For some reason I thought this old fashioned bathing suit was something I downloaded in the long distant misty past and I also had them for the kids. I've been searching through my back ups and now I'm wondering if it is a Maxis skin that came with the game and I am delusional. There is a skin for an adult male in the same style, but none for children.

I mean a style matching the period, not that the male sims is cross dressing. Not that I care if my Sims want to cross dress, it just isn't what's happening in this case

As far as I remember, it came with House Party. House Party brought a huge selection of themed clothing, with most of them packed into the costume chest. I think the 60s were one of those themes.

Hmm... 🤔 I'm not wrong about the theme, but these particular "sailor" swimsuits were actually introduced as purchasables Downtown by Hot Date -- intended as expansions on the House Party themed clothes selection. (You'll find them in ExpansionShared/SkinsBuy.)



These kinds of vintage swimwear are actually still in trend as a fashion statement, and still being sold today. They're actually classic, timeless -- they've been ever since the 80s (maybe even earlier).

They are actually inspired by 30s' swimsuit fashion.



They're designer clothing -- fashion swimwear, expensive.

Hot Date introduced purchasable designer clothing, and places where you could show off your sims' fashion sense (beaches, restaurants, etc.).

Thanks. With the skirt they’re actually look more pre WW1, but it’s hard to tell just looking at the bitmap. I’m torn between being relieved I can stop looking and annoyed at myself for misremembering. Oh well a lot has happened since then, I was bound to have deleted some memories to make more room in my noggin

Yes, they are inspired by 30s' fashion, with classic navy uniform themes (from the 20s). Not quite as far back as pre-WW1, but almost.





You'll find that a lot of the supposedly "new" skins we discover online for The Sims are actually taken straight from either the House Party costume chest (ExpansionPack2/Skins), or from the Hot Date purchasable clothes selection (ExpansionShared/SkinsBuy).

I wouldn't necessarily blame your memory. You may remember it correctly: you may have come across it as a "new" downloadable skin online, when in fact it was already a part of the game, just as a purchasable.

More like these with the skirt. Maybe the same theme as that Sherlock Holmes head I spotted with a pipe and a deerstalker hat

This predates it, I think. That is swimwear fashion from the 1910s/1920s.



The design of the Sims "sailor" swimwear actually reflects 60s' fashion with 30s'/20s' themes.

Sherlock Holmes is a stereotype. The game has a number of classic cultural stereotypes: the blonde bombshell, the Italian charmer, the party dude, the jock, the mime, and the private detective to list a few.



I don't think Sherlock Holmes is a part of the era costumes -- although you could consider him part of the House Party costume chest. House Party did install a few of its wild costumes as base selectable clothes for the sims, and I think this was one of them.

Other ones are Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, and a barbarian couple, for example.

You have some other 60s fashion swimwear (some 1930s or even earlier themed/inspired) in the House Party costume chest:



The 60s is one of the main themes/interests in the original Sims game.





The game was originally fashioned after 60s style suburban sitcoms. That's why.

Actually, you are right, @FrancesWeyr. I thought they were just Edwardian-inspired, vintage 60s swimsuits, but they look more like actual Edwardian bathing suits in-game:



The do look like they are from the 1910s. (Or at least a slightly more modern, Simlish spin on bathing suits from that era.)

While these bathing suits are vintage and timeless in terms of fashion (they were as present and sold in 1960s fashion as they are today), they do come from 1901-1910, the pre-WW1 era, as you said. So you're correct.

They're Edwardian era bathing suits.

Maybe somebody thought it would be a hoot if they clicked “swimsuit “ on the party trunk and the result covered more than the Sim’s regular clothes

Oh, that is most definitely a theme with the House Party costume chest! It contains a lot of wild costumes. They're meant to be party costumes, so many are extravagant.

But these bathing suits are purchasable Downtown, and came with Hot Date. They're meant to be expensive, fashionable items of clothing.

If you do a search online today for "Edwardian swimsuit", you'll see a lot of new ones being sold even today.



They're still considered vintage, and fashionable.