France / Noirmoutier
Long Ago Ladies

If you're into beaches, architecture, history, fashion & a little nostalgia...
then Dames Beach on Noirmoutier will draw you under its spell. Not for its water or the beauty of the beach itself. But for the ambience it once had. Long ago.

La Plage des Dames or Dames Beach was named for the Celtic women druidesses who worshipped there in pre-Christian times. But the name better suits the French women who made this Noirmoutier beach theirs. During hot summer months, away from city life in the early 20thc.

Over the years, what has continued to arouse the passion of artists & historians about this beach is what remains of that era...a huddle of sweet little bathing cabins. Erected in the early 1900's, these simple stilted bungalows were often used as the changing quarters of fancy ladies & their families.

With a cabin, the beach outing became more comfortable & more desirable. It offered shade & privacy, along with a place for personal belongings. Like tea sets & folding furniture.

Very few early bathing cabins can still be found. Noirmoutier's Dames Beach is fortunate to have such a great group of them. They're nestled at the back of the beach, under the shade of the Boise de la Chaise forest.

Nowadays the cabins are still in use by families or fishermen, who store beach or fishing equipment in them. The fully clad (corsets & all) earlier tenants, who used these same structures, demanded a kind of privacy & comfort that's now the stuff of history.

See Dames beach in the early morning or at sunset. The crowds at this public beach won't be in your photographs then. Or get your way of studying the charming little buildings. But most importantly, your thoughts won't be disturbed, as you conjure up a romantic vision of the way it once was. Long ago.

These 2 great "reads" will give you some perspective on the history & romance of the bathing cabin: "The Beach," by Lena Lencek & Gideon Bosker. Interesting account of the beach & all its trimmings throughout history. "The Awakening," by Kate Chopin. Classic feminist literature. A disillusioned lady- of-leisure at the beach in the 1890's.