The True History of Sunbathing

It is received wisdom that Coco Chanel accidentally invented the suntan on a yachting jaunt back in the early 1920s. Like flapper dresses, bobbed hair and automobiles, the suntan seems iconic of the new freedoms of the epoch when the Victorian age was finally put to rest and the bright young things danced a Charleston on its grave.

A UK cancer charity website sets out to debunk various ‘Tanning Myths’, including the proposition that ‘Being tanned is a sign of health’. ‘False’, it bluntly declares, but fails to enquire into the origins of this misguided belief. To do so would reveal the Coco legend to be the classic urban myth it is – and uncover a far more interesting story. ‘Cover Up’ is the public health headline that tells us how we should respond to the sun. The true history of the suntan reveals just how ironic that headline is.