30s 40s vtg US Navy Swimsuit WWII

[Vintage Betty]

Just posted to eBay

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Hello. I am looking at the picture you have on the listing with the measuring tape, showing laying flat the "across" the top of these shows 13 inches.....double that comes to a opening of 26 inches....that is not a 34 size....just letting you know. IF these were a size 34 waist, I would be bidding on them. 26 is awfully small.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Good catch, however the interior tag shows a 34 as the sizing???

Hello. I am looking at the picture you have on the listing with the measuring tape, showing laying flat the "across" the top of these shows 13 inches.....double that comes to a opening of 26 inches....that is not a 34 size....just letting you know. IF these were a size 34 waist, I would be bidding on them. 26 is awfully small.

 

[Dinerman]

Lovemyhats2, with knit goods like this, there is significant stretch, and with that measurement, I have no doubt that these are genuinely a size 34. When buying or selling things like this, its important to get both the unstretched and the fully stretched measurements.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I fully understand about the "give" in material such as these. However, as much as they measure, and given the factor they are not "new", I would think for me at least, if I wore those swim trunks one time, they would never be measure flat again at merely 13 inches, would be stretched forever into a 34 or more...lol! My point was to state the factor of what size they are, ( I see the tag) I have many pants "tagged" a 34 or even 36 that merely measure 32 or less...they don't work.....further I appreciate the listing, if those would work for me, I would bid until hell froze over, being a ex US Navy Diver (among other things) those trunks are not easy to come by today at all.

And, I know the person listing them is 100% top shelf in what they do selling. Bottom line is, my comments are only directed at information and not to "put down" the listing or the person listing them at all. I am well aware she is a sweetheart and sells very nice items for a reasonable price.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I happen to own an almost identical pair of military issue (U.S. Coast Guard) 30s swim trunks. Several point about the fit.

First, they sit very, Very, VERY high on the waist (mine sit 2 1/2" - 3" above my belly button), just below the bottom rib, which is the narrowest part of the torso. Hence the discrepancy between the tagged waist size and the measurement. Looking at the tapper in the picture, I bet if a measurement was taken 2" down from the draw string, they'd measure a lot closer to 34.

Second, these are intended to be skin tight and rely on the stretch of the knit to stay up. Since wool knits like these expand when wet, the are undersized in order to compensate for that.