamented with rectangular framed rhinestones.

Esther Williams was an Olympic swimmer hopeful, but because of the outbreak of WWII was unable to participate. She eventually landed a contract at MGM and they created a genre that perfectly matched her athleticism and her beauty. A special pool measuring 90-foot square and 20-foot deep was built on stage 30 at MGM and some of the most spectacular water spectaculars ever filmed were shot there featuring “America’s Mermaid.”

The influence her bathing suits made to the swimsuit industry was enormous and Esther Williams even had her own line of bathing suits. Many of the bathing suits were not expected to spend hours in a pool and survive and the spectacular entrances of her rising out of water, looking beautiful and dry, were filmed with her entering the water and then run backwards.

Appeared on Life Magazine Cover