Bikini Sales Soar In Sydney

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30880, 13 October 1965, Page 19

Bikini Sales Soar In Sydney

"The Press” Special Service SYDNEY, Oct. 12 Retailers in Sydney say that sales of bikini bathing suits have soared and their “guesstimate” is that two out of three young girls on the beaches this year will be wearing bikinis; last year’s estimate was one in two.

In Melbourne, where buying tastes are usually more conservative than in Sydney,

the rush for the bikini is also on. The rule at one store is that youngsters first get permission from their parents before they buy the brief costumes. Health Department regulations in Victoria forbid any exchanging of swim suits once they leave a store, but the store had had a string of irate parents returning swim suits which they complained were too brief for their daughters to wear.

“Now we use our better judgment and insist that the teen-ager—from say 14 years to 16—’phone home for permission before we sell,” said the manager of the store. A survey of swimwear sales showed that there are steady sales for bikinis with 2in sides in both Melbourne and Sydney, with some of Sydney’s specialty shops stocking those with lin sides. Prices vary from £4 to £9 with a number of shops sell-

ing “tailored" models In the materials and colour of one’s choice for 6gns. For the ultra-sophisticate there are bikinis imported from top overseas fashion houses selling at 19gns.

First Snow.— The first snow of the winter fell in Moscow yesterday—a thin blanket settling over the city as the temperature fell to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.—Moscow, October 12.