Jantzen history

They were focused on warm wool sweaters, until 1913, when a member of the Portland Rowing Club came into the store.

A lighter version became the prototype for the bathing suits the company first offered in 1915.

Shortly after changing its name in 1918 to Jantzen Knitting Mills, the company in remote little Portland set its sights on big things.

She leapt from the cover of a 1920 catalogue to make a sensational splash on groundbreaking billboard advertisements and as a sometimes-banned decal on millions of car windshields.

They had 10,000 Red Diving Girl stickers printed in spring 1922, sending them to retailers for window displays.

By 1927, 5 million diving-girl decals decorated cars around the country, including those that Alhadeff's father drove.

Collaborative promotions with First National and Warner Brothers included Loretta Young as Miss Jantzen in 1931.

In 1957 and '58 even the great Hubert de Givenchy designed Jantzen suits in his Paris salon.

One's in storage in Vancouver; one hangs, as she has since 1965, above Stamies Smart Beach Wear in Daytona Beach, Fla.; and one tours department stores, inspiring customers, as diving girl always has, to buy Jantzen.

This was the first time advertisements used iconic and famous athletes to sell products. It was 1967 and Jantzen had just became the NFL’s first apparel licensee.

In 1980, Jantzen was purchased by Blue Bell, a company that was better known for its denim production.

Magiera, Marcy, "Swimwear Makers Aim for 'Older' Women," in Advertising Age, 21 April 1986.

Lencek, Lena, and Gideon Bosker, Making Waves: Swimsuits and the Undressing of America, San Francisco, 1989.

Martin, Richard, and Harold Koda, Splash! A History of Swimwear, New York, 1990.

Hartlein, Robert, "On the Comeback Trail," in WWD (swimwear supplement), July 1992.

Halvorsen, Donna, "Jantzen Puts Swimsuit Fittings on the Internet," in the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 12 March 1997.

"Seattle Gear and Jantzen Announce Cuts in Work Force," in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 18 February 1998.

Manning, Jeff, "Portland, Oregon-Based Sportswear-Maker Jantzen to Cut 140 jobs," in Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, 13 June 1999.

The Red Diving Girl was donated to the AAM by Yost, however she did not survive there long as the museum closed in 2004.