Swim briefs, skimpy swimwear and nudity

[Torchwatch]

Someone commented that the development of speedos (in nylon and then Lycra) and all the other skimpy swimwear be it, various bikinis, thongs and g strings eliminated the need for naturism at a time when the choice was between swimming naked or wearing something big and baggy possibly knitted from wool.
I thought about this and decided that my own experience was the exact opposite. I'd worn square cuts for swimming at school and had hated them, the fake flies and fly button just seemed pretentious and as a tall skinny boy the legs on square cuts just seemed pointless. Once I had left school and bought my own car so that I could go swimming when and where I chose I bought my first Speedos; plain black nylon with 3" sides. I soon wanted something briefer and with more colour and was back in the sports shop buying 2" black Speedos with red and white flashes at the sides. I started to experiment with bikinis and even swim thongs, knowing what I could and could not wear in the public swimming pools and what I had to keep for a quiet visit to a beach. I began to realise that there is no magic point at which the human male body goes from being decent to indecent by showing a little more skin. It seemed the less you wore the more it emphasised your bulge so in the end you might as well go naked. I tried a local naturist beach and really enjoyed it, once everything had calmed down and I stopped feeling self conscious it felt so nice to be completely naked enjoying the sunshine and paddling in the sea.
So I guess there are two routes to the nude beach, one is evolution from briefer and briefer swimsuits and the other is revolution, the casting off of impossible long and baggy swimwear.