Above: Swimsuit is the Calasetta from Boden

I am about to depart for my annual sunshine holiday, we are heading back to Kalkan in Turkey for two weeks, so I have a week ahead of planning my holiday clothes and finalising my outfits.  Kalkan is quite a dressy resort, it is a small harbour town on the Mediterranean coast and has fabulous shops and restaurants all with amazing views.  My days are mostly spent in a bikini with a beach cover-up over and my evenings are maxi or midi sundresses with either flat sandals or wedge heels.

But therein lies the challenge - natural fabrics like cotton and linen are increasingly hard to come by and I find it so frustrating.  I don't want polyester and some viscose is prone to creasing,  I don't wear linen for that reason, I don't want to have to iron on holiday so I want lightweight cotton or jersey that I can pull out of my suitcase and put on.

Back in January I wrote about taking a break from any formal exercise, I'd had a very busy time and been struggling to get my hormones balanced with perimenopause so I was feeling rather overwhelmed and decided I needed to be a bit kinder to myself.  It was just what I needed.  It gave me time to catch up with other projects, time to allow the new HRT regime to start working and time to just relax a bit.

About eight weeks ago the time felt right to get back to some sort of structure with exercise and eating.  We'd had a fun but full on alcohol and eating weekend away in Krakow.  I looked in the diary and knew I had early holidays coming up - South of France and Turkey in June.  I felt back to my normal self, I had more energy and more enthusiasm (see my HRT post here).

The simple answer - yes!  But let's look at it in a bit more detail! Back in 2016 I wrote a guide on my blog to choosing the right bikini for your body shape.  Nothing too complicated, just tips I'd picked up from my own experience and from looking and talking to other women my age.  This summer I thought I'd update my thoughts and share with you where I am with this question - should I still wear a bikini post 50?

Online swimwear retailer UK Swimwear recently got in touch and asked if I would like to choose an item of swimwear to wear on my holiday and review on my blog.  I chose a bikini and quite a small one too (see below)!  I tried it on and still doubted myself so I asked my 18 year old daughter if I looked okay?  Of course you do mum - so really it is just about body confidence and deciding not to be restricted by what other people think.  I love getting a tanned tummy, I get too hot in a swimsuit if I am sunbathing and it is much easier to pop to the toilet!  So I will continue to wear a bikini. 

However I have been on a quest to slim down a little ready for my summer holiday to Turkey this year.  Having finally got the HRT and hormones under control I have more energy again so I am more motivated to exercise and eat well.  Knowing you are the best version of you does help.

The bikini below is by Oroblu from UK Swimwear and you can find hundreds of different styles - this link takes you to halter neck bikini's - but there are so many different options, cup sizes, mix n match bottoms etc.