Holy cow, Helen Mirren is a goddess.

Because I have a problem with sun due to a med I have to take, I now wear biker shorts and a long sleeved shirt that hugs the body, not a billowy one lol. Guess what, nobody cares! I go in the lake at my Maine house and the ocean here where I live and I feel good and happy with my wide brimmed safari hat tied on and gigantic sunglasses either walking or in the water. No one cares, the least of all, me.

Look at these classy tankinis from Nordstrom,

Tankinis

I wore bikini's all the time until my 30's, and even then I had a good body after having kids. My tummy was still toned and flat. I put on my first tankini just for the heck of it (they had a different name back then) and that's all I wear now.

IMO I think they make all body types look better than bikini's do.

When you say you want to wear it in public, do you mean at a beach or pool?

Remember how beautiful Bo Derrick (sp) was in the movie "10?" It wasn't just her looks, it was the gorgeous one piece bathing suit she wore.

Maybe I am vain, but I don't want to wear something that I don't look good in. I KNOW a bikini is not the most flattering swimsuit on me. I am short waisted and I am curvy. Almost any bikini top is going to show more than I want to show. I say if it looks good on you - go for it. I'm just not one to wear something that is not flattering to me. If that doesn't bother you - that's great! I think I am comfortable in my skin, just not sharing it with everyone. LOL I don't really think it's about age.

I'm with tinam61 on not wanting to wear something that I don't look good in. As a woman in my 50's, I would not wear a bikini. I haven't worn one since my 20's. I am slim and fit, but a one piece or tankini is much more flattering on me. This is just a decision for myself, though. I'm certainly not judgmental about what others are comfortable in and feel good wearing. Women tend to inflict harsh criteria on themselves anyway-- there are plenty of men walking around in Speedos that some would say "shouldn't be," but they don't think twice about it.

If it looks good on you, wear it. You sound like you are in great shape, and you live in Florida where and a bikini on someone your age at the beach or pool is normal. I'm tall too, almost 5'9 and never found anything but a tankini that fits well, and only a couple of brands of those. I wore a bikini in my 40's but finally decided in my late 50's (now late 60's) I'm too old for that even though I'm still in pretty good shape due to running and working out.

I love La Blanca brand and some Tommy Bahama and Ralph Lauren that you can buy as separates. Some of the bottoms are fuller cut so they fit my long torso better.

There are no age limit suggestions or guidelines (but I could argue there should be for the high school population where I teach!) However, for a woman of your age and condition, I think a bikini is totally fine, especially given that you live in Florida. You must spend lots of time in a suit.

DH and I age going on a cruise out of San Juan soon and I've been spending time on a cruise message board where this topic has been raised. We will be visiting many small Caribbean islands where bikinis will abound. The consensus on the boards there is as mixed as it is here, which essentially boils down to "do what you feel comfortable with".

I'm in that same 50-55 age group and I wear a bikini. I'm in decent shape I suppose, but I have to say 2 piece suits have always worked better for me than a one piece. I need to break up the run of fabric, lol.

Age isn't relevant. If you 'feel' comfortable in one, and DH is giving a head's up, enough said. ;)

Well, Christie Brinkley will pose in Sports Illustrated at 63. So I do not think age is the determining factor. For myself somewhere in my 20s would have been my cut off. I am prone to stretch marks and even though my weight gain during my pregnancies was modest, and I can keep my tummy toned, I prefer to keep it covered with a tankini.

FWIW, my husband's opinion would carry very little weight with me on that issue as he seems unable to evaluate such questions critically, but I am aware not all DHs share this deficiency.

Tish, I was about to post about Christie Brinkley. WTG for her!

Christie Brinkley also has the advantage of a good airbrusher at the magazine.

Christie Brinkley looks great. Her daughter with Billy Joel is gorgeous! I have not seen a pic of her in a long time. Didn't realize she is 30!

And she also has the advantage of being able to afford fo have *work* done, a personal trainer, nutritionist, chef, and whatever else is necessary to fight the aging process. She's very pretty, but i'm curious to know what *work* she has had done, if any.

There have been some pretty girls on the beach in bikinis that were over 50 that I thought were 30 until they turned around. I prefer a sheer cover-up over mine now.

She does look great in those photos. However, even if sh did not have anything done, it's obvious that the photos have been touched up.

However, her body looks great, and I think she really works at keeping fit.

CB's advantage is what made her a model in the first place. Good genes.

Photos may be touched up, but I saw Christie Brinkley on a talk show late last year and couldn't get over how good her skin looked all over, not just her face. Her neck looked much younger than her age, and I realize she could have gotten a neck left and probably uses Botox in her face. But even her arms looked very youthful, without the telltale saggy skin right near the armpit that most of us get over the age of sixty. The videos show the skin on her torso also looks pretty darned good as well! Perhaps she uses those laser treatments some celebrities use instead of liposuction, to tone the torso and get rid of stretch marks and cellulite. But I think she got some very good genes as well!

For me? The last 2 piece I owned was when I was 14...

I've never liked bikinis for myself, especially when I was younger and did a lot of diving--too uncomfortable not having any fabric between the weight belt and me. For real swimming and diving I always preferred a tank that would stay put no matter what I was doing, and I've always thought that high cut legs are the most unbecoming style there is for just about anyone.

My next door neighbor, who is 68, wears a thong all the time when out and about. She is a yoga teacher and she is in amazing shape--I never looked that good when I was in my 20s, but a lot of men have mentioned to me how disappointing it is when they see her in the distance on the beach and then catch up and get a closeup view.

BTW the Helen Mirren pic was photoshopped to death, too.

Wow, writers, that is pretty nasty of them.

Christie Brinkley, and her daughters, look gorgeous in the photo shoot videos I saw this morning. Even if some of the photos were touched up, she's still a goddess.

BTW, Lady Gaga looked pretty darn good too, and she still was shamed by some for her belly fat. Really? Do those writers think they could do those flips & tricks in the air and last that long singing and doing those moves on the stage without being in shape? I'd kill to still have a body like that!

I can't believe people are just now commenting on Gaga's body! I've always thought she had the best around-I think her little tummy fat (if that's what you call fat) is adorable. She looks so much better than most of the skinny "bobble-heads" celebrities in L.A.

I finally read through this thread and only want to say that photo of Helen Mirren has to be photo shopped.

schoolhouse, often still pics are photo shopped, but I don't know if videos are tampered with, as often. If you watch the last video of Christie Brinkley and her daughters, stop the tape from 1:00 to 1:04 and then again from 2:00 to 2:04 and you can see Christie Brinkley close up. She actually is really toned without the 'crepy' skin that many of us over 60 are prone to getting. So it's possible that Helen Mirren actually does have a really nice figure for her age, although a still photo has a higher chance of having been photo shopped.

My next door neighbor, who is 68, wears a thong all the time when out and about. She is a yoga teacher and she is in amazing shape--I never looked that good when I was in my 20s, but a lot of men have mentioned to me how disappointing it is when they see her in the distance on the beach and then catch up and get a closeup view.

Oh, well ... we wouldn't want to disappoint men, now would we? ;-)

I think this stuck with me because long ago I read something about women who kept themselves fit, wore fashionable clothes and youthful hairstyles -- but the comment was made how "shocking" it was when they turned around and one caught a glimpse of their aged face. It still makes me uncomfortable whenever I think of this and the messed-up mindset that tells us we can't look a certain way after a certain age. We wouldn't want to shock or disappoint or - God forbid - horrify anyone who thinks we should have a different kind of exterior shell as the years go by.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/entertainment/lady-gaga-body-shamed/

Saw this on the news last night. How anyone could say she is not "fit" has to be crazy. To do all the dancing, etc. while singing -she has to be. So she has a little "cushioning" on the tummy. She has a real woman's body!

Looks like those commenting on her "flabby belly" were men - at least from what I can tell. It's not really the belly that bothers them, though. It's her outspoken assertiveness, and the obvious fact that she has a public voice - while all they have is a keyboard.

I had to applaud gaga for wearing a costume which did not cover up her midsection, as i'm sure she IS aware of her little 'pooch' but really doesn't care. I hope the young women watching didn't criticize, but embraced her self confidence with an imperfect body, and realize it's 'ok'. She's the norm.

Helen Mirren looks spectacular in the above pic, so I had to dig deeper. Photoshopped or not?

http://www.helenmirren.com/2015/06/08/helen-wins-a-tony/

I would not say Gaga's body is "imperfect" in any way. Who says a tiny bit of tummy flab is imperfect? Who's to say a lot of tummy flab is imperfect? We have to stop using those types of words when referring to women's bodies.

She might have a tiny bit of extra in the middle but I can clearly see that she is doing crunches and that is making it look like she has more of a bulge. Crunches are not for everyone and can make your belly appear bigger. Looks like Diastasis Recti...

i recognize it visually on Gaga because I have/had this problem. Men have it as well.

It takes time but switching to Pilates based ab work helps. It's more internal with less movement and doesn't protrude the area out like with a crunch. You concentrate on navel to spine.

There is a myth that this is something just previously pregnant women get. One can get Diastasis Recti from lifting weights incorrectly or doing excessive crunches.

I would imagine the only reason that bit of tummy softness was noticed was because, if it had not been live, it would have been airbrushed.

We are taking images of people who have such rare gifts that they are to physical beauty what Einstein is to intelligence, and then we are airbrushing them. Only Avatars can compete.

All I saw when I watched Lady Gaga perform was a brilliant performance. Afterward I told my husband I couldn't believe what unbelievable shape she was in to be able to put on such a spectacular and difficult performance.

DH said he was pretty sure she was really singing and not just lip-syncing, which is very common with these athletic type performances.

Mag, realistically, in today's society, I would almost bet she would be looked at as not having a 'perfet' body. I have a 46 yo dd who 'had' the very same small 'pooch'(her words)and after the baby, had lipo. She was only 35 at the time. Thank god she doesn't strive for perfection any more, but I think that *is* the mindset of most young women these days.

Oh, so that's makes it okay then. Got it.

terrilynn, I don't think she needs to switch to anything. In her words, she is happy with her body.

Well I personally think she looks great and sounds even better. I was simply bringing up a topic (belly) that a lot of us struggle with. Some of us (me) didn't realize at first what we were doing wrong or why no matter how hard we worked it couldn't get rid of the little belly.

To me, it does not even look like a diastasis recti. Some women just store some fat there and the 3 options are to diet to an anorexic state (where you belly is fat free but the rest of you looks sick), have it surgically removed, or accept it for what it is.

Sorry Mag, but with 3 DD's that's *my* perspective and they would probably use the word 'imperfect*. Got it?

Trish, you are sooo right! I was flat as a pancake as a teenager, but after my 4th baby(it took awhile!)I got that bit of extra fat. I was only 34. I went on to have one more baby for a total of 5. I have to wonder if age has more to do with it, or genetics?

Patty, no I don't "got it." You may be accepting of our society demeaning women but I don't and never will.

Patty, I find the statement that your daughters would use the word 'imperfect' when talking about another woman's body sad. And I disagree that most young people today do.

Body image is so subjective and personal. I am sure we have all had the experience of beating ourselves up at a point in time, and then looking back later and saying ... "what was I thinking; I looked great."

I think it would be very regrettable if a woman looked like Lady Gaga and felt she needed surgery for the curve of her tummy, especially after having had children. And especially if she was not performing half naked on stage, LOL!

But I do know it happens.

I do hope that the public consensus agrees that Lady Gaga is a beautiful specimen of the human form, one of many versions of beauty. Because everything we can do to empower young girls and help them find their own "perfection" is good for them and humankind.

When I was 25-ish I weighed 118 at 5'5 3/4" with a 24" waist, size 4/6, no kids, lots of exercise AND A DOUBLE BELLY ROLL.

Now I've added 25 years, 50 pounds, Pilates, untold number of inches and I have a DOUBLE BELLY ROLL.

It's just how some of us are made.

DH has attended Lady Gaga concerts with our youngest DD. We were in awe of her Superbowl performance. Her body was not mentioned at all during our viewing of her performance, her athletic ability, her voice, how daring she is to don such heights, etc. were among the aspects of her performance we focused on. She is a talented performer. No need here to comment at all on her body. We are in MA and the SUPERBOWL was an a sweet victory for us!

It really makes me sad that after her spectacular, athletic, patriotic, inclusive performance the main topic is her adorable little, perfect tummy. She is a supremely talented artist and fierce as all get out! I am not a Gaga fan but her tiny tummy makes me want to gather her up and protect her from everyone. Not that she needs it but my Mama Bear instincts are just aching to give her a big hug and tell her she's perfect.

I'm not criticizing the discussion here. I know we're talking about it because it's "being talked about by everyone". Not fussing, just wishing!

Im pretty sure a little tummy fat falls into the beauty category. Its healthy for women to have a little extra fat. In fact we NEED it to keep our hormones balanced and our immune systems fit. Too skinny is unhealthy for women.

I think that the little bit of tummy is actually pretty sexy.

The danger is a too skinny girl with implants with her collarbones, pelvis, scapulas and spine airbrushed away being seen as normal. These girls suffer. They suffer from menstrual discomfort. They suffer with being sick more due to not enough fat to run their immune systems. All these images must stop. Women must say no more. Then the pictures are styled so the waists are made thinner, any shape on the thighs and arms stripped away.

Healthy natural women are beautiful.

Why do we allow salesmen to airbrush away our beauty?!

One more of our girl with the tummy

You go girl!

Beautiful since the beginning