Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

When do you become too old to wear a bikini?

371 replies

MissMiss1 · 28/05/2015 21:49

At what age do you become too old to wear a bikini n start wearing a full swimming costume.

I'm in my early 40s n have been looking for some new swimwear. Everywhere I go everything seems either tiny, too brightly coloured, not the right shape and far too young looking.

Is it time to admit defeat on the bikini front and start looking at swimming costumes?

OP posts:
Bunbaker · 29/05/2015 21:38

"It's not odd to wear a swimsuit, it just isn't. It's not odd to wear a bikini either."

It isn't odd. It is just unusual in the Med. I swim at a local pool and it is unusual to see a bikini there.

Bunbaker · 29/05/2015 21:39

"Padded/moulded cups - fuck off."

Thank goodness for padded cups I say Grin (32B here)

Arrowminta · 29/05/2015 21:45

I'm 54 and still wear a bikini for sunbathing.

Costacoffeeplease · 29/05/2015 21:48

I have a huge scar from roughly bra strap level to the bottom of my spine (8 vertebrae spinal fusion surgery) I still wear a bikini

SchnitzelVonKrumm · 29/05/2015 21:53

I never wear bikinis because my midriff is my least favourite part of my body and always has been, even when I was a lissom twenty-something. I am also blindingly pale and find sunbathing tedious. But it's got nothing to do with age - I've see women of all ages and sizes rocking a two piece.

CatOfTheWoods · 29/05/2015 23:09

I don't know whether or not I would be happy to show off a big scar, it depends on what it was like and how I felt about it. There should be no pressure not to cover up either – the point is you should wear what you like and want to wear and cover up to the degree you want. It shouldn't be about hiding our bodies away because people might disapprove or because there's some bikini rule that says "too old" "not with a scar" "not unless you're slim and toned" etc.

Original poster
MissMiss1 · 29/05/2015 23:17

My problem is that I find myself looking at others, who are toned, slim, not a sign of cellulite and wish I could look like that.
Even though I'm slim I still have cellulite n wish I didn't, then I feel down about it.

I'm now on the lookout for the perfect bikini, one that is comfortable, fits well and a neutral colour. Also, one that my ar*e doesn't hang out of.

OP posts:
mumofthemonsters808 · 29/05/2015 23:34

You sound like me MIssMiss, Im also slim but full of cellulite, I wear a bikini but I don't look good in it, I just wear it because I can't cope with the heat in a costume even a tankini makes me feel too hot. Every year, I say I will invest in some good bikinis that offer better coverage, but then I see the price tags and can not justify spending so much money on something that only gets worn once a year. So the same ones gets pulled out of the suitcase, along with the same sarongs. I try not to concentrate too much on how inappropriate I look and just enjoy the sun and sea. I read somewhere that bikinis should only be worn by the beautiful and a vision of me with my cellulite immediately popped in my head.

MissMillament · 29/05/2015 23:51

I am 50 and size 16 and I have just bought a bikini for my upcoming med holiday. Will I look like the model? Fuck no. Do I care? See previous.
I did spend ages scouring Ebay for a good-quality bra-sized bikini that didn't cost the equivalent of the national debt, but I couldn't care less what other people think once I am poolside.

When do you become too old to wear a bikini?
Eliza22 · 29/05/2015 23:57

I wish we lived in Victorian times and everything wasn't "on show"!!!!

owlonabike · 30/05/2015 00:54

Am feeling really down now. I am going to Italy on Sunday and only have a one piece. Couldn't find a tankini today-I am a 36gg with a big tummy overhang. I swim regularly in a Captain Webb style suit and feel really shapely and strong, but was going to wear a less flattering but easier to get into one piece at the beach. And now I'll look shit AND conspicuous. Fuck.

owlonabike · 30/05/2015 00:55

And I couldn't find a rash vest either. Moan, moan...

SenecaFalls · 30/05/2015 05:08

I live it Florida. I don't sunbathe ever, because it can kill you. I do swim nearly every day, though, and I think bikinis are uncomfortable to swim in. I wear simple tank suits or tankinis.

Greengardenpixie · 30/05/2015 06:19

Am feeling really down now. I am going to Italy on Sunday and only have a one piece. Couldn't find a tankini today-I am a 36gg with a big tummy overhang. I swim regularly in a Captain Webb style suit and feel really shapely and strong, but was going to wear a less flattering but easier to get into one piece at the beach. And now I'll look shit AND conspicuous. Fuck.

I feel the same as you. I have bought 2 one pieces that are more like little sun dresses. Would never have contemplated a bikini with my tummy really. I wouldnt have considered at 20 [when i had my twins] and certainly not at 47 simply because of my stretch marks and bloated tummy now. This thread has made me feel like shit basically about wearing a one piece. Feel that it seems overwhelming in favour for the bikini. Have even gone as far as looking online for one! I sympathise with you!!!!!

FeijoaSundae · 30/05/2015 07:09

I'm not persuaded to a bikini in the slightest. There's no way I look better in a bikini than I do in a one-piece, and I'm totally Confused by this claim that no-one wears them, because I see them everywhere. I'm not in Europe, of course, but even so. We spend a lot of time in swimwear in summer, and it's a complete mix of everything, including women in board shorts and surf t-shirts.

Please don't feel bad, lovely ladies. Wear what you feel best in, and just be reassured that no-one else (that matters) gives two hoots.

Bombinate · 30/05/2015 07:47

I buy my freya bikinis new off eBay. They last really well and provide the same support as their bras. You can search by size.

Pagwatch · 30/05/2015 08:40

Oh for goodness sake.
Are people really slumping into depression because about three people on the Internet had a view about swimsuits?

Did you miss the bit where at least as many had a negative view about bikinis.

Honestly. Don't be absurd. We are not 10.

louloubelle2 · 30/05/2015 08:41

owlonabike you won't look shit OR conspicuous - the main point of this is to say that no-one cares what you wear and no-one will be looking at you in the way you think they will - therefore if you want to wear a bikini but feel like your body isn't up to it, then you should be equally if you don't no-one will notice that either. BUT, it is a fact that out of the two, most people do wear bikinis that's all.

FeijoaSundae you would see swimsuits in the majority in this country, we have neither the weather or the cultural attitude (see whole thread) to wear bikinis. In hotter countries you do.

dexter73 · 30/05/2015 08:45

If my fricking plane ever takes off I will do a poolside analysis this afternoon of bikinis v one piece suits in Turkey.

Greengardenpixie · 30/05/2015 08:46

No pagwatch noone meant it literally!!!!
I think people like myself just feel they dont want to stand out thats all.

Bonsoir · 30/05/2015 08:52

I go to lots of beaches and pools in Europe (Atlantic and Mediterranean) and one piece swimming costumes are very much in evidence. I also shop for beach clothing in Paris where there is a huge range of choice of one-piece costumes.

Tankinis and the sort of highly scaffolded bikini tops linked to on this thread are, strangely, neither available nor in evidence...

Pagwatch · 30/05/2015 08:52

Well thank god.

Mumsnet is just a chat forum. People post increasingly polarised views as threads go on, justifying their own view.
So most people in the world have a personally preference based on their body type and comfort.
Only on a MN thread does it start to be about age, standing out, whether you are in Europe or Australia etc etc.

Just wear what you like in the certain knowledge that no one else with in 500 meters will notice or care. Mostly because many will be worrying about how they read on MN that women with orange bikinis look like hookers or a green swimsuit makes your minge look massive.

Roussette · 30/05/2015 09:07

For the PP who is looking for good bikinis without paying a fortune - do go into TK Maxx. Apart from the pic of the purple one I posted above which came from Next, I get all my bikinis in there. The makes they have are good, and they are often £80 plus down to under £20.

Only thing is, I go in for bikinis as they come in April/beginning May and I'm not sure how much they have in there now, seemed to be less when I looked last week. Their cover ups are fab too.

TheWordFactory · 30/05/2015 09:08

I don't think that's remotely strange Bonsoir.

Paris is hardly a place of sartorial fun and frivolity, is it?

Italy. Now we're talking. That's the place to look for swim wear, in Europe. I could have bought entire shops of the stuff when we were there last.

pinkfrocks · 30/05/2015 09:09

It's really odd, but I just don't believe that no one looks at other women- on the beach or anywhere. You only have to spend 10 mins on this forum to know that women are very interested in other women's clothes, make up and hair. Why would we be here otherwise, asking for advice? Not because we live on a desert island , with no mirrors and where no one sees us.

It's disingenuous to say 'no one else cares' - ok they might not lie awake at night thinking about your beach wear, but come on- we all look at women on the beach, in the street, in cafes all of the time.

And it's being dishonest to say that we don't make judgements over whether someone looks good or not so good in whatever they are wearing.

I certainly care about what people think of me- less so now I am older- but I suppose I set myself very high standards and if I don't meet them then I don't want anyone else to see either.

I am not saying we shouldn't wear something because we are worried how people will view us- but I am saying that is how I feel some of the time and I think most people feel this to an extent, if they are honest.

Swipe left for the next trending thread