New York Evening Telegram, May 26 (1921)

Long Beach Bars Lizard Baldheads and Women Sans Socks

LONG BEACH, L.I., May 26 – One-piece bathing suits and bald-headed “beach lizards” have been positively ruled out of Long Beach for the coming season by Chief of Police Patrick Tracy.

Women absolutely “must” wear two-piece bathing suits, Police Captain Walter Barriscale said today, in making the announcement of the Chief’s new regulations, and men who come to the beach to stare will find themselves in trouble. Moreover, women must wear socks. 

New York Evening Telegram, May 30 (1921)

Rockaway Beach Most Decorous

Ten Commandments of Woman Police Captain

Must Be Obeyed, She Says

Policewomen at Rockaway Beach are going to keep an eye peeled for signs of immodesty by women and men bathers. And woe be to the male or female of the species who deigns to expose – well, who deigns to expose.

Pretty maidens contemplating donning one-piece creations of the California type in the torrid months had better keep away from Rockaway Beach. The sharp-eyed women police’ll get ‘em if they don’t watch out.

Bare legs are ab-so-lute-ly taboo. A woman can’t even show her shoulder blade. Those living at the beach are prohibited from donning their bathing garb in their homes and walking down to the beach without wearing clothes over the surf outfit.

And those who were in the habit of driving to the beach in their motor cars and slipping into their Annette Kellermanns in the sanctity of their limousing or ducking down in the tonneau will find the rigid arm of the law clasped about their shoulders if they try it this year.

Ten commandments for the benefit of bathers at Rockaway Beach were issued today by Mrs. Mary Morris, captain of the Women’s Police Reserve. They are:

1. Women and girls must wear bathing suits that are modest and men must do the same. No one-piece bathing suits allowed.

2. Bathers must sit around the beach like well-behaved persons.

3. No young women should walk along the boulevard in bathing suits and all dolled up with rouge and powder.

4. Women must wear skirts over their suits and men trousers over their suits while walking from their homes to the beach and back.

5. Bathers must not ride to the beach in automobiles and use them for bathhouse purposes.

6. Young couples should not entwine in each other’s arms while lying on the sands of the beach.

7. Women must not expose bare legs.

8. Women must not expose shoulder blades too much.

9. Bathers should not play ball on the beach.

10. Bathers must not hang out wet bathing suits from the front windows of their house.

Mrs. Morris has seventeen women policewomen to assist her in seeing that her ten commandments are obeyed. They will not be in uniform, but will wear a glistening badge of authority, b’gosh!

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I thought this was too funny to pass up sharing. But can we find some middle ground here? We’ve gone from neck to toe coverage to cheek-less bottoms and barely there tops. We need to put the fashion car in reverse and back it up a decade or two.

For more interesting history on the beach, check out: On The Beach