Did they not get the memo?

After a colleague had showed me amazing photos of Italian beaches all week long (I am still not entirely convinced they are in Italy and not in the Caribbean), I caught my first glimpse of the Mediterranean last weekend near Pisa. 

While it is always lovely to see the sea, I have to admit that I didn’t think it was the nicest beach I've ever seen, partially because it was very commercialised with dozens of clubs renting out perfectly aligned chairs and umbrellas. 

But even though paying €15 to sit in a row next to hundreds of other people (most of them without sufficient sun lotion) isn’t my idea of a good beach time, what I really didn’t like about it was the men... or their beach wear to be precise.

For years I have gone to bed at night feeling safe thinking that most people under 65 had understood that certain fashion faux pas should never be repeated. But coming to Italy I realised that not everyone got the memo...

Half of the men on the beach – including teenagers and men in their twenties, who really should know better! - were wearing beach wear that removes any sexual appeal and plainly makes me cringe... The Speedo.

While I fully support poster boys like David Beckham wearing them, this does not mean that the vast majority of mortal males should even think about keeping, purchasing or let alone putting on a Speedo.

In a tragic case of false judgement of their own sex appeal and how this may be enhanced by a banana hammock, it seems like the Speedo has actually made a comeback and men all over the world are spotted wearing them again. A recent Expedia survey even found that 65% percent of people surveyed approve of Speedos, with acceptance rates going up as high as 91% in France.

Clearly Italians are also in support of a piece of clothing in which, most people with a little sense would agree, no one wins. And sadly it seems that Italian beaches – no matter how beautiful they may be – are going to be smirched by swimwear that should have never seen the light of day again...