Last weekend our family flew to Utah for BYU's Parent's weekend. We have three children and one daughter in law attending Brigham Young University so we can truly claim to be uber parents! One of the things we did while there was tour a special
collection at the BYU library. Among old
books, I was surprised to see a women's swimsuit in the collection. I learned that it was a relic of the 1950's
and was made by a very interesting Mormon woman named Rose Marie Reid.
Rose Marie learned to sew expertly at a really young age as
she grew up in Utah. She worked at the
family grocery store which helped her learn entrepreneurial skills. With her marriage in 1922 she moved to
Canada. Her husband coached swimmers and
complained to her that his swimsuit was heavy and bothered him. Like most swimsuits, his was made of
wool! Thick, absorbent and heavy when
wet, like a sweater! Men and women wore
one piece sleeveless tank tops sewn to boxers for swimming-- and they were
shapeless, ugly and heavy when wet. With
a different idea, Rose Marie took an old twill jacket and cut it up, making
shorts for him that laced up on the sides for a good fit. He loved them!
He asked her to make another men's suit and two women's
suits for his competitive swimmers. They
modeled them for a local department store, which ordered several dozen of each
to sell. Rose Marie was
flabbergasted. She didn't want to start
a business, just make a few suits. She
asked local women to sew them and filled the orders, and she was in business as
'Reid Holiday Togs.' She refined her
swimsuits to fit all body types and flattered all women. This was such a difference from the shapeless
tank shorts that women loved them.
Demand continued to outstrip what she could supply and Rose Marie kept
expanding. When she made more money than
her husband, who was still coaching swimmers, the marriage faltered. After the divorce, she moved to California with
her three kids. The demand for her
swimsuits was the greatest in Los Angeles.
She renamed the business 'Rose Marie Reid' and got more creative in her
designs. Her biggest boosts to business
came when Hollywood movie stars wore her swimsuits and spoke of them
glowingly.
The 1950's were Rose Marie's biggest years in business. In 1951 Life Magazine praised her designs and
the most revolutionary suit. She was
named Woman of the Year in 1955 by the Los Angeles times and Designer of the
Year by Sports Illustrated and the American Sportswear Designer award. Even though she was a single mom, she churned
out design after design and seamstresses sewed like mad to keep up with
orders. At one point, they were making
10,000 swimsuits a day! Other companies,
seeing the new trends Rose Marie was starting, copied her designs. One company owner bragged that they all
copied her designs because if they didn't, they would be out of business. Brazenly, one even named one of their
swimsuits 'Rose Marie.' This just
prompted Rose Marie to be more creative with her next design.
Rose Marie wanted to help when the Los Angeles temple was
being built. In those days, members paid
money into building funds to build churches and temples. Rose Marie designed a specific swimsuit for
the purpose of fundraising for the temple.
It was white with sequins sewn in patterns all over it. She made the suits up and had the sequins
sewn on by Relief Society sisters, then sold with all profits going toward the
temple fund. She raised $100,000 for the
fund this way (which would be about a million dollars today.) THIS is the swimsuit I saw at the BYU
library. Awesome!
In the 1960's, bikinis became popular. Rose Marie built her company on the
principles of the Gospel and refused to design immodest designs. Her company had non-members on the board and
they insisted that she follow the trends.
Rose Marie refused and left the company that she founded so many years
before. With her departure, the company
became just like any other and slowly failed.
Rose Marie held onto her values although she could have
compromised in other ways as well. Once
she was offered $250,000 to appear on the back cover of Life Magazine. The catch-- she would have to say she smoked
Camel cigarettes and appear with a lit cigarette in her hand. She refused, although she could have used the
money at the time.
She also shared the gospel with all of her associates,
serving as a set-apart missionary for over 20 years. She helped write pamphlets for the church
that targeted the Jewish community, as she was good friends with several Jews
and knew how to relate the gospel to them.
And she donated lots of money over the years to BYU.
I admire Rose Marie because she stood firm to her values
regardless of the pressure she felt in her business and social life. In spite of her hardships, she valued her
family and did her best with her situations.
And I love her designs, which help women be modest and yet
fashionable. Her designs are making a
comeback today as modest values return. She set a great example for me.
For more information, see:
Ainsworth, April and Michelle Brisendine; "Rose Marie Reid: Vingate Designer Bios," www.vintagevixen.blogspot.com, August 27, 2011.
Peterson, Roger K and Carole Reid Burr. "A Genius for Beauty: Rose Marie Reid." Mormons and Popular Culture. ed. James Michael Hunter. pp. 213-228.
Smith, Julie M. "Rose Marie Reid." Times and Seasons, 12 September 2006. www.timesandseasons.org.
Walford, Jonathan. "Canadian Fashion Connections-- Rose Marie Reid." Jonathan Walford's Blog. December 3, 2010. http://kickshawproductions.com/blog/
Wikipedia.com, "Rose Marie Reid."
Photo courtesy of moviestarmakover.com
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