Missing the "Good Old Days"

[Minimalist75]

Originally Posted by TX_Micro

Same here. I wore my first speedo in the 1980 in Florida. I was immediately hooked on the sense of freedom and sensuality of wearing next to nothing at the beach. Then thongs came along and could hardly wait to buy my first. It took a while for the local beach communities to get repressive and start banning them. I live in the country and have a pool so I am free to wear as little as I desire at home and prefer no more than a micro-suit at the beach.

Is as little as you desire at home usually nothing?

[Glenda]

I miss the societal acceptance of being able to either go nude or of wearing Speedos during the 1970's through 1980's. However, being a non-smoker I was surrounded by topless young women (including my sisters) and men whom enjoyed chain smoking. They really chastised me for not joining in on smoking. I usually left my group of friends to go bicycling along the beach. Times have changed and at 63 years of age I'm in excellent health and shape, whereas, most of my group of friends have either died young in their 40's and 50's or are in their 60's today with health issues.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...hoto/160751994

The beach attire photo above was taken in August 1970. 50 years ago this month.
As a teenager I spent my entire summer at the beach.

[Torchwatch]

The tobacco industry refers to getting a new batch of young smokers as recruitment. They knew as early as 1953 that tobacco products were killing as many as 6,000,000 a year and needed a steady supply of new recruits.

[Glenda]

My mom, aunt, and my sisters would always smoke heavily due to it decreased their appetite and kept them quite thin and looking fit while sunbathing topless on the beach in Trancas, California during the early 1970's. So they thought. Cut off short shorts and Speedos on men were quite normal beach attire later in that decade. I don't miss sitting within a constantly in your face cloud of cigarette smoke from a smoking beach crowd no matter how good it felt to be able to freely and acceptably sunbathe and walk around in the most minimal beach attire.

[Fairfax]

You know it's a great faliure of the "good old days" that mens swim briefs, despite there popularity, never established there own name fashion name independant of brand names and distinct from more genirc names for underwear and swimwear.

When somebody mentions "boardies" or "jammers" people know what they mean. They have a distinct male identity that's not sexualised or subject to derision.

All the names associated with swimming briefs are either interchangable with underwear or womens apparel, trademarked brand names or worst of all names founded on ridicule or mockery.

Back in the eighties mens briefs intended for sunbathing were often called "bikinis" or "sun suits" but neither of these names became established (or were suitable).

Any unique name would have to be free of trade marks so the whole industry could use it.

I think the word "mankini" would have been a good choice but of course it's out of the question now due to that silly outfit worn in the awful film "Borat".

Men wearing small swimsuits as a fashion choice (like women do) would be more easily legitimised and promoted if mens swimming briefs (and I mean all briefs with the basic triangle shape) had there own unique identity like the female 'bikini' has.

[Torchwatch]

Imagine if you could only buy sports cars in sports shops and even then only painted black, and that you could only buy open top convertibles in sex shops painted red, while you had to got to a camping store to get a green SUV but if you wanted a standard grey hatchback you could go to your local supermarket. This is what has happened to men's swimwear, if you want a thong or a bikini you have to go to sex shop, if you want racing swim briefs to a sports shop while you can pop into any supermarket and get multicoloured swim shorts that will prove a drag in the water.
Men going into sex shops are usually coy about what they've bought, in public serious swimmers would rather not be associated with sex shops but might wear swim shorts to blend in on a public beach and the guys that wear big baggy shorts to go to the pub aren't expecting to do much swimming or to get much sex.
The men swimming lengths and the mothers of the boys doing swimming lessons would rather not have a single word that places their swim briefs in the same category as the thongs and bikinis sold in the sex shop.
The guys in the big baggy shorts cluttering up the public beaches aren't doing much swimming or getting much sex and will happily put thong, bikini and racing briefs wearers in a single unpleasant category.
So maybe a little ambiguity is desirable, racing swim briefs are for serious swimming, swim thongs and bikinis are for serious sunning and you don't have to go to the sex shop to buy them.

[Bede735]

But the baggy shorts are so multi-functional. Wear them around town, play a game of tennis in them, then go to the beach and swim in them.

[Torchwatch]

That is why they are sold at the supermarket.
They wanted to sell Daewoo cars in supermarkets.
Fat people wear board shorts in pubs and bars, fit people should wear something different for sports, for swimming and on the beach.

[TX_Micro]

I don’t believe improvement in fabrics and changes in swimwear styles has much to do with the decline of nude beaches. When I go to any beach not just nude beaches there isn’t a lot of swimming taking place. I for one may get in the water to cool off but for the most part I spend my time reading, walking, or socializing.
I suspect the decline has more to do with society equating nude with sex. After all, that is about the only time most people are nude. I think my observation is supported by the number of post I read about erections when nude.