Bikini not accepted? (UK, but US perspective also nice)

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yirara
yirara Posts: 9,466 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I went a few times to my local pool here in the UK, and found I was the only person wearing a bikini. I did feel awkward but as I don't have a swimming suit this is what I had to wear. There was nothing in the pool rules about it, and I did phone in advance and asked.

When I was on business in the US I chose a hotel with pool to relax and to soak away the jetlag. I was not only the only person with bikini, I was the only one not covering additionally with tshirt and swimming shorts. Please can someone explain?
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Replies

  • IcanIwill1
    IcanIwill1 Posts: 137 Member
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    Freedom to choose whatever they want to wear means people choose not to wear a bikini and instead opt for a one piece.
    I did not know there was a bukini until the furore in the news recently
    The only way I would have the confidence to bare my body in public will be in a bukini...especially one that will cover my inner thighs. I need to ask some of my Muslim sister friends where I can purchase one.
    For years I stayed away from pools due to lack of body confidence...now there is hope for me being a 'Michaela Phelps' in my dreams.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited August 2016
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    i don't swim very often, but if i remember the last time i went swimming to a lanes session, i was the only person in a bikini.

    a lot of women don't feel comfortable in a bikini, i put it down to that. plus a swimming costume is probably more secure for the girls if you're a proper swimmer (i'm not, i pretty much doggy paddle!)
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    UK: My gym has a small pool and so it is unlikely that it would get used for any serious swim training but there seems to be a 50/50 split of bikini/swimsuits for the women.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,466 Member
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    Thanks a lot for the UK perspective. I went to the pool only (to be honest) for a sport works challenge when swimming was the sport of the week so I could bank double points :wink: I must say thought that I chose my bikinis such that I can also (try to) swim butterfly or play in waves. Thus not a tiny lose triangle affair but a proper bikini that stays in place. Being self conscious.. hmm.. I also wore a bikini with 18kg more as I a) didn't feel quite so big and b) found it more comfy than a wet bit of fabric over my belly.
  • ouryve
    ouryve Posts: 572 Member
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    The simplest explanation is that nobody else wanted to wear a bikini. Not everyone is body confident and not everyone finds a bikini comfortable or practical.
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    I live in the UK and would wear a one-piece costume for 'serious' swimming (e.g. laps of a pool) and a bikini for open-water swimming, mainly so I could have it on under my clothes in case I decide to have a quick dip in the sea or a lake while out for a walk, but would still be able to go to the loo without taking all my clothes off. So practicality rather than glamour for me.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Thanks a lot for the UK perspective. I went to the pool only (to be honest) for a sport works challenge when swimming was the sport of the week so I could bank double points :wink: I must say thought that I chose my bikinis such that I can also (try to) swim butterfly or play in waves. Thus not a tiny lose triangle affair but a proper bikini that stays in place. Being self conscious.. hmm.. I also wore a bikini with 18kg more as I a) didn't feel quite so big and b) found it more comfy than a wet bit of fabric over my belly.

    moral of the story... to each their own.... :smile:
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    Swimsuits are also making a comeback amongst fashion, for a while they weren't. Now they are trendy again, it is likely to see a decrease in bikinis and a rise in swimsuits.

    Until Bikini's become fashionable again...
  • Steff46
    Steff46 Posts: 516 Member
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    I live in the states and wear a bikini top with matching boy shorts to the beach. I used to wear a bikini bottom but like the better thigh coverage of the boy shorts. At the gym pool, I always wear a one piece because I'm there to lap swim.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Different people do different things. Even when I was younger before I had stretched skin and stretch marks and everything it never even crossed my mind to wear a bikini. Other women always wear bikinis. We're just all different.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I think in the UK, due to our weather, we mostly associate bikinis with holidays. And so less likely to wear one to the pool. Body confidence is also a contributing factor.
  • Heartisalonelyhunter
    Heartisalonelyhunter Posts: 786 Member
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    I wear a bikini most of the time unless I'm alone with all my kids, because I know I'll be chasing them around/playing so I wear a tankini for more coverage. But I think you're over thinking it. At our neighborhood pool some women wear bikinis, some one pieces, some wear those awful swim dresses (which I personally hate because I think they make people look bigger and I don't understand why anyone would want to swim with all that excess fabric floating around?) There are no rules about what you can wear in the UK and the US (actually the last time I went to the outdoor pool in the UK half the women were topless which would never happen in the US)
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 427 Member
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    I think, generally, when people think bikini they think beach. Maybe that's why. But if you want to rock a bikini at a pool, go for it! Nothing wrong with you wearing a bikini, as long as it's not prohibited by the pool rules.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    I would also venture to say that in the British Isles you're also more likely to see guys wearing Jammers or Speedo style swimwear. Where as here state side guys typically wear Trunk/Shorts style swimwear to pools and water parks.

    I live in the midwest and from what I've noticed is people at pools typically wear Tankinis or one piece suits whereas at the local Water Parks is almost 90%-95% designer style bikinis.

    Rock what you're comfortable in. If you're comfortable in a Bikini, rock it. If you're comfortable in a one piece rock it.
  • spring913
    spring913 Posts: 158 Member
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    Cutaway_Collar wrote: »
    If you saw the US on tv or movies, they paint a pretty picture with scantily clad pool ladies and buff dudes... the reality is far from it. People can be conservative and nobody goes to the hotel pool unless they are staying there for a long time and hotel pools are not the greatest. And if you are in corporate america (regular hotel users), they just don't have the time to go to the pool.

    If you saw a movie where dude goes down to the pool or the bar and a hot chick shows up in minutes.... It's all a fantasy (script written by men). Reality is you will run into a crazy dude or woman who doesn't make any eye contact.

    Also, we live in weird times where people don't want to offend anyone or go negatively viral. Islamic folks numbers are exponentially soaring so there is a higher chance you may see a burkini than a bikini :D

    That's offensive.

    OP - Chances are most people at the pool were there to swim laps? I would never swim laps in a bikini (okay, I'd never wear a bikini, but that's beside the point). I wouldn't worry about it, to each their own. Wear what you're comfortable in.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    spring913 wrote: »
    Cutaway_Collar wrote: »
    If you saw the US on tv or movies, they paint a pretty picture with scantily clad pool ladies and buff dudes... the reality is far from it. People can be conservative and nobody goes to the hotel pool unless they are staying there for a long time and hotel pools are not the greatest. And if you are in corporate america (regular hotel users), they just don't have the time to go to the pool.

    If you saw a movie where dude goes down to the pool or the bar and a hot chick shows up in minutes.... It's all a fantasy (script written by men). Reality is you will run into a crazy dude or woman who doesn't make any eye contact.

    Also, we live in weird times where people don't want to offend anyone or go negatively viral. Islamic folks numbers are exponentially soaring so there is a higher chance you may see a burkini than a bikini :D

    That's offensive.

    It's the truth. I see burkinis all the time. My daughter loves the water-park at Cedar Fairs Kings Island and we're pass holders so as long as it's not raining we make a trip almost weekly and I see them every single time I am there. There isn't a week that we don't see one, or multiple.

    Just because you find it offensive doesn't mean it's any less truthful.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    CincyNeid wrote: »
    I would also venture to say that in the British Isles you're also more likely to see guys wearing Jammers or Speedo style swimwear.

    Rarely seen in my experience.

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