[Lucianado]

I recently holidayed in Barcelona, also visiting Castelldefels and Sitges along the coast. It was ideal beach weather and places were packed.

I’d say that with reported observations, it’s very easy to look selectively and overestimate numbers topless etc. But at the same time, the reality is better than beach walk videos indicate.

Of the female beachgoers who were in swimwear (there are always people on the beach who are fully or mostly dressed), I would estimate 1 in 3 were in thong bottoms. But that’s clustered in the age range: none at either end, but maybe up to half of women in their 20s wearing thongs.

In terms of styles, I didn’t see any ridiculously tiny swimsuits. Probably the majority of thongs were ones with a solid waistband and front but minimal back. There were also thong one-pieces and that slightly bigger style (does it have a name?) that’s effectively a thong but looks like a fuller-coverage suit that’s ridden up.

I would say toplessness ranged from 10% to 20%, depending on weather and location (highest at Sitges on the hottest afternoon), spread much more evenly through the age range.

In terms of individual spots, I think it’s basically pure luck. But I did notice that all the best ones I had were close to the beach entrances. It’s not that the hottest and most unclothed women go and hide up the far ends of the beach, is what I’m saying. It could be they want to be seen. Or it could just be they don’t stay that long on the beach at a time, and it’s older people and families who trek out to a less busy spot and stay there all day.

There were some great women in thongs playing football, and a couple of times awesome topless ones walked right past me along the water’s edge. My favourite overall, though I was a bit further away, was a group of five girls, probably early 20s and perhaps from Central Europe, standing at the shoreline. Three of them kept their tops on but two went topless: one was confident but the other much shyer and covering with her arm. However, she gradually became more confident, and I think they even posed for an uncovered photo together.