Photo taken from the bathing issue of Het Leven, 1927. From around 1910, a bathing issue of Het Leven was published in the summer of every year, usually in August. For the publishers, Schwartz & Co (later to become Scheltens & Giltay), this was the answer to the reduced sales during the silly season, often with frivolous news items. Het Leven was famous for its bathing issues - in the more prudish circles it even became infamous. In order to get through the winter months a carnival issue was often published in February, mainly featuring charming ladies in highly imaginative costumes.  As early as 1913 the editorial team of Het Leven wrote, "That what is not readily said about young girls, as viewed by French journalism, whose editing style we like to use for our magazine, as its propaganda tool; we ‘were the talk of the town' and ‘we were talked about'."  

In the first years of the magazine the editorial team, including the men, paid attention to emancipation of women and their right to vote, but eventually their patriarchal vision of women prevailed. Het Leven  devoted much attention to female beauty by publishing photos of beauty contests - sometimes organized by the magazine itself - and of course the bathing issues, which almost doubled weekly circulation figures  (ca. 70,000-100,000).

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