For Seller

By: Camelia Fredericks

Spread out on a beach with those long perfectly shaped legs, sun-kissed tan and of course that little bikini that leaves almost nothing to the imagination.
Okay, okay, we all might not have legs that come up to our elbows or we may never wear that teeny bikini but we can be sure that time in the sun this summer will be heaven. Still, it bothers me that there are women who are afraid of bikinis.

Some women shriek at the idea of wearing anything that doesn’t cover up those dimple-infested thighs or at the thought of bearing the extra flesh that shouldn’t be there in the first place.
I love bikinis on the beach, I wear those thongs like no-one’s watching or comparing.
But that’s just it, isn’t it - women compare. They silently compare thighs, stomachs, hair, noses, dimples - and I’m not talking about the ones found on your face. Yes, there are beautiful bodies on the beach. Yes, there are women who would put Elle Macpherson or Kate Moss to shame, but hell, I wear my bikini with pride, lazing in the sun and think that I’m having the time of my life. Why not? Why feel shitty about the skinny bombshell with the surfboard tummy getting all the stares - from men and women?

There’s no point in hiding behind a huge swim-suit which will only make you look bigger. I know some grannies who still bare it all in a two-piece and they look great - not because they’re in shape but because they don’t care. They go the to beach to feel their feet sinking in the soft white sand, to be soothed by the lull of the ocean, to absorb every ray the sun has to offer and know that it’s complete pleasure.

I say let it all hang out, let your briefs be brief, let the flab see the daylight and let the roving eyes of less secure women compare - because nothing compares to spending the day at the beach, and that should be exactly the reason for going: Simply to get close to paradise and frolic - wearing almost nothing. Forget the bikini-ready fitness, the bikini-ready diets and of course celebs in bikinis - because it all starts with the way you think"¦the rest will follow.

If anything, let this summer be about bikinis and being bold enough to let yourself wear one. It’s called getting bikini fit - and it doesn’t start with a warm up. So, slap on some sunscreen, your sunglasses and a smile that says, “I don’t care,” and join those who are too cool to worry about what others think.

Camelia Fredericks, the founder of The Divine Image (www.thedivineimage.co.uk) will be on BBC Radio Northampton on July 5th, 2006 with Jonathan Vernon-Smith to celebrate the "˜Bikini’s 60th birthday’.

Camelia Fredericks, the founder of The Divine Image (http://www.thedivineimage.co.uk) will be on BBC Radio Northampton on July 5th, 2006 with Jonathan Vernon-Smith to celebrate the "˜Bikini’s 60th birthday’.