Bikinis For 40 Year Old Women And Beyond

Helen Mirren is 69 years old. She's still wearing a bikini. What's your excuse? Recently we did a post on swimwear for women over 40. But we received a bunch of requests specifically for bikinis for mature women who are 40+. We were happy to comply. How old is too old to wear a bikini?

Well according to one study on older women and bikinis from the Daily Mail the answer is 47 years old. Now let's say you just turned forty. You've still got seven good years of wearing a bikini. So no worries there. But we say that 47 years being the cutoff age for wearing a bikini is total poppycock (yes we think having a set age for when you should stop wearing a bikini is so absurd we used a word like poppycock to describe it.) 

Let's revisit Helen Mirren for a moment. She's a woman well over 60 and she's not worried about being too old for a bikini. Age is really just a state of mind. "But Helen Mirren is a celebrity," you're probably saying,  "she has lots of money to be able to look so good in her 60's." This is true but not the point. We're trying to say it's very silly to limit yourself from one of swimwear fashion's most beloved styles just because you're over 40 or over 50 or even over 60 years old.

The fact of the matter is if you're a 40 plus-year-old woman with a bikini body then wear a bikini! Now we don't mean that you have to look like Kate Upton in your bikini, we mean a bikini body that you feel confident with. Those women surveyed in the Daily Mail pretty much unanimously agreed on the saying "if you've got it, flaunt it." And if you're not sure if you've got it, give yourself some credit because you've probably got it.

In all honesty, age is a number, and in many ways, it's easier to buy a swimsuit after 40. If you feel like wearing a bikini then wear a bikini. But there are bikinis for young ladies and there are bikinis for mature women. Picking an age-appropriate bikini can be the difference in wowing at the beach and looking like you're trying too hard to be young.

There's a general rule of thumb to tell if a bikini is age-appropriate for a modern mature woman like yourself. If you would judge someone else for wearing a bikini like yours then it's probably not right for you. But remember the tenth commandment of women's swimwear, "You look better in your bathing suit than you think." Which bikini for women over 40 is your favorite? Pick one for our poll or tell us about your favorites in the comments below.