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Original poster

Nigella's Burquini - good idea or horrible mistake?

49 replies

sieglinde · 19/04/2011 14:25

On Bondi Beach, apparently. Basically a long-sleeved dress and trousers for the surf. I've put in a link but possibly not available except for Times subscribers. www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/fashion/article2991370.ece

Some of the comments are pretty vicious.

OP posts:

DirtyMartini · 19/04/2011 19:04

Fedup, but why on earth should she steer clear of the beach if she's happy to be there with that outfit on? Jesus. Surely she can wear what she bloody well wants.

Emo76 · 19/04/2011 19:15

I wish it was a brighter colour at least.

FolornHope · 19/04/2011 19:17

she looks NUTS

smartyparts · 19/04/2011 22:20

I bet she looked very conspicuous in that outfit.

But she can't win. The paps would've had a field day with unflattering shots of her in swimwear and she's pale & obv wants to stay that way.

partyhats · 19/04/2011 22:32

Good for her, maybe she does not want her body to be half naked on a beach for all and sundry to scrutinise her and make her feel bad for being a normal sized woman.

ZacharyQuack · 19/04/2011 22:37

Good for her.

Maybe she really wanted to go to Bondi Beach (it is lovely) but was worried about skin cancer/sun burn/having photos of her body splashed all over the tabloids and discussed on chat sites (hang on.........)

She can wear whatever she likes.

piprabbit · 19/04/2011 22:42

Well apart from looking a bit like a penguin, i think she made the right decision to cover up and protect herself from the sun and critical eyes.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 19/04/2011 23:21

Why the feck should she avoid Bondi Beach? Is it compulsory to wear a bikini there? Is one no longer allowed to wear what one wants?

I think it looks silly but I'd defend her right to wear it. Skin cancer looks worse.

tryingtoleave · 20/04/2011 04:50

This is insane, as are most of the comments on this thread.

I am australian, I am fair skinned and freckled. I go to the beach every summer wearing a rash vest (sun shirt), board shorts and a hat. Not 'everyone' does that, but it is not unusual either. I don't stay in the water for more than about 20 minutes at a time. The last time I got sunburnt was 15 years ago. That is all that is necessary to be sensible on the beach.

I am always amazed by the paranoia about the sun on S&B threads, which seems to be greater than anything I have met with in Australia. It seems crazy to me that people are talking about wearing sunscreen through a UK winter (although it does explain why british skin is so much better than ours). Isn't vitamin D meant to protect against some cancers?

tryingtoleave · 20/04/2011 04:51

And I would think Nigella could find somewhere more private to go swimming if she really wanted to.

DirtyMartini · 20/04/2011 07:39

But WHY SHOULD SHE HAVE TO?

you're right that this thread is nuts, but not for the reasons you've outlined. What are all you people, the beachwear police? God.

tryingtoleave · 20/04/2011 07:47

I think the point is she must have done it to get attention, in which case people are going to discuss it.

NotAgainFrank · 20/04/2011 07:51

Hear, hear, DirtyMartini

Original poster

sieglinde · 20/04/2011 09:22

tryingtoleave, that's what I said; a sunshirt. But most non-Aussies don't seem to know about them. It is the top half - face, neck, shoulders - that gets the most sun exposure, which is why you were ok for twenty minutes in a shirt...

If you are Aussie you will know how to cope, but most people don't, and they overdo or under-do the protection - though you are right about Aussie faces; I was a bit gobsmacked by the lined faces of Aussie friends at a recent meetup. Also a friend who is a skin cancer specialist says drivers have waaay more skin cancers on their right arms... so repeated daily casual exposure can be quite risky.

And anyway, Bondi is not as pretty as Freshwater. :)

I note the Times has come out in Nigella's favour this am, and the grunty comments by the guy brigade leave me in no doubt that she did the right thing. Why guys feel they have the right to see everyone in a bikini...

OP posts:

DuplicitousBitch · 20/04/2011 09:26

roar @ the daily mail article. it is like it is written by some spiteful neighbour - oh and do you know how much her kitchen cost. nobs.

pooka · 20/04/2011 09:37

I think it's a pretty good call on her part.

Why should she, knowing the paps were there, expose her flesh and await the inevitable criticisms from the crappy rag?
Equally, it makes complete sense to wear UV clothing (and this 'burkini' does offer sun protection - there's a whole range of Aussie made burkinis that do both modesty and UV). History of cancer in family. Very pale skin.

I did have a quick look at the burkinis on websites, but I'd personally rather weat a UV shirt and shorts. I always wear a hat on the beach (in UK - so for always, read 'when it'ssunny') and wear factor 15 all through summer.

lucykate · 20/04/2011 09:39

agree with others, yes she looks daft but it's her call. i burnt on my nose and forehead after just an hour on clacton beach on sunday, i'd need spf100 (or a burquini ) on bondi beach,

tryingtoleave · 20/04/2011 13:08

Freshwater is where we went when I was a child . Yes we do have lined skin ( not me so much, actually - prob because I am fair and careful) but we are outdoors all year, not just a few months...

Actually, IMO, canadians have the best skin.

Sorry, off topic.

crystalglasses · 20/04/2011 13:13

I was about to say that she looks outlandish, until I read all the posts about skin cancer. I still thnk she looks outlandish and hope it doesn't catch on . surely there are better methods of skin protection?

AitchTwoOh · 20/04/2011 13:26

she clearly prefers the headline 'nutty nigella' to 'fatty nigella' if she's to get a dip in the sea. probably says more about the media (and its readers) than anything else.

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 20/04/2011 13:26

Sun cream is the least effective protection. The most effective is to cover the skin in fabric that has uv protection. Which is what she did. A sun shirt won't protect your legs or your neck.

ninedragons · 20/04/2011 13:27

T-shirts have close to zero SPF when they're wet, so that wouldn't have been an option if she genuinely is concerned about the sun. I do actually know of an Aussie of Celtic descent (red hair, freckles) who bought a niqab to wear to the beach - it's the only way she can avoid getting fried.

More power to Nigella, though. The tabloids would have savaged her for the slightest wobble of flesh.

You can tell she's English, though. I live about five miles from Bondi Beach and I had a roaring fire on today, and she thinks it's splashing about in the surf weather.

DirtyMartini · 20/04/2011 13:31

I don't think it was necessarily done to get attention.

Just because someone is famous does not mean everything they do is "for attention". Nor should they, if they dare to do something that's not aimed at getting attention, have to do it in secret in order to escape accusations of attention-seeking.

I suspect she wanted to go on the beach, knew she would get crap either way, was resigned to it but opted to go with the covered-up option as the lesser evil.

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 20/04/2011 13:32

The sun safe burquini things have an spf of 50+

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