Swim trousers (aka pants)

[Jock]

I met up with my sister last weekend and we headed to a south coast beach. As we sat soaking up the few photons of British summer she remarked upon the swimwear of the chaps around. By and large they were wearing swim wear that came down to, and in many cases below, the knees. As they came out of the sea the wet material flapped around and looked uncomfortable. Indeed I saw one lad pulling at the soggy mess as he walked up the beach. What an impractical garment for the sea IMHO. Incidentally, the weight of wet material was causing more that one swimmer to expose an unnecessary amount of derriere.

I was wearing my speedos (budgie smugglers) and was happy in and out of the water.

Ah to be of an age where I don't have to be a dedicated follower of fashion!

[couyalair]

I certainly don't follow fashion, and am happyily unbifurcated in general or in slip/bikini that covers only what has to be covered. Both leave my legs FREE! Once, at a friend's pool, I was lent a pair of trousers -- and I right clown I felt -- heavy and dragging in the water, soggy and cold out.
I have a feeling men are getting tired of this excess baggage however; we are seeing more and more slips by the sea and short shorts in town.
Some contributors have postulated that the public does not notice our open garments when they are of the same length as shorts/bermudas would be. Does this mean that if the fashion is for short shorts once more, then I'll have to go into mini skirts to remain "unnoticed"?

Martin

[straightfairy]

I think that the long 'shorts' are not really intended for swimming at all.
didn't they used to be called board shorts? after the surfers that mainly wore them? (or for walking along boardwalks?)
Fine on the beach when dry, but hopeless once they get wet, especially for swimming.

[JRMILLER]

I recently had a friend refer to speedos as "marble bags". Made me smile!

[Jack Williams]

Yeah, I laugh at baggy swimwear on blokes a bit, but I gave away my "budgy smugglers" Speedos years ago and enjoy swimming, well bodysurfing, unbifurcated these days in dresses! Just a quirk I have.

[Jack Williams]

Actually, I made a few short videos of this. See "MrMdick" on YouTube!

[skirtingtheissue]

By and large they were wearing swim wear that came down to, and in many cases below, the knees.

Why, why, why did this ever become fashionable? I can't stand it! Same goes for baggy, droopy "shorts" that have a crotch 8 inches below the biological crotch and go well below the knee.

I'd suggest that if any of you have never been to a clothing optional beach to go find one and feel what swimming should really be: nude! And of course take a skirt for a quick and easy cover-up when you wander into clothing-required areas.

[Kilted_John]

The other option is to get a skirted swimsuit bottom. Comes down to about mid-thigh and is usually A-line.

-J

[janrok]

The best option by far is to swim naked. Problems solved!

Jan.

[Jock]

The best option by far is to swim naked. Problems solved!
Jan.

I'd suggest that if any of you have never been to a clothing optional beach to go find one and feel what swimming should really be: nude!

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree! Works for me.

[Jim]

The best option by far is to swim naked. Problems solved!
Jan.

Of course! Unfortunately that gets even more disapproval in most public places than skirts.

Putting clothes on to swim is an absurd tradition that started in the 1800's as part of Victorianism. It makes no sense at all.

[Jim]

The other option is to get a skirted swimsuit bottom. Comes down to about mid-thigh and is usually A-line.

The men's "speedo" style and women's bikini bottoms are almost indistinguishable. I've picked up the bikini bottoms at thrift stores. If you've given up the need to buy only what's labeled "masculine" you have a lot more freedom.

[couyalair]

Eve though there are plenty of speedos/slips to be seen on beaches in Europe, and even though competitive champions wear minimal swimwear, the shops here have masses of swimwear with legs and very few legless styles. And if you do find some, they're sure to be black. What a bore!

Martin, another unclothed swimmer.

[Kirbstone]

We were an all male crew aboard an old gaffer in the Baltic last September and on Day One we were for a while becalmed out of sight of land. The water temp. was 20 deg. C, and several of us elected to have a deep water swim, most of us in the Altogether. One dive off the gunwale of that ship was an unpleasant kick-in-the-crotch for me and I vowed never to try it again.

I have some 'normal' not-too-brief swimwear which holds everything where it should be and that'll do me, thank you very much.

T.

[Sarongman]

20 degrees in the Baltic! that sounds quite warm even taking into account the lag between air cooling and the cooling of large bodies of water. I take it that the Gulf Stream comes in there. My ignorance as a southern hemisphere yokel will have to be taken into account. I do know that the gradual increase of water temperature around the coast of Australia has meant that some tropical fish are moving south of their accustomed range, and that ecologists are worried that some colder climate species may not survive much more warming.