Bikini Shopping Stresses Customers, Study Says

If buying a new swimsuit makes your palms sweat, it seems you're not the only one. New research conducted by Australia's Flinders University shows women find bikini shopping a negative and stressful experience. In fact, even imagining trying on a swimsuit is enough to put women in a bad mood!

University professor and psychologist Marika Tiggemann headed the research team which spoke to 102 women aged between 18 and 29 about swimwear shopping. She found that when the women imagined wearing a bikini, they felt worse than when they pictured trying on jeans.

"It appears that the wearing of bathers is a negative and stressful experience for most women, most likely because so few women can match the current  ...  thin beauty ideal," the authors wrote.

It seems even regular swimwear shoppers aren't immune. The Advertiser spoke to 25-year-old Melissa Wright, who indulges in at least one new bikini each year. While she enjoys shopping, she admits she feels "that bit more paranoid" when buying bikinis.

"I like to shop for them after summer in the sales when you're feeling more confident as you've seen a whole summer of other people wearing them on the beach."

Personally these research results just seem like commonsense to me. Did we really need to commission a study to find out that women are insecure about wearing a few scraps of spandex?

[Source: News.com.au]
[Image Source: Mari Groth/Stock xchng]

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