Gisborne has been a popular beach holiday destination for many decades, and the beach has long played a part in the development of women’s fashion.

These beach pyjamas would have been an important part of the fashionable woman’s beach-going wardrobe in the 1920s. Made from lightweight muslin, their bright, colourful print allowed the wearer to express her individuality whilst also maintaining appropriate levels of skin exposure; protecting the skin from the damaging sun was not the main concern in the early 20^th century, rather protecting the eyes of the innocent bystander from seeing too much skin!