I voted other. Summer brown looks better to me than winter pale on most of us UK white people but baked brick red or, even worse, the crispy dark brown of sun damage is not a good look.
On the subject of tanlines: Depending on how it goes with their personality, a “farmer’s tan”, complete with sunglasses tanlines, can be attractive in a down-to-earth way.
On the subject of redheads in the sun: Freckles are cute.
Didn’t vote, but had to pitch in.
Having lived, worked and played in the sun all my (60+) years, I find the pasty white rather unnatural looking. Then again, my belly is much lighter than my face and arms, as I do concren myself with melanoma (though no history of same).
The “professional tanner”, on the other hand, doesn’t attract me, either.
Tanning slightly is all most people look good with…
Anybody in fake stuff deserves the laugh of all that see their orange tinted skin. I will ask people why they’re orange today. Orange you glad you use fake tan?:o
Wait until you start having sex.
Re tan lines: that’s why I sunbathe nude. Also I think fat looks better tan.
When I see one I can’t help but think of the 40-something sun worshipper that I used to work with whose skin looked like an old baseball mitt.
I like natural tans; Airman gets kinda dark in the summer when he spends time outside, and it looks good on him. Ditto for the sprog.
On the other hand, I’m a freckle-faced redhead. The only way you can tell I’ve spent time outside once the sunburn peels is if I take my watch off to show the “tan” line. I also have a family history of skin cancer, which I do not want to share, so I tend to go outside for shorter bursts of time. A tan would look ridiculous on me.
I guess I’ll have to go with other. In younger women, I think a lack of tanning looks good, as long as your skin isn’t translucent. I always though tanning looked weird as a kid. But now that I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that tans seems to make older women look more attractive, as long as it isn’t overdone or fake.
Still, the most attractive skin of all is this almost porcelain white skin, as long as there are few imperfections.
I was wondering if you meant white people or what. I tan on my arms and hands in about ten minutes in the direct sunshine. I went for a 35 minute walk yesterday and when I removed my ring, found I had a new tan line. I’m Indian; I can’t even help it. I start out a sort of coffee-with-cream color and tan to a deep caramel, every year, without fail, and then I lighten back up in the winter.
I like tans if they are natural, but I really think tanning booths are a Very Bad Idea and I am amazed at people who still go to them.
Yes, some do. A lot of people think they look better with a sun-kissed look. I’m one of them, even though I don’t deliberately tan myself anymore because I don’t want to damage my skin.
Earlier this week I noticed that a woman was particularly tan and thought she was striking. What I couldn’t figure out was why just from looking at her briefly I concluded that she was tanned because she gardens or plays some outdoor sport. Maybe it wasn’t completely uniform and that was the clue. It clearly wasn’t salon tanning. I suppose she might just lie out on her deck. I thought she looked natural and healthy.
Totally neutral on the subject.
Other:
On Anna Kournikova, a tan looks delicious.
On Nicole Kidman, it’d look ridiculous.
So, it depends. Generally, a tan need to only be a light tanning. Whatever natural shade you are, I can’t see how going any further than just ‘mildly darker’ would be good. Just a light tan seems to freshen up one’s look and smooth out appearances.
I’m with the rest of you, except I’m also a fan of tan lines.
I’ll be in my bunk.
I endorse this statement.
I detest that orange fake tan shit [and way too exagerated pout and strange posing] and do not lay out to tan. I do, however go out into the sun for 10 to 15 minutes a day in a bathing suit because I still have vitamin D deficiencies and do it to augment the pills. I am holding at osteopenia and want to keep it that way.
Tan marks on the boobs and butt can be attractive.
Love ice cream cones. 
I like the pale look, myself. This is going to sound egotistical, but whatever – I find people with my coloring (pale skin, dark hair, dark eyes) very attractive. Staying pale also keeps you from getting wrinkles as quickly as those who tan, so you look younger longer.
Oops, I assumed a white person. If your tan is more chocolate brown, then I always thought it looked good.
Story of my life. 