In the late 1800s swimwear consisted of fully covered gowns and bloomers that revealed very little. Although the sun’s harmful UV rays were an unknown danger at the time, this conservative beachwear would have provided a good deal of protection.

By the early 1900s, beach resorts were becoming a popular destination. But water activities such as swimming and diving were a burden due to the bulky Victorian-style swimsuits, especially for the women. By the 1920s fitted swimwear that modestly conformed to the body became a part of beach fashion. Here's a collection of 20 beautiful vintage photos of swimwear models from the 1920s.

Circa 1925: Five women at the beach posing in their swimming costumes, England. (Keystone View/FPG/Getty Images)

Circa 1929: Actress Joan Blondell is seen modeling on the beach. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Circa 1922: A girl waves to a friend as she sits on a blow up beach ball. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1925: A model wearing Palm Beach fashions. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

April 1928: Models wearing brightly colored beach wraps and rubberized bathing hats on the rooftop of a store in Oxford Street, London. (Davis/Getty Images)

Circa 1925: A girl modeling beach wear from a postcard. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Circa 1923: A straw hat that is guaranteed to keep the sun at bay, worn with a bathing costume. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

August 1926: Two women modeling bathing suits on the beach at Deauville. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1923: A girl in a striped swimsuit and sailor's hat playing the banjo. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1928: Wearing a satin and latex top and a skirt made of fishnet, actress Ann Evors poses for cameramen on the beach. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Circa 1921: One of Mack Sennett's bathing belles models swimwear on the beach. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Circa 1928: These daring beach suits were not meant to swim in but to flaunt on the sands. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Circa 1927: Fashion for the beach, including parasol, England. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1928: Striped taffeta in vivid colorings makes this ensemble for the beach. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Circa 1926: A bathing dress, England. (Alexander Binder/General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1928: Two women modeling new beach wear beside a giant beach ball on the roof of an Oxford Street store, London. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1925: Lillian Steele models the new look running trunks in Florida. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1925: Bathing girls applying make-up, England. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Circa 1925: A model creates a crossword design on her beach parasol, at Palm Beach, Florida. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

August 1922: A studio shot of two young women in swimming costumes reading under a large parasol. (Gill/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)