Just wear the bikini

[BlackberrySquash]

Just wanted to say anyone out there about to embark on a summer holiday, paranoid and self conscious about wearing a bikini - don't be!

I am in France, I bought one bikini that isn't particularly skimpy but was feeling self conscious about wearing it, I used to not care at all and had confidence in bikinis but since kids and turning 40 I'm suddenly massively self conscious! First day at the lake i put a swimming costume on, full bum and tum coverage and I'm really hot (temperature) I notice everyone around me is in a bikini, women of all ages, sizes, shapes amounts of cellulite, wrinkles or lack of, and nobody gives a dam. I'm not looking at the other women thinking 'she shouldn't wear that' or 'she's so much prettier than me'. I'm looking at them jealous of their confidence and the fact they must be cooler than me!

So if the reason you are worried about wearing a bikini is that you don't have the 'right' body, don't, all you need is 'a body' and you'll be totally fine! We are all beautiful and all deserve to wear whatever you like at the beach/lake/pool.

Enjoy your holidays.

The thing is the vast majority of people don’t look like supermodels.

I agree with all you say about shapes and sizes but draw the line at hairiness. I just came back from holiday in Italy and the amount of people in bikinis with pubes showing out the sides or bikinis that go see through in the water and show off much more than they should is not nice. I’m the same about men and their hairy tummy’s and pits and backs. I think if you’re going to have body hair especially from areas that should be covered in public maybe wear a bikini that covers it.

ps I have no problem with what people do with their body hair I just don’t want to see it at the pool or beach rant over

Me too. Love a tankini , especially when they have nice modest bottom half..No need to keep pruning the shrubbery, which is such a faff .

Definitely wear the bikini!

First because it should be about comfort not looks - bikinis are a lot more comfortable IME, dry off quicker, easier to go to the loo etc.

And second because even if looks are your main concern, a bit of a tan does wonders for making a flabby or saggy tummy look better.

that's a you problem. You can be offended if you like, but it doesn't matter.

As long as they wear appropriate clothing, it's their body. No-one needs to hide skin too white (or too dark) , scars, hair because you dont' like it. Hairy bikini line or hairy legs are allowed.

They're just living their life, look somewhere else.

Yes I agree

Not sure why it’s ok to say hair needs to be covered up but not ok to say fat tummies need to be covered up.

Both are natural and neither are offensive. If you don’t like the way a bit of body hair looks, look away (how closely are you looking to see stray pubes anyway? )

And the MN pearl clutchers are out again.
Currently by a pool with a decent amount of hairy men who would not only look weird in a bikini, but I can say I very much approve of their body hair….
Waxed male bodies look much worse IMHO. I do draw the line at visible pubes but there are all shapes and sizes here and no one seems to be all that self conscious.
Best way to be.

I agree. As a size 18 (apparently on another MN thread anyone over 16 is “massive”!) I spent years thinking I couldn’t wear a bikini, or indeed shorts. I have a big belly, thick thighs and lots of stretch marks. But when I turned 40 I suddenly stopped giving a shit what anyone else thought of my body and bought some bikinis and shorts.

I’m now over 50 and recently went on a UK beach holiday. I not only sunbathed and swam in a bikini, but walked through a car park at the beach looking for the cafe without covering up. I was braced for some rude remarks, I’ve heard that women get strangers shouting at them in the street for daring to exist in a fat body. But nothing. I was able to just be myself, out in public, getting some sun and some vital vitamin D and nobody gave a shit! It was lovely.

And yeah, I don’t shave, so don’t give a shit if any hair was visible either! The backs of my thighs are definitely hairy but I can’t reach round there without putting my back out, so tough shit to anyone who doesn’t want to see it. You’re probably a bit too close if you can see the hair on the back of my legs anyway. As someone of Italian descent with dark hair and lots of it, I won’t feel embarrassed about that either, sorry Zippy!

100% wear the bikini
i stopped when I was about 30 and reclaimed them at 44 absolutely not bothered if it upsets anyone else! Even with my DSD18 sat next to be in her 4 tiny triangles on a size 8 body didn’t make me think twice about getting my size 16 flabby belly out!
Met a lovely woman on my last holiday and her bikini game was next level, got her to send me so many links… she was a size 22

wear the bikini with zero fucks given!

I had this realisation about 5 years ago. It's so freeing not being swamped in stuff when you're on the pool.
Dh loves it and always tells me how good I look. (I don't, but he knows the hang-ups my parents gave me, so understands it's a 'thing' to me.)

As a size 22 bikini wearer (with luscious pit muffs thrown into the mix too), I’m a strong believer in confidence being the difference between looking good and not. If I do have a confidence wobble, I just remind myself that most of us are pretty self absorbed so worrying about ourselves more than anyone else on the beach 🤷‍♀️

tota agree. I hit 40 and everything was heading south but I thought sod it, and now always wear a bikini. It’s so much easier than struggling in and out of a swimsuit if you need a wee, it dries quicker, and honestly who is looking at me?

Thanks for this. I once spent a holiday in my one piece with reinforced bra area which took ages to dry so I was soggy and uncomfortable all the time. I do need something a bit sturdy because of massive boobs but bikinis are much more practical in general on the beach.