Also competition briefs, swim briefs, and racing briefs

A speedo, which takes its name from the swimsuit brand Speedo, may refer to any briefs-style male swimsuit such as those used in competitive swimming, regardless of the actual manufacturer (see genericized trademark). The term is most common in American English but is also widely used in other English-speaking countries.

Like the brief, speedos feature a "V-shape" front and solid back providing form-fitting coverage. They are typically worn below the lower waist. They are secured by a drawstring and thin banding at the upper thighs. Most speedos are made of a nylon and lycra/spandex composite and feature a light front lining.

Speedo-style briefs are used by professional and recreational athletes in many water sports. They are preferred in competitive swimming for the reduction of the water's drag on the swimmer, although knee-length jammers are also common for male swimmers. Briefs are typically worn by competitive divers and in water polo. Some participants in sports that require a wetsuit such as waterskiing, Scuba diving, surfing, and wakeboarding prefer to wear speedo briefs underneath as opposed to shorts for purposes of comfort.

Manufacturers

In addition to the style's namesake company Speedo, competitive briefs-style swimwear is produced by companies including Nike, Tyr, Dolfin, Arena, and Adidas. Several designer fashion companies including Nautica have lines of speedo-style suits.

Styles

Briefs used for competitive and recreational swimming are manufactured in standard waist sizes. They are available in a wide variety of solid colors and patterned designs.

Racing Suits - The most common racing styles are 1.5 to 3 inch panelled briefs, as measured by the width of the side panel. The racing suit's main function is to reduce the drag resistance of the swimmer in the water and improve his time. For this reason racing suits are made of materials that hug the body to minimize friction and that retain less water. Lycra suits generally produce less drag, but are also less durable to prolonged exposure to chlorine than nylon. Nylon suits are preferred for training and practice, where increased durability permits prolonged use and the extra resistance has training benefits. Lycra suits (and composite hi-tech swimwear fabrics) are preferred for actual racing. In water polo and sometimes in diving, suits have panels greater than 3 inches.

Drag Suits - Some swimmers use a specialized training suit to simulate increased drag during practice. Drag suits are briefs with an outer layer of looser fabric - often mesh or nylon - to increase resistance against the water and build up the swimmer's endurance.

Triathlon Suits - A special variety of briefs made for the triathlon features the racing suit's design for the swimming portion of the race but also incorporates light padding in the crotch of the garment for the bicycle portion.

Square Leg Suits - The square cut or square leg style suit is sometimes used as a slightly more conservative style than the racing brief for water polo and diving, or for recreational wear. Suits of this type are named for the coverage that they provide to the upper thighs due to a square seam opening for the leg. Square leg suits range in appearance from those similar to the racing brief with a slightly straighter front and wider side panelling (eliminating the arc appearance on the leg) to those resembling some underwear designs (such as trunk style of boxer briefs) by providing an inch or more of fabric coverage over the upper section of the leg. Another type of the square leg suit nicknamed the "funky short" for its colorful floral patterns was popular in Australia in the 1970's and made a fashion comback in 2004 for recreational swimming and beach wear.

Men's Bikinis - Suits less than 1.5 inches, sometimes called bikinis, are less common for sporting purposes and, unlike the racing style, are not designed specifically for drag reduction. Bikinis are sometimes worn for recreational uses including fashion preferences and sun tanning to minimize suit coverage. This style is also popular in the sport of bodybuilding where it is known as the posing brief.

Fashion

Swimwear designs in the 20th century, especially among women, moved progressively toward comfort and became more revealing with the introduction of styles such as the bikini. Speedos may be the equivalent swimwear development for men, but the fashion has caught on at greatly different paces depending on the region of the world.

Austin Silver, a fashion consultant at [AskMen.com] points to the athletic advantages, comfort, range of motion, and obtaining a better tan as the main reasons stated by people who wear the style. [1] Others recommend their aerodynamics for swimming, much like competitive swimmers. The speedo style also dries quickly for wear out of the water. [2]

World - The fashionability of speedos varies greatly in different parts of the world. The style is commonly worn by men in regions such as Australia, South America, and Europe (as well as competitive swimmers and divers in all countries). In Europe, says Silver, "Speedos are the bathing suit of choice for men, young and old." Fashion expert Chris Ronvy concurs, noting their comparitive popularity in Europe over the United States, where he "recommend(s) wearing swimming trunks instead of a Speedo any day."[3]

According to fashion experts whether or not the style is fashionable is often a product of culture and geography. A recent store sales estimate indicated that speedos were the preferred swimsuit for men in Australia, beating out boardshorts (known as "boardies") by 60% to 40%.[4] The style is historically less popular in nearby New Zealand where a recent poll showed three fourths of men preferring shorts to speedos [5], but fashion there has been trending toward speedos in recent years.[6] In some South American countries such as Brazil, speedos are the norm and the standard racing brief style can be relatively conservative.

North America - In contrast to Europe, more modest styles such as boardshorts are the most common swimsuit style for men in North America where the speedo is sometimes seen as too revealing or aesthetically unfashionable on some people. One of the most common American fashion complaints is that speedos are worn by "the wrong people." [7] A lot of the fashion preference in this region appears to be the result of a the negative stereotypical image of an overweight, elderly, and/or excessively hairy European walking on the beach in a speedo-styled suit. Several fashion surveys of North American women have rated speedos unfavorably due to this negative image. Silver observes "it's all about the environment" and predicts that the negative stereotype of the "fat, hairy, old guy who struts his stuff" would go by the wayside among Americans if the design became fashionable in their culture.[8] For example, the negative "elderly european" image is not as much of problem in New Zealand and Australia, where the syle is more popular among younger generations. [9]

Even in North America, fashion opinions about the speedo are often more favorable when the person is in shape and in specific circumstances - typically when worn by athletes and physically fit persons. Many celebrities and pop culture icons who don the speedo style such as Prince William of Great Britain have gotten media attention for their fashion choice.[10]

See Also

• Swimwear
• Speedo
• Briefs
• Boardshorts

External Links

Speedo Inc - the original supplier What We Wear Down Under - Article on the various Australian names and slang for a speedo