In the Swim

How brief can bathing suits get? Is it possible that some day they will disappear altogether? John Adam Zehntbauer, who runs the biggest swimsuit company in the nation, quite naturally thinks not; in fact, he is convinced they have already got too brief. As longtime president of Jantzen Knitting Mills Inc., Zehntbauer has probably done more than any other man to take the female form out of billowing bathing dresses and bloomers and encase it in a tight suit. But Zehntbauer's suits have rarely gone to extremes; with hidden tricks and elastic yarn, they have been designed to help the female form as much as reveal it. By thus keeping his suits "conservative," he has a firm grip on an estimated 25% of the U.S. market.

In Portland, Ore. last week, President Zehntbauer, 69, showed off his 1954 women's line, already on display to catch the winter vacation trade. The suits, in cotton, rayon, wool and nylon, were trimmed with sequins, imitation pearls and rhinestones. They had such names as "Summer Siren" and "Caprice," and were priced from $8.95 to $32.50 (for "Diamond Mine." a rhinestone-studded suit in metallic colors). All would look good on a handsome woman, but would not necessarily make all women handsome. With his new line, President Zehntbauer thinks Jantzen will do even better than in record-breaking 1953) when sales were up 21% to $32 million, and net topped $1,000,000, a new high.

Stockings & Tam-o'-Shanter. John Zehntbauer started off at 16 as an apprentice in a little woolen mill in Portland, within a few years raised enough money ($13,500), with the help of his brother and a friend named Carl Christian Jantzen, to start a company on his own. They called it Jantzen because Zehntbauer is too hard to pronounce (rhymes with "bent tower").

Jantzen turned out its first, bathing suit in 1915 as a result of an order for rowing trunks. The suit, a male model that had sleeves and knee-length legs in the style of the day, was not designed to help anyone set aquatic records: it weighed 2 Ibs. dry and 8 Ibs. wet. But because it kept its shape better than others and gave the bather more freedom, people swarmed to buy it. Jantzen soon abandoned its sweaters, socks, gloves and other woolens, concentrated on bathing suits. It got its biggest boost from its trademark, a diving girl clad in what was quite a daring outfit for those days: red bathing suit, red stockings, and a sort of tam-o'-shanter with a white nob on top. In three years, Jantzen distributed 10 million diving-girl stickers for windows and windshields, and its name became known all over the world.

Stripes & Tops. In those days, everyone wanted striped bathing suits. Jantzen helped to develop a machine that cut the cost of knitting stripes from 60-c- to a penny a suit. To cut distribution costs, the company used no middlemen. And to conform with local mores, Jantzen's men's suits always came with detachable tops. President Zehntbauer established mills and licensed plants around the world to make his suits, smartly got his swim suits promoted far & wide by celebrities and in aquatic shows.

With his swim suits well established, John Zehntbauer has come full circle. In the past few years he has added so many other lines--sweaters, play shoes, sun clothes and T shirts--that swim suits are now less than half of his sales.

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