Deborah Turbeville’s “bathhouse” sitting, formally titled “There’s More to a Bathing Suit Than Meets the Eye,” caused something of a scandal when it appeared in the May 1975 issue of Vogue. In the decades since then it went on to become one of the most iconic shoots of stylist Polly Mellen’s career. Mellen died at 100 this week, so we’re republishing it here, alongside the eyebrow-raising for different reasons “Story of Ohhh…,” which was photographed by Helmut Newton and appeared in the very same issue. It was an “extraordinary” feat” for both stories to be published the same month, says Corporate Photography Director Ivan Shaw, one that “can only be attributed to Mellen’s astonishing mix of creative brilliance and unwavering courage.” —Laird Borrelli-Persson
“There’s More to a Bathing Suit Than Meets the Eye” was first published in the May 1975 issue of Vogue. Photographed by Deborah Turbeville. Fashion Editor, Polly Mellen. Hair, François of Suga; Christiaan. Makeup, Sandra Linter.
. . . . And there’s more to beachdressing this season than a bathing suit. There’s a whole other way of looking on the beach that has nothing at all to do with the old-T-shirt-over-a-bikini number. It’s a new way of pulling yourself together that’s fresh, attractive, totally beguiling. . . . There’s a skirt that matches your bathing suit to slip on for lunch, for a drink, for cover. . . . There are wonderful cover-ups—like an oversized terry poncho—that could be just as happy doubling at home . . . the flirtiest little beach dresses in terry, gauze, the thinnest cotton print . . . pieces of gauze to wrap as a sarong . . . robes to slide over bare skin. Even a new bathing cap—a thin, bright, super-sleek rubber cap or a soft terry cap in the prettiest colors (no floating gardens anywhere here!). . . . And just because we’ve come this far without actually talking bathing suits, don’t think they fade into the background. Bathing suits have never been better. The big news is the maillot—the sleekest, sexiest suit on the beach—the suit to own this summer. There are maillots with different kinds of bareness for different beaches (what’s good for St. Tropez may not be good for the country club). The colors: white to black to terra cotta to a sparkling new violet—a great color on the skin, great in the sun. And there’s something more in the fabric—the lightest-weight Lycra ever for bathing suits and skirts. Deceptively light and thin, it holds the body wonderfully—and may very well change your mind about you and a maillot. . . . When you want to be barer, bikinis, of course—with surprises in that department, too. In fact, if you think this is just-another-bathing-suit report, you’re going to be in for a lot of surprises on these ten pages. . . .
