The Great Tan Line: How the Suntan Became Chic

Now that summer is here, many of us will spend time outdoors, perhaps at the beach or pool, gardening, or bicycling. With increased sun exposure, the question “To tan or not to tan?” often comes up.

During a recent TV documentary, I was intrigued by the assertion that “tanning drinks” became popular in the 1930s. However, I found no evidence of such a product (which shows you can’t believe everything you hear on television). The closest I could find were health tonics that promised to “brighten the skin” or “give a glow of vitality,” but the focus was on wellness, not on tanning the skin.

Still, the story of how tanned skin became fashionable proved interesting.

Until the 20th century, pale, fair skin was associated with wealth, leisure, and social status. The wealthy had little reason to spend extensive time outdoors, so tanned skin was linked to the working class and outdoor labor. (Even as late as the 1960s, having a “farmer’s tan” was not considered a compliment.) Wealthy women used parasols, gloves, hats, and long sleeves to protect themselves from the sun. Skin whitening powders and creams were employed to maintain a pale complexion.

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, Miss Bingley describes Elizabeth Bennet as looking “brown and coarse,” because of her summer travels. The implication is that a proper lady would strive to keep her skin pale and untanned.

To promote their suntan oil, in 1948 L’Oréal
introduced the figure of “Suzy,” a shapely,
tanned blonde-haired woman clad in what
was then a risqué two-piece swimsuit.
Reproduced as a life-sized cardboard cutout,
“Suzy” was frequently stolen from pharmacies
and seaside boutiques.

With the end of the Victorian era, attitudes toward outdoor activities began to change. Spending time swimming at beaches became more popular among all class levels by 1900. Bathing costumes evolved to allow more freedom for the swimmer, revealing more skin. As a result, tanned skin became a huge fad after World War I.

Many sources credit the French fashion designer Coco Chanel with popularizing the suntan when she returned from a Mediterranean vacation with a sun-kissed glow in the 1920s. Her bronzed skin was suddenly seen as fashionable and glamorous, especially among the upper classes.

Simultaneously, there was growing interest in sunlight for health purposes—so-called "heliotherapy"—to treat ailments like tuberculosis and rickets, which helped normalize sun exposure.

An article in Vogue magazine in July 1929 declared, “From a chic note, sunburn became a trend, then an established fashion, and now the entire feminine world is sunburn conscious!”

Vogue promoted rules to attain a higher-class tan as opposed to the common tan of an everyday woman. These rules included: avoiding tan lines (they indicated you did not have time to get a proper tan), not wearing pearls to the beach (the white marks on the chest looked cheap), and also maintaining a tan even in the wintertime (possibly by taking expensive vacations abroad).

Tanning lotions and creams were introduced as a way to get an "even tan." In 1935, L’Oréal founder Eugène Schueller launched a suntan oil called Ambre Solaire, which aimed to accelerate tanning while moisturizing the skin.

In contrast to the health benefits of sunshine, researchers as early as 1918 began to warn about the dangers of UV rays. However, medical professionals, the US government, and the media failed to transmit that message to the public until the 1930s. Even then, people continued to slather on baby oil or olive oil to attract maximum rays in order to attain he fashionable suntanned look.

During World War II, soldiers in the Pacific theater dealt with the harsh tropical sun by using a sticky red veterinary petrolatum, originally intended for animals, to protect their skin.

Little Miss Coppertone billboard, 1959

After returning home, airman and future pharmacist Benjamin Green mixed the substance with cocoa butter and coconut oil to create a moisturizing suntan cream. Eventually his home-cooked concoction became Coppertone sunblock. The product truly took off in the 1950s, thanks to the Little Miss Coppertone campaign featuring a black dog tugging on a little girl’s swimsuit.

The desire for suntanned skin led to the proliferation of indoor tanning beds beginning in 1979. Meanwhile, awareness of skin cancer caused by overexposure made some sun-lovers more cautious. Today, more than 1,000 sunscreen products are marketed, with widely varying levels of UV protection indicated by their SPF rating.

Despite the increased use of sunscreen and awareness of the dangers, surveys indicate that people continue to believe a tan is more attractive than light skin. As in many areas related to fashion, appearance tends to overrule practicality.

Sources:

Suntans, Cornflakes, Coco Chanel & Skin Cancer - EO Smith

The History of Tanning: From Ancient to Modern Techniques - ThoseGraces.com

From Sunlight to Sunless Tanners: the History of Our Obsession With Getting Tan - Fashionista

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

Her historical short story, “All That Glistens,” was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes.