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Cabana Beach, California c. 1927-1930 CB2L10-15 Costume Backless haltered maillot playsuit. Hat, towel. Beach chair. Strappy short heels. Hat. Beach ball, chair, umbrella. Halloween pumpkin. TL. Armpits. Actions Bow stands next to a beach chair and stretches, clenching her hand, scrarf aflutter, armpits on display; not the ball in the chair (1). She strikes much the same pose in front of a beach umbrella (2). The full side of the maillot is visible as Bow hangs onto a fence (3); this image is actually featured on a Ross Verlang Movie Star card (4). When she turns away from us one can see that her entire back is bare and the swimsuit threatens cleavage to the sides (5). Bow also wears this same maillot in the studio to pose with a Halloween pumpkin (6, 7). Commentary What is significant about this costume is its earliness as a haltered maillot. It is not one of Bow's tightest maillots. Is it possible that these are separates, pinned together? Source Attributed to Otto Dyar, photographer, by AliceJapan, flickr.com. Image sources include Chickeyonthego, flickr.com, clarabow.net, acephotos.org, and others. One of these is a Ross Verlang card with a number of 4971/3, which suggests a publish date of the card of 1929-1930, which means the shoot precedes that. 7 pictures. |
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