A Toe in the Water

Annie Scanlon is a collector of historic costume based in Edinburgh, with a particular interest in twentieth century swimwear and accessories. Last night she took us through a fascinating and entertaining social history of her personal swimwear collection, from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day:

Annie has over 70 swimming costumes and 80 swimming caps and her collection is still growing. She is also a member of The Costume Society Scotland who organise talks and events from a variety of speakers on a wide range of subjects covering both current and historical costume and textile trends. The Society has also arranged visits to private and public costume collections.

Annie has donated pieces from her costume collection to the museum for exhibitions – her iconic Bay City Rollers’ trousers and a hand made dress to our Teenage Kicks exhibition in 2019 and more recently, dresses, swimsuits and accessories to our 2021 exhibition.