Clothes For Sand Or Snow

The spearfishermen at the right, outfitted with masks, tanks, spear guns, knives and rubber "wet" suits, are dressed in a manner firmly dictated by the demands of their sport in the chilly waters off La Jolla , Calif. Yet, oddly enough, choosing and assembling all this gear is a fairly simple matter compared to what the girl at their left must consider in selecting a beach outfit for the coming resort season.

Fashions in sports clothes change, and what looks perfectly right at one time in one vacation spot may look quite out of place at another. To assist travelers in selecting sports clothes that will make it obvious that they "belong" wherever they choose to go, the editors of SPORTING LOOK have compiled from their travels to the West Coast, to the Caribbean and to the snow country a portfolio of this winter's fashions for both sun and snow.

The following three pages of color photographs illustrate the fact that the time is long gone when it was enough to head for the beach with a swimsuit and a towel. An up-to-date swimmer today will advance upon the scene as completely turned out as a lady on her way to a ball. The beach costume includes a beach coat designed to go with the swimsuit and made in coordinated color and fabric. It is completed with a beach hat—this year likely to be a whimsical exaggeration of a man's derby or fedora, a logical follow-up to last year's popular gondolier's topper.

The suit is cut sleekly for swimming, but the waistline, in keeping with the currently fashionable Empire silhouette, is accented high, under the bust. Nevertheless, it is a waistline, and a return to figure flattery that should particularly delight those whose favorite sport is girl watching.

As a basis for this ballroom-type elegance, swimsuit fabrics are luxurious. Lastex, the swimsuit standby, is woven in fancy patterns that look like brocades and of iridescent-colored yarns that resemble taffeta. Beach coats, for all their dressy design, are made of practical cottons and Arnel sharkskins that are wrinkle-resistant and water-repellent.

The paradoxical footnote to this dressed-to-the-nines portrait is that beach belles are most likely to be barefoot, � la Brigitte Bardot . The long-legged Bardot look is completed with, at the most, a strip of a sandal, or perhaps an espadrille.

Where to buy

The fashions on pages 60 and 61 will be available at the following stores: Jantzen swimsuit: Burdine's, Frederick & Nelson; Cole swimsuit: Bergdorf Goodman , Bullock's-Downtown, Foley's; Sportmasters' beach coat: J. L. Hudson Co., Makoff's, Neiman-Marcus ; Horgan tennis dress: Abercrombie & Fitch , Von Lengerke & Antoine; Elon swimsuit: H. Liebes, Neiman-Marcus , J. W. Robinson; Westwood Knitting Mills swimsuit: Burdine's, Joseph Magnin , Lord & Taylor ; Catalina swimsuit: Carson Pirie Scott & Co., Franklin Simon, May Co. , Los Angeles ; Elisabeth Stewart terry coats and swimsuits: Burdine's, Neiman-Marcus , Roos-Atkins. Beach hats are all by Bill Hawes; accessories, Ruth Matthews.

Counterpointing each other in elaborate sports attire at a rocky La Jolla beach are Doris Greer, in black pique swimsuit cover that is lined in black and white polka dots to match the suit underneath ( Caltex , $23 for suit, $20 pullover: Bloomingdale's , Bullock's-Downtown, Burdine's) and Bob Whited (in foreground) and Ed Zwerski, students at San Diego State College and expert weekend spearfishermen.

The straightened line for swimsuits is modified to indicate the waistline: Mrs. Robert S. Waller wears Paisley-printed Helanca (Jantzen, $50), Mrs. Don Greer an ombr� Lastex (Cole, $25).