Life, 1929-07-26 · page 22 of 36
Life — July 26, 1929 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1920s humor piece mocks the social scene at exclusive New York beach clubs (Lido, Larchmont Shore Club, etc.) and the people who frequent them. The satire targets fashionable beach culture: women in "backless bathing suits" that expose their bodies (scandalous for the era), sun-tanned "beach blondes," men who suddenly act athletic in bathing suits, and drunk boat-party guests thrown overboard. The piece ridicules the artificiality—fake tans that "come off," women pretending not to swim, exhausted businessmen seeking recovery from city life. Key targets include social pretension, physical vanity, excessive drinking, and the contradiction between dignified society folk and their undignified beach behavior. The "Sailor Beware" and "Playboys" sections mock intoxication and crude behavior masquerading as sophistication. The illustrations show beachgoers in various comic poses—lounging, diving, congregating at beach huts—emphasizing their leisure and absurdity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
20 DN @w Seascape HE many Beach Clubs around New York where the water sports hang out... the Lido at Long Beach .. . Milton Point Ca- sino at Rye... Larchmont Shore Club... Manursing Island... Davenport Neck Club in New Rochelle +++ Orienta . .. Westchester-B il t more... Sands Point Casino... and several others where the great washed congregates. Sand Flies The bow-legged gels in beach pa- jamas (They must be bow-legged or they wouldn't wear 'em) ... all the sun-kissed beauties lolling on the sands (under shady umbrellas) . . . they toil not, neither do they swim... the nutty brown maidens with their artificial tan . . . the skin you love to touch—not . . . it comes off! ee A ~@. SO O fe) Beach Blondes The society col- umns exposed by the backless bath- ing suits... why is it most women have funny backs? ++.the gypsy tanned gels suffer- ing from sunburn «..the wrecks that go down to the sea in bum shape trying to re- cuperate from the weck’s grind in the city . . . they seem to think that a dip in the salt water will make everything all jake... jump and frisk about, they walk on their hands, they throw a tennis ball just as hard as anything . . . why not cover the city streets with sand in the summer time and make bath. ing suits compulsory? . . . think how peppy our tired business men would be. Sailor Beware The boat parties . . . the marvelous displacement of the guests . . . the cocktails that can be thrown overboard without the host knowing it . . . the drunks that can be thrown overboard (also without the host knowing it) and brought back sober . . . the guest — Fish Thin people, fat people, tall people, short people . . . the sea is so full of a number of things I’m sure we should all be as sad as kings . . . no wonder the tide goes out! . . . the fat mammas in the one-piece bathing suits . . . they look like the new Bremen. Playboys The curious phenomenon that makes men suddenly go athletic the minute they get into bathing suits . . . they that always dives overboard fully dressed ... the hilarious laughter . «the stock expression—“God help the sailors on a night like this!” and the - side-splitting — nautical terms... the tender back to shore and the muttered resolve, “Never again!” Pier Gents The end of the pier... the two hundred-pound bird that does the swan dive . . . the matinee idol who comicbooks.com