Slim Aarons began his career in the trenches. After his years as a war correspondent for Life magazine, he decided to devote his work to far more cheerful and glamorous subjects: photographing the jet set in moments of festivity and languor in the world’s most exclusive locales.
Thanks to him, we have a glimpse of how the rich and famous lived, and, perhaps most importantly, dressed. In his images from the early 1960s a more covered up assortment of pastel sundresses and structured one pieces may prevail (after all, the idea of swimwear as we understand it today was still in its infancy), but in the ’70s finally comes the bikini designed specifically for sunbathing. If kaftans with colorful prints are a favorite of those who embrace the hippie aesthetic, royals and high society prefer shirts in white or sorbet hues, midriff-bearing two-pieces, and piqué polo shirts.
The dress code, of course, changes as the decades go by: The capri pants of the 1960s give way to crochet tops and Lilly Pulitzer’s signature candy-colored minidresses. The two-piece becomes increasingly skimpy while the swim cap, often worn in 1960s shots, becomes obsolete.
The subjects of the photographs are never in forced poses—the shots are stolen moments in time. From an image of Marisa Berenson lying in the sun on Capri, to C.Z. Guest, one of Truman Capote’s infamous swans, winking from a Miami pool, one has the feeling of coming upon a time capsule into which we can peek closely at the gilded lives of the most prominent—or glittering and secretive—people. Not to mention the places that served as backdrop, first and foremost Capri, but also Palm Beach, Athens, and the French Riviera’s Hotel du Cap.
Wherever you are, look no further than these evocative snapshots of summers gone by—a transportive trip of your own.
Original story from VF Italia.
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