The other bikini thread got me thinking- how big is ‘too big’ for a bikini? I mean regarding weight/body type? Obviously I don’t see a lot of fat people in bikinis, but I’m kind of curious where the cutoff is.
I’d say as long as it covers up the naughty bits and you can tell they are wearing a bottom (aka Norbit), they should be able to wear whatever they want.
It may be disgusting to some, but at what point do you say it is too disgusting, and who sets the standard? Some anorexic be-boppers may find somebody that isn’t skin and bones to be “fat” and disgusting.
I agree.
I mean, it’s not like you can’t tell someone is fat if they’re wearing a one-piece. You just can’t see their stomach.
Well they don’t make bikini’s in my size, so I assume I’m too big. Personally, I think if you are toned and not too jiggly, it doesn’t matter. I don’t like to see girls in skimpy outfits with their muffin-tops hanging out just because they are technically a size 6. Your clothing size is not indication of whether or not you can pull it off, but how your body looks is.
That’s an individual call. I weigh 115 lbs with no stretchmarks and there’s no way in hell I’ll do it again. But I see others with 100 lbs on me do it. It’s a matter of what you’re comfortable with.
I’ve seen “plus size” women who looked great in a bikini, and I’ve seen skinny mini women who looked terrible. I think the main thing that you must have to look good in skimpy swimwear is a relatively bulge-free body. You don’t have to be thin, but if a swimsuit reveals rolls of flab blooping out, I think you should wear some other style.
When I was fat, I tried on a bikini, just once. The skimpy little bikini-bottoms turned my belly into a drooping bulge of blubber. It was scary. I went back to wearing a one-piece suit.
This big.
I think I’m currently at a borderline point of “ok” and “too big” for a bikini. My legs are toned, I don’t have a lot of backfat, but I’ve got a bit of a potbelly. However, for other people, my “too big” indication is things like having more rolls than a bakery or not being able to see that the person is wearing bottoms. Tankinis, however, have a much wider range of acceptability than bikinis.
Either way, it’s all about how you look and feel in the thing; a one-piece can be more unflattering than a bikini, and vice versa.
Freckafree: Ha, too funny!
Pretty much. I am not now, nor have I ever been fat, but I’ve always looked like shit in a bikini. You either have a good body for it, or you don’t.
Coming from someone who had gastric bypass surgery 4 years ago, I agree wholeheartedly. I hate when the weather gets warm because that means I have to try to find short sleeves that cover up my jiggly arms. That skin does NOT un-stretch! No sleeveless or cap sleeves for me. 
If I wear a bathing suit, it’s always a tankini with boy-cut bottoms. The upper part is a little loose and the bottom part covers the slight sag in my butt.
If you got rolls or if you like a skeleton, don’t…just don’t.
Having been “too skinny” as a teenager/young adult, then “way too fat” as an older adult and now back to “you need a sammich**,” I have the attitude of "if you don’t like it, just look away.
When I was in school, I got a lot of flack over being too thin. I wore baggy stuff to cover up what, in retrospect, was an amazing body (size 4 pants, DD boobs). When I was fat, I always hid in my clothing. I never liked showing it off. Now that I am thin again, I show it off, stretchmarks, scars and all, because I like my body. If someone else doesn’t, that’s their problem, not mine.
I may personally think that some people need to repeat the phrase “just because it comes in my size doesn’t mean I should wear it,” but I recognise that’s my issue, not theirs. If I think someone looks funky, I just look the other way. I would honestly appreciate it if other people did this for me, rather than commenting on my weight or lack thereof.
**I am 5’3" and weigh between 117-125 and a very petite frame, which gives me a BMI of 20.7 - 22.1. I am healthy and still have curves. I do wear a size 0/00 in pants, but it’s not like you can count my ribs or anything. The “you need a sammich” comment is getting old, since the people who have said it are the same ones who have mentioned that they are glad I’ve lost weight because I was “a whole lot of woman” before.
:smack: Beaten to the punch
The line is- Cellulite.
There are some thick bodied girls out there that I think are stunning in bikinis. These women don’t have that much visual cellulite.
On the other ends… bones are gross as well. IF you have visual ribs please don’t show them.
I am trying to find some pictures of women in bikinis, so we all have a baseline of comparison, but I am either getting 18 year old bikini models, or grossly overweight joke models. Can anyone help my google fu?
OK, here’s a good line-up. This is Kelly Clarkson (American Idol) and friends at the beach. (BTW, Kelly is in the black dress). link
I’d personally say the largest gal is too bigger than I’d feel comfortable in a bikini in but I like that she has the confidence to wear one. The other gals have nice curvy bods but aren’t stick thin, just average.
I, personally, won’t wear one but I will wear board shorts and a bikini top. (I mind my thighs, not my belly)
I think all those girls look great. As long as you aren’t exposing parts that would cause you to be arrested for indecency, wear what you like. Those that don’t want to see a variation in sizes and shapes can look away. The rest of us will enjoy the ocean and the sun and mind our own business.
(Says the skinny, fit, long haired woman who at 36 is thought by many to be too old to wear either a bikini or long hair. Next trip to the beach I’ll be sure and leave a “complaints” box for dissenters.)
I’d say 2 out of 4. Let me clarify. I would be comfortable wearing a bikini if I was 2 of the women, if I was the other two, I would feel like I was pushing maximum density.
And Beau, we have a lot in common besides dogs. Wear the bikini, keep the long hair, girl, you’re gorgeous.
The big girl in the pic just needs a top that fits. It looks a size too small and lets the side boob fat roll look more promient.
As long as you don’t look like this I think you’re golden…