Q. I love a thong bikini and always have — I feel constrained on the beach in more covered-up looks. My daughter (22) says I look ridiculous and should go for something more modest. I’m horrified — why is wearing what you want something you can only do in your twenties?
A. When I stripped off at the beach recently, my girlfriend was similarly horrified. “I can’t believe you still own a thong bikini!” Shrouding me in her sarong, she then scolded that it was time for more “mature” swimwear. Apparently middle-aged women must sport sturdy, orthopaedic bathing suits, as if about to swim the Channel, circa 1922. “Who would want to wear a little bit of elasticated dental floss anyway?” she grimaced. “It must feel as though you’re flossing your fallopian tubes!”
The opposite actually. I’ve worn G-string bikinis since I was a surfy girl in the 1970s. Like you I enjoy that free and breezy feeling of swimming and sunbathing in next to nothing. My theme song? Bach’s Air on the G-String, obviously.
I always compromise and wear bikinis around my daughters. I select ones that are a bit, or maybe more than a bit, cheeky. On my last beach trip my younger daughter, late 30s, asked why I wear “banana hammocks”. It definitely wasn’t and I think she did it to be funny and was maybe curious since they see me as very conservative. I think she didn’t recall I have always worn bikinis although I admit they have gotten smaller over time.
On another note, I was (shocked, pissed, dismayed?). When my wife’s good friend told her a woman over 50 shouldn’t wear a bikini. Are you kidding! My wife is well over 50, works out, eats right, and takes care of herself and in my biased opinion is “hot”. She looks good in any suit but I love it when she wears Wicked Weasel.