How brief do you go?

[Schoolspeedo]

I had my teen years in the mid-late 70s when men's swimwear was becoming briefer and more revealing by their fabrics. Although my school speedos were quite exciting and erotic, revealing in terms of the feel of the fabric, I was always on the look out for something briefer, which I found in the form of a very brief blue bikini in spandex given to me by a friend and was also suitable as regards colour for use at school. However I never wore them for swimming due to their brevity and feel of the fabric which invariably gave me a hard-on. That said I wore it recreationally with friends. The local sports shop carried a range of 'speedo' bikinis but not really any briefer than the school ones. My parents stayed in near London at that time and there were a couple of department stores that had started selling very brief men's bikinis and I would take great delight though with considerable nervousness in buying the skimpiest ones I though I could get away with; always hoping thane of the older female assistants would serve me. As discussed previously in this board, I found the skimpiest 'speedo' brand bikini while on holiday in Guernsey or Jersey, Channel Isles one year which i adored. The early 80s saw a brief, no pun intended, in the rise of skimpy bikinis for men, a few of which I bought from 'Top Man'. These were the briefest I had found and wore them on holiday regularly though always with a bit of nervousness but the old saying, 'no one will know me' applied and I didn't care after a while.
As men's swimwear started to expand into horrific board shorts, skimpy bikinis became more difficult to find and acceptance of wearing them in public lessened, in my eyes, Now that briefs are starting to return and I'm considerably older, my fear of what others might say has diminished and I quite happily wear bikinis in public though only to a certain brevity, say a couple of cms in width is about the limit which I'll push. Kink's Andre bikini is about that while a slightly more comfortable bikini is the Joe Snyder basic bikini. This is a very small, light fabric suit and damn sexy. Feels amazing on; almost like there is nothing at all. I regularly swim in either style at my local pool with little interest from others, but I guess my attitude to anyone who complained would be indifference. My wife dislikes my skimpy styles, preferring, tight trunks but I just like the skimpy cut of a bikini. I might push my limits with a 'brave person' string side bikini while abroad, again where no-one knows me!
All that blurb is basically to find out the board members level of acceptable brevity in public. Over to you guys.

[Torchwatch]

In the mid-late 70s we were watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, we would see strong men in wet suits, swim bikinis and speedos in the sea and on various boats. They were working. exploring and relaxing, they were real men doing real things in the sunshine while not wearing much and it didn't matter to them that they were being filmed. We watched the Olympics on TV and saw young men at their best swimming and diving in speedos, the cameramen didn't cut to above the waist shots and it didn't matter but that was what I wanted to look like at the swimming pool and on the beach.
My first pair of nylon Speedos were 3" sides and I liked them so much I wanted 2" ones. Then Lycra Speedos came along and amazing colours and patterns were possible.
In the swimming pool I'd try to wear something slightly briefer than the classic 2" racing Speedo and risk wearing 1.5" sides. On the beach especially in France with huge open sandy beaches I'd wear minimal men's swim bikinis
and experimented with swim thongs.
I've built up a collection and on a beach visit will take selection so I can choose what seems appropriate on the day, from Brave Person to Classic Racing Speedos.
In the early 1990's there was a trend for white slightly transparent speedos, even pool lifeguards were wearing them when they went into the water, and yes I've got some white, yellow and ice blue swim briefs but am discrete about where and when I wear them.

[BikenSwim]

As a Bear, I can wear any tiny suit and roam around crowded beaches anywhere. I especially like flat-front suits, they don't rub against my bike-rider thighs.

[Aberman]

I think I’m on a par with you , Schoolspeedo . I suppose first of all I should say that 5 and 7 cm speedos just don’t interest me . So brevity , tightness of fabric and cut are the important things for me . What I will wear depends on the environment , so a two centimetre brief like Andre or joe Snyder are perfect for uk . I have worn a design called port cros from intersparta back in the eighties in a hotel pool in Yorkshire , basically a half back , small pouch and thin strap sides . But there was no one in so I can’t claim to be brave , it was overlooked by reception through glass though . I think as one gets older one becomes more invisible in general .
On the beach here I will wear Joe Snyder Rio thong which has exceptionally narrow front or even a pouch front metallic grey triangle back M73 from Skinz . I think on the beach it’s different , you aren’t enforcing your choice on people , but a pool is more sensitive . I’m still undecided whether I like my Snyder bulge bikinis . I like them for the brevity of the front and in a sense wish they weren’t so anatomical . Are they suitable for Spanish pool ? The good thing is that most people are completely unaware that these designs exist and I guess they think you are just filling your suit well . I think probably fine for setting up quietly somewhere but strolling to get a drink . Tanga sides are the other issue . Wearing a strap side is pretty daring for a guy and bound to get a second look . But I wish to use my kiniki cubas in Spain . Going back to the brave person brief , it offers full coverage albeit quite brief but narrows to a point pretty much at the hip , quite an exciting design . So how about you other guys ?

[Schoolspeedo]

Originally Posted by Torchwatch

In the mid-late 70s we were watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, we would see strong men in wet suits, swim bikinis and speedos in the sea and on various boats. They were working. exploring and relaxing, they were real men doing real things in the sunshine while not wearing much and it didn't matter to them that they were being filmed. We watched the Olympics on TV and saw young men at their best swimming and diving in speedos, the cameramen didn't cut to above the waist shots and it didn't matter but that was what I wanted to look like at the swimming pool and on the beach.
My first pair of nylon Speedos were 3" sides and I liked them so much I wanted 2" ones. Then Lycra Speedos came along and amazing colours and patterns were possible.
In the swimming pool I'd try to wear something slightly briefer than the classic 2" racing Speedo and risk wearing 1.5" sides. On the beach especially in France with huge open sandy beaches I'd wear minimal men's swim bikinis
and experimented with swim thongs.
I've built up a collection and on a beach visit will take selection so I can choose what seems appropriate on the day, from Brave Person to Classic Racing Speedos.
In the early 1990's there was a trend for white slightly transparent speedos, even pool lifeguards were wearing them when they went into the water, and yes I've got some white, yellow and ice blue swim briefs but am discrete about where and when I wear them.

Yes! I remember Jaques Cousteau and the guys in their little bikinis. They were mostly French who have always come out with some really skimpy suits for men and women.

[BikenSwim]

Originally Posted by Schoolspeedo

Yes! I remember Jaques Cousteau and the guys in their little bikinis. They were mostly French who have always come out with some really skimpy suits for men and women.

When I went to a (French) Club Med in Mexico in 1980, all the GO's (Activity leaders) wore the skimpiest bikinis, so I bought one too and wore it for years at Riis Park Beach in NY City. It had the Club Med name sewn on. I was able to buy more skimpy French bikinis in NYC as well. Great times!

[Aberman]

Wouldn’t it be heaven if you could still buy skimpy mens’ swimwear in stores like this ! Probably my last purchases like this were Fredy thongs by Hom which were pretty damn tiny and sexy . They came in black boxes and were sold by Debenhams , now defunct . I always liked that “ putting them on the counter frisson “ . I also remember buying a pouch fronted tanga half back swimsuit at a big department store back in about 1982 . Can you imagine finding that on the racks now ? It really is quite strange that for women there are whole departments in conservative stores like marks and Spencer’s selling quite overtly enticing underwear celebrating the ultimate in femininity . Plus the stores like Victoria’s Secret or Anne Summers which are almost exclusively there for selling sexiness . Whereas for men there are the dull row upon row of Calvin Klein hipsters . It really is strange because guys in general are the one who are more fetish orientated , I would think . It all comes down to what sells of course , I understand that . But wish it was different !

[Schoolspeedo]

Originally Posted by Aberman

Wouldn’t it be heaven if you could still buy skimpy mens’ swimwear in stores like this ! Probably my last purchases like this were Fredy thongs by Hom which were pretty damn tiny and sexy . They came in black boxes and were sold by Debenhams , now defunct . I always liked that “ putting them on the counter frisson “ . I also remember buying a pouch fronted tanga half back swimsuit at a big department store back in about 1982 . Can you imagine finding that on the racks now ? It really is quite strange that for women there are whole departments in conservative stores like marks and Spencer’s selling quite overtly enticing underwear celebrating the ultimate in femininity . Plus the stores like Victoria’s Secret or Anne Summers which are almost exclusively there for selling sexiness . Whereas for men there are the dull row upon row of Calvin Klein hipsters . It really is strange because guys in general are the one who are more fetish orientated , I would think . It all comes down to what sells of course , I understand that . But wish it was different !

As a teenager, still at school, I bought my first really skimpy bikini underwear at M&S in the late 70s. It was white cotton, with a seamed pouch and 'scrunchy' elastic which stretched when worn. I thought it was the sexiest pants. My grandmother found it in the pile of clean laundry and was aghast at how brief it was. I bought some other of the same style, even a leopard print one. Then they made equally brief pants in more nylon fabric which were also damn sexy and gave an superb outline of the contents.

[Minimalist75]

Originally Posted by Aberman

Wouldn’t it be heaven if you could still buy skimpy mens’ swimwear in stores like this ! Probably my last purchases like this were Fredy thongs by Hom which were pretty damn tiny and sexy . They came in black boxes and were sold by Debenhams , now defunct . I always liked that “ putting them on the counter frisson “ . I also remember buying a pouch fronted tanga half back swimsuit at a big department store back in about 1982 . Can you imagine finding that on the racks now ? It really is quite strange that for women there are whole departments in conservative stores like marks and Spencer’s selling quite overtly enticing underwear celebrating the ultimate in femininity . Plus the stores like Victoria’s Secret or Anne Summers which are almost exclusively there for selling sexiness . Whereas for men there are the dull row upon row of Calvin Klein hipsters . It really is strange because guys in general are the one who are more fetish orientated , I would think . It all comes down to what sells of course , I understand that . But wish it was different !

There are still plenty of opportunities to buy skimpy mens swimsuits on line.

[Fairfax]

They used to sell HOM swimwear in upmarket department stores here in Australia in the eighties and early nineties.
They were all one inch sided briefs and they had a big variety of patterns and colors.
I loved how they were actually called a 'bikini' on the packaging and they were made in France.
looking through this rack as a teenage boy (and trying some on) was just amazing.
There may be an endless amount of sexy swimsuits available online these days but seeing them in a shop like that normalized them for me and lots of other guys.