Brits say bye bye to the bikini an all over tan... (femalefirst) Updated: 2006-07-12 10:55
Photo by Xie Mo Yahoo! Search has seen a 700% rise in
requests for information on naturist beaches and holidays over the last five
years. Could this suggest that after 60 years the bikini is on its way out?
Online searches in areas such as naturist holidays have risen more than
ten-fold and online searches nudist beaches are four times more popular than 5
years ago. Other searches such as naturist hotels, nudist camps and naturist
clubs have all seen similar increases over this timeframe.
Does this mean that as a nation we are losing our famous British inhibition -
and could the future of the bikini be shaky in Britain?
"The bikini is certainly a garment in need of critical appraisal after 60
years, and has gone from shock horror to popular icon, as in Brian Hyland's 1962
hit "the itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini," to global
acceptance," comments Juliet Ash Tutor in Fashion and Textiles Design History at
the Royal College of Art.
"And we are definitely seeing a re-emergence of nudism in the noughties - or
should that be renamed the naughties - the last time nudity was in vogue was
back in the 1960s. However, whilst the continentals continue to go topless on
the beach it seems that it's all or nothing with Brits as they seem to have been
keeping their tops firmly on during this recent heatwave."
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