How brief do you go?

[Schoolspeedo]

Originally Posted by Torchwatch

In the mid-late 70s we were watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, we would see strong men in wet suits, swim bikinis and speedos in the sea and on various boats. They were working. exploring and relaxing, they were real men doing real things in the sunshine while not wearing much and it didn't matter to them that they were being filmed. We watched the Olympics on TV and saw young men at their best swimming and diving in speedos, the cameramen didn't cut to above the waist shots and it didn't matter but that was what I wanted to look like at the swimming pool and on the beach.
My first pair of nylon Speedos were 3" sides and I liked them so much I wanted 2" ones. Then Lycra Speedos came along and amazing colours and patterns were possible.
In the swimming pool I'd try to wear something slightly briefer than the classic 2" racing Speedo and risk wearing 1.5" sides. On the beach especially in France with huge open sandy beaches I'd wear minimal men's swim bikinis
and experimented with swim thongs.
I've built up a collection and on a beach visit will take selection so I can choose what seems appropriate on the day, from Brave Person to Classic Racing Speedos.
In the early 1990's there was a trend for white slightly transparent speedos, even pool lifeguards were wearing them when they went into the water, and yes I've got some white, yellow and ice blue swim briefs but am discrete about where and when I wear them.

Yes! I remember Jaques Cousteau and the guys in their little bikinis. They were mostly French who have always come out with some really skimpy suits for men and women.

[BikenSwim]

Originally Posted by Schoolspeedo

Yes! I remember Jaques Cousteau and the guys in their little bikinis. They were mostly French who have always come out with some really skimpy suits for men and women.

When I went to a (French) Club Med in Mexico in 1980, all the GO's (Activity leaders) wore the skimpiest bikinis, so I bought one too and wore it for years at Riis Park Beach in NY City. It had the Club Med name sewn on. I was able to buy more skimpy French bikinis in NYC as well. Great times!

[Aberman]

Wouldn’t it be heaven if you could still buy skimpy mens’ swimwear in stores like this ! Probably my last purchases like this were Fredy thongs by Hom which were pretty damn tiny and sexy . They came in black boxes and were sold by Debenhams , now defunct . I always liked that “ putting them on the counter frisson “ . I also remember buying a pouch fronted tanga half back swimsuit at a big department store back in about 1982 . Can you imagine finding that on the racks now ? It really is quite strange that for women there are whole departments in conservative stores like marks and Spencer’s selling quite overtly enticing underwear celebrating the ultimate in femininity . Plus the stores like Victoria’s Secret or Anne Summers which are almost exclusively there for selling sexiness . Whereas for men there are the dull row upon row of Calvin Klein hipsters . It really is strange because guys in general are the one who are more fetish orientated , I would think . It all comes down to what sells of course , I understand that . But wish it was different !

[Schoolspeedo]

Originally Posted by Aberman

Wouldn’t it be heaven if you could still buy skimpy mens’ swimwear in stores like this ! Probably my last purchases like this were Fredy thongs by Hom which were pretty damn tiny and sexy . They came in black boxes and were sold by Debenhams , now defunct . I always liked that “ putting them on the counter frisson “ . I also remember buying a pouch fronted tanga half back swimsuit at a big department store back in about 1982 . Can you imagine finding that on the racks now ? It really is quite strange that for women there are whole departments in conservative stores like marks and Spencer’s selling quite overtly enticing underwear celebrating the ultimate in femininity . Plus the stores like Victoria’s Secret or Anne Summers which are almost exclusively there for selling sexiness . Whereas for men there are the dull row upon row of Calvin Klein hipsters . It really is strange because guys in general are the one who are more fetish orientated , I would think . It all comes down to what sells of course , I understand that . But wish it was different !

As a teenager, still at school, I bought my first really skimpy bikini underwear at M&S in the late 70s. It was white cotton, with a seamed pouch and 'scrunchy' elastic which stretched when worn. I thought it was the sexiest pants. My grandmother found it in the pile of clean laundry and was aghast at how brief it was. I bought some other of the same style, even a leopard print one. Then they made equally brief pants in more nylon fabric which were also damn sexy and gave an superb outline of the contents.

[Minimalist75]

Originally Posted by Aberman

Wouldn’t it be heaven if you could still buy skimpy mens’ swimwear in stores like this ! Probably my last purchases like this were Fredy thongs by Hom which were pretty damn tiny and sexy . They came in black boxes and were sold by Debenhams , now defunct . I always liked that “ putting them on the counter frisson “ . I also remember buying a pouch fronted tanga half back swimsuit at a big department store back in about 1982 . Can you imagine finding that on the racks now ? It really is quite strange that for women there are whole departments in conservative stores like marks and Spencer’s selling quite overtly enticing underwear celebrating the ultimate in femininity . Plus the stores like Victoria’s Secret or Anne Summers which are almost exclusively there for selling sexiness . Whereas for men there are the dull row upon row of Calvin Klein hipsters . It really is strange because guys in general are the one who are more fetish orientated , I would think . It all comes down to what sells of course , I understand that . But wish it was different !

There are still plenty of opportunities to buy skimpy mens swimsuits on line.

[Fairfax]

They used to sell HOM swimwear in upmarket department stores here in Australia in the eighties and early nineties.
They were all one inch sided briefs and they had a big variety of patterns and colors.
I loved how they were actually called a 'bikini' on the packaging and they were made in France.
looking through this rack as a teenage boy (and trying some on) was just amazing.
There may be an endless amount of sexy swimsuits available online these days but seeing them in a shop like that normalized them for me and lots of other guys.

[Torchwatch]

The Darling Buds Of May French Beach Holiday:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xryt5z

They hit the beach after about 20 mins, you'll enjoy the young Frenchmen.

[niftynev]

I had some HOM swimwear in the 90s. Some very short swim shorts, and some briefs. The earlier HOM briefs had very stretchy fabric that conformed to every part of the body, but the later ones were a less stretchy fabric that wasn't as soft on the skin either.

[speedo_guy]

Hom were great for bikinis and thongs. I still have this blue suit I got back in the 90s.

[Schoolspeedo]

Originally Posted by Torchwatch

The Darling Buds Of May French Beach Holiday:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xryt5z

They hit the beach after about 20 mins, you'll enjoy the young Frenchmen.

Those are tiny bikinis!