Name games and suit side width

[burgundyspeedo]

Hey all,

I just wanted to discuss what gets 'speedos' or swim brief status. Obviously very subjective - I've heard jammers called speedos before.

I got a comment on the weekend about one of the suits below calling it a squarecut. And another of the suits was marketed as 'trunks', the third as 'racers'. To me they're all bona fide speedos!

Just wondered what you guys categorise as speedos? And for that matter, your preference in side width - I'm a 3" guy myself.

[Mazda3mps]

i call my speedo branded products speedos.. and maybe thats why the jammers were being called speedos? but i guess most people call briefs speedos.

i agree with u, if i saw you in these three suits, ill consider them speedos.. i would think a square cut covers more of ur thigh?

im a 2-3" sides kind of guy tho i do own 1.5" aussiebums which i generally dont wear lol

[Speedo1986]

I consider anything over 3" a square cut. Between 3-1.5" is a speedo. Anything 1.5" and smaller is a bikini.

Your three suits I would consider to all be speedos.

[swimmy]

I think we all know that Speedo is a name brand, the company that makes swim gear and swim suits and such. We call swim briefs of any brand "speedos" but I think it is wrong to call a swimsuit skimpier than a competition swim brief a speedo.

[diveguy]

I consider anything over 3" a square cut. Between 3-1.5" is a speedo. Anything 1.5" and smaller is a bikini.

Your three suits I would consider to all be speedos.

My definitions are tighter than yours. I consider anything shaped like a brief to be a speedo (lower case "s"), and if it's actually made by the Speedo brand, then I call it a Speedo, with a capitalized S. I never call jammers a "speedo", even if they're made by Speedo. I never call a square cut a speedo for the same reason: neither of them are briefs.

For me, only a brief style suit, no matter if it's 2", 3" 4" or even 5" side measurement, is a speedo. And the best definition of a brief is if the crotch part of it hangs lower than the sides. All three suits worn by the original poster above (and they all look great BTW!) are definitely speedos. To me, a square cut has leg hems that hang level with, or even a little bit lower than, the crotch. Larger sided briefs are definitely not square cuts.

That's why I don't think that the Brazilian Sungas suits, while brief, are really speedos. They're too square. The leg hems are even with the crotch for the most part. But they're a bit smaller than square cuts, to be sure. I like to think of them as "trunks". Awesome, small little trunks. More like what Daniel Craig's James Bond wore when he stepped out of the surf in Casino Royale.

Finally, my definition of a "bikini" is much tighter. I think a 1.5" side measurement brief is still a speedo, (a really brief speedo!) but not quite a bikini. For me, a bikini is anything with nominal 1" side measurements and less. That means some might actually measure 1 and 1/8 inch, maybe even 1 and a quarter depending on the cut, but 1" and less for sure.

I just really love them super skinny sides!

[rmf]

Here is my take.

I consider all three pairs you are wearing to be "speedos" with a small "s" plural. Does not matter what brand it is. They can also be called 'swim briefs'. An adjective or subcategory of swim briefs could be 'bikini' briefs as described above by Diveguy.

Sungas are very different. While I agree with everything what Diveguy described them as, I don't think they are not what Daniel Craig wore in the bond movie and sungas are not trunks. Sungas are simply Sungas. They are a style by themselves. They have a flat line crotch like speedos but the leg opening is more crescent moon shaped so there is an option to push down the waist and scrunch up the hips. They are also loose in the crotch. There is a whole Brazilian style of wearing the suit that is different anything else. There are a few designers that makes Sungas and I think there was a blip in popularity for the Olympics. I have a take on the style from the brand Mr. Turk. They are interesting to wear and pretty comfortable but very different from swim briefs.

Squarecut / Squarelet / Trunks are any suit that has an inverted "V" type shape to the crotch or are shorts like. Normally the suit will be anywhere from 1"-3" on the leg and of course made from a lycra material. Beyond 3" they become Jammers.

One last note, if the manufacturer is calling them racers, then it has to do with the material. Lycra suits are traditionally for racing and polyester suits are for training. Once you get into the higher competition level for men, the suits are completely different and are made from a high-performance material and will always be jammers. If a Storefront is calling them trunks then I would say it's the lack of knowledge by the HTML coder... and that does not surprise me!

[Speedoaddict]

All three of your pictures I would class as briefs. Speedos are derived from the brand Speedo because they were the first company to Introduce the swim brief. Square cut swim wear is the top of your thigh, if you stand with your legs together they look square. Jammers are what the athletes wear to make them swim faster. Bring back the brief, focus on the athlete and his performance. Not what he is wearing.

[...:::sam:::...]

Just speedos and jammers for me.

If they are down the legs then they're a jammer otherwise they're a speedo.

[rozelle]

I call a brief swimsuit a speedo. if it's a jammer by Speedo I'd call it a jammer. and I'm a 1" kind of guy since I'm small built.

[beachg0y]

Diveguy, you nailed it on the definitions/classifications. And I'm with you on the ultratrim sides. I prefer 3/4" to 3/8" sides. They're easily maneuvered to create a gradient tan "fade" instead of a pronounced tan line.

[BozeHawk]

I call a swimming costume a cozzie. I call a brief cozzie made by Speedo a Speedo.