Can you wear a bikini if you have noticeable stretch marks?

[LouiseMBE]

I've lost some weight and for the first time in ages I'm feeling like I could wear a bikini. I'm not sure though because I have stretch marks on my tummy from my pgs. They have silvered so they don't stand out from a distance but if someone was stood next to me they'd see them.

They run from belly button height down, about 7 of them on each side, the widest being about 6mm wide.

Is it too grim to show or should I flash them with pride?

Flash them with pride. The only determinant of whether you should wear a bikini is whether you want to.

Of course you can- everybody is far too busy sucking their own guts in to give you more than a cursory glance, I'm sorry to say.

OH MY GOD A VISIBLE BLEMISH! CLEAR THE BEACH!

Not likely, is it?

Enjoy your holiday and wear what you like.

Yes, of course you can. What would possibly happen?

I haven't ever been pregnant and I still have marks on my hips, thighs, and bum from puberty. And a few around my knees.

That's a positive response!

I do have some SMs on my hips from puberty but they seem so little, these are so wide that they seem in a diffrent league. I have no idea whether they will tan with the rest of me so might end up looking like a stripey tiger on my stomach. Not sure its a great look

LouiseMBE - please wear a bikini if you want to :)

I had major stretchmarks and loose skin (like an unmade bed :o ) on my stomach and still wore a bikini every holiday for ten years. (I have since had a tummy tuck but that's another story). I still have stretch marks on my bottom which although silver are noticeable (IMO) above and below my bikini bottoms. But, do you know what? I don't care!

Enjoy and wear your bikini with pride. If you are still unsure why not use St Tropez Gradual Tanner for a few days before you go - I always feel better with a bit of colour rather than the brilliant white/grey/blue that most Brits venture abroad with :o

Kate beckinsale proudly has visible stretch marks in her breasts, and if it's good enough for her, anyone can!

My body looks like ujjayi's probably did before the tummy tuck.

I wear a bikini on holiday.

There's no one I want to impress, except DH, and he likes to have sex with me, anyway.

(I know! [wide eyed emoticon] )

HandMadeTail - abso-bloody-lutely! DH always told me I looked gawjus so I who was I to argue ?!

Just googled Kate Beckinsale - does this look like a woman who is trying to hide her stretchmarks?

Flash with pride. If you need any tips on how to do this find the nearest man with a big beer belly, watch, and learn.

Show them with pride!

You made your DCs and that is an amazing thing!

Am just finishing up beach holiday and I can unequivocally tell you that nobody will bat an eyelid at your stretch marks. They are more likely to stare if you are covered up in a sensible suit as I have been. Deffo getting a bikini (and a fanjo wax!) next time, will not care about wobbly tum & cottage cheese thighs.

I'd much rather see stretch marks than fat men in speedos, and lord knows there are enough of them on display. I promise you noone will notice, much less care.

Wear your bikini with pride and celebrate your weight loss!

Wow!

Thank you. Not my thread at all but this year I;ve been thinking I will probably never wear a bikini ever because I'm covered in streach marks. I feel so much better. I still have a few kilos before I'd try one one but I feel like it might be possible.

So thanks

Thanks, the nearest tummy I can find to mine is (and I can't believe I'm typing this...) Cindy Crawford in this <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=iH4D2ykYQMDjfM:&imgrefurl=www.anti-stretchmarks.com/&docid=NuGSkU72CNvjXM&imgurl=www.anti-stretchmarks.com/wp-content/uploads/07edc38a82b81e1.jpg&w=295&h=434&ei=8GwpUJS2M83csgbIzoCYDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=638&sig=109128702486392266285&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=91&start=0&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:124&tx=59&ty=69&biw=1024&bih=509" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">picture

Its a little bit saggy below the belly button like mine is and this <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=1O6xhB_BqnfR3M:&imgrefurl=smartcanucks.ca/stretch-mark-creams-do-they-work/&docid=aSTZeelFQ34bZM&imgurl=smartcanucks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/stretchmark1.jpg&w=250&h=171&ei=YW0pUKqBK87GtAahsYD4BQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=624&sig=109128702486392266285&page=4&tbnh=136&tbnw=198&start=40&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:40,i:237&tx=85&ty=62&biw=1024&bih=509" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">picture gives an idea of the size and position of my SMs, though mine have silvered now.

I wonder if I could get a high waisted bikini to reduce how much is on show? I'll try some on and see how I feel in them.

Louise my tummy was a worse version of Cindy Crawford's but whenever I tried high waisted bikinis they made me look worse - frumpy and believe me swimwear weight Lycra does not give you a smooth silhouette!

IMO it is more important to wear a bikini you love - which could be due to colour, cut or both. You will feel far better if you love it rather than simply because it "disguises" bits....because there is no disguising anything in a bikini, truly!

Try Beach by Melissa Odabash at Debenhams. They are a cheaper version of her regular line. The bottoms are perfectly cut - low enough to be non-frumpy yet not so low that you need a full-on wax, iyswim :). The tops are very supportive too. Keep an eye out for Michael Kors bikinis too. I found one in TK Maxx a couple of years ago which I have worn loads and still looks good. Really excellent quality.

Thanks for those bikini tips ujjayi, I haven't got a clue about brands of bikini so will have a look at those.

I feel far more confident in a bikini post children because I have a reason to be slightly [ahem] saggy and stretched around the middle. I don't care as much - I'm not trying to impress anyone :)

I wish I felt like that Soup! I'm not trying to impress anyone either, I just hate the idea of people looking at me and thinking that I'm wearing something that isn't appropriate for me anymore. I just don't want to be judged badly, I know I'm pathetic!

Soup that's how I feel. I think for me it was turning 40 (although as I said up thread I have been wearing bikinis since first DC born 12 years ago).

Louise dont stress about what others may think. People aren't really bothered and, to be frank, if they are too busy staring at you then you should pity them because clearly the people they are on holiday with aren't very interesting! Only insecure women feel the need to be judgmental of others. Keep your chin up, your shoulders back and get that bikini on!! Don't fuss with straps, knickers etc. Stand tall, breathe deeply and smile. People will notice your confidence not your stretch marks :)

It also helped that I realised there were far "worse" women in bikinis and they didn't care. 99% of the population do not have the perfect bikini body lauded in the Daily Mail.

I am not a confident person - far from it - and day to day I worry about how I look. However, on holiday, no one knows who I am. I couldn't do it at home - no way.

Go for it.
I wore a bikini for the first time ever last year at 51.
Everyone else did at the resort, and I like to think I looked quite good

I tried to do a bikini this year but I just couldn't get past the saggy skin hanging over the bikini bottoms, never mind other people no liking it - I hated looking at it. I'm fairly slim and toned, I don't mind my stretch marks but my saggy skin is horrible, so I went for a fabulous 50's style one piece so I didn't have to stare at it all day.

I applaud the women who don't care and I don't think anyone else on the beach will be analysing your saggy bits but if you think you'll be to self conscious and ov think them, then do as i did and consider an alternative.

In Europe, everyone wears a bikini. Even women who are quite large. I have been amazed at some of the people I've seen in Spain wearing bikinis, simply because I've wondered where they were able to find them! (And not because I was judging them for inappropriate swimwear, IYSWIM.)