I haev been to the beach and these are my fashion conclusions

[Grattage]

1. it doesnt matter what shape you are - as long as your swimwear FITS you who cares?
2. please do not recycle swimwear from 10 years ago - it looks old and terrible
3. COLOUR and CONFIDENCE are the name of the game - there was every shape and age of body there in the world and they all had a FUN TIME

4, string bikinis do not suit anyone over 20

[sherby]

v rarely see a tankini that looks good, people ALWAYS have that bulgy bit in the middle

bikini or swimsuit the way to go

[janeite]

Yum to Greek salad.

A v clever MNer (hi: you know who you are)told me last year to buy a bikini not a one piece - she was totally right.

I would like to add a rule five to the original rules list please - just about everybody looks crap in a maxi-dress - you need to be v tall and slim or v petite and beautiful and slim.

[Pennies]

At least it wasn't a Conran chair. Phew.

[Pennies]

Grattage you make me with your lovely JL chair.

[HaventSleptForAYear]

Like that swimsuit ruddynorah.

And not too £££. I bought an expensive bikini when pregnant with DS2 (think 3-4 mths pregnant, no tummy showing yet, fantastic norks (for me!)

Now the top is way too big and it's falling off me.

Hence me being on quite a lot of swimwear threads

Can't tell DH either because it was the one time he actually came shopping and helped me choose, and I persuaded him to the ££££ bit by saying my last bikini lasted me 10yrs (still have it and wear it from uni).

[ahundredtimes]

Me too. I'd have liked the Conran chair more tho.

[Grattage]

I know
it was JL indulgece
makes picnics a lotless fraught though

[ahundredtimes]

And comfortable. I lay on v. uncomfortable ground all afternoon. Was annoying.

[FromGirders]

I wore a bikini for the first time ever today.
It's only taken 35 years to get up the nerve!

[Grattage]

oh you see that isnt right.

[notnowbernard]

I was at the beach yesterday and saw lots of sunburn... ouch

Young people esp (whippet-thin red shouldered teenage boys)

And lots of painful looking breasts. I wanted to go up and clothe them all

[Grattage]

No string bikinis look terribel on anything less than firm young skin

and hte baggypants you get with them

[TitsalinaBumsquash]

I stay firmly away from the beach, i live near the best beach in the area all the others in a 20 mile radius are crap so it takes about 2hrs to travel the 5 mile journey to get to the beach, then you have lots of topless ladies which i don't particuarly like seeing i am in the camp of keep them covered unless your bf im afraid, you can also only get about 1 suare metre of space because its so farking packed and im allergic to sand! Its also noisey and to hot and the kids go mad...............

Give me the park or the garden anyday!

[TrillianAstra]

I have firm young skin thanks very much Grattage I think 20 is a very harsh cutoff!

What baggypants? The tie-side ones? They're just not tying them tight enough!

[BodenGroupie]

I quite happily go topless or starkers abroad (on the beach, obviously ) but on "our" beach I bump into everyone from my DDs' teachers to the vicar, so I'm thinking of buying something that just shows my feet.

Went to the beach today and watched a man have to remove a chair from his DW's very large bottom - she tried to stand up and it moved with her. Made me feel a bit better.

[Flamesparrow]

She has skin unblemished by pregnancy

[Tinker]

I love this thread - a whole commentary on what people are wearing on the beach whilst trying to convince us that no-one is looking, honest

[tassisssss]

interestingly in central scotland no-one was top-less...is that a UK thing or to do with the fact that we're so reserved? or because it's rarely hot enough to? my latest beach experiences have mostly been S France so really noticed the difference (I was pondering this while BFing my 11 month old).

[Grattage]

lol at tinker

no i was suprised by how few s i felt

[JeMeSouviens]

I was thinking the same thing tinker!

I'm quite happy to get in a bikini when surrounded by strangers, but if it's with people I know, I'm very self-concious. Because I just KNOW they're looking me up and down, doing comparisons and JUDGING.

And I of course, would never do that to them in the reverse situation.

[Galava]

I'd love to wear a bikini again, but the stretch marks are too obvious

The buggers go up in a line to my belly button, so I couldnt even hide them with some big pants.

Maybe a sarong might help... but you have to take that off to go into the sea right ?

[BodenGroupie]

Saw a man (British, natch) swim fully clothed in the sea every day of a two week holiday in Greece. Made me desperate to know what he was covering up....

It's not so much the stretch marks that bother me, just the fact that I seem to have twice as much skin as I used to - someone handy with a needle could make me a spare me!

[Flamesparrow]

Galava - I have never had a bad reaction to seeing stretchmarks. They honestly are just part of who a person is.

[Bumperlicioso]

It's the crepey skin I hate (my own that is - not anyone elses!).

I like the beach, it's quite liberating seeing everyone in what is essentially the nud with a few strategically placed bit of material. I think if we saw more naked people we'd all feel a bit more ok about ourselves.

Anyway, as for swimwear a have a gorgeous 50's style strapless swimming costume which is gorgeous and if I ever get the chance to get near a beach again I'm sticking with it. Bikini is fine as long as you are standing or laying straight down, it's when you do the semi propped up position that it all seems to go pear shaped (or spare tyre shaped for me!).

[cornsilk]

The only person that I really noticed at the beach this weekend was a woman in a plain blue swimsuit as I thought she had a nice figure. Toned, probably about size 14. I didn't really notice anyone else.