When you're out at the beach soaking up the rotting seaweed smell ambiance and frolicking in the swash you might see some bold people wearing some equally bold swimsuits that leave little to the imagination.
If you see someone wearing one of these swimsuits you should salute them because they represent freedom, and their suits reveal how far we've come from the days when you could get a ticket for taking off your shirt a block from the beach.
Back in 1946 it was considered "indecent" when people walked around in their swimsuits anywhere but on the beach itself, and at Rockaway Beach in New York you were expected to wear a robe to and from the beach.
LIFE photographer Sam Shere hit Rockaway Beach to reveal the scandalous swimsuits burning up the sands and capture moments when people who are overdressed by today's standards receive tickets for "indecent exposure".
See Photographs Of People Being Ticketed For "Indecent Exposure" At Rockaway Beach In 1946 here