The sun's out and skin's in

Summer has made a long-overdue arrival at Mt Maunganui and much of New Zealand appears to have followed it.

To get within cooee of the beach is like battling through Auckland's Spaghetti Junction at 5.30pm. It's gridlock. Once there, finding a park is as likely as finding a moa.

Fortunately, it is also stinking hot, and so the promenade of scantily clad beachgoers provides a fashion spectacle that relieves the pain of waiting.

The beach looks like a field of wildflowers as people peel off their subdued work wardrobes and re-emerge in pattern and colourful hue.

Choosing a bikini is an exacting science. Black is out, colour and pattern are in because they show off a tan better.

Fabric is also out, skin is in, and the more of it the better. According to beach fashion the 1960s are back.

Claire Bradley and Anne Grant, teachers from Hamilton, are clad in more demure swimwear.

"We used to wear bikinis, but now we've got a bit too much to show off." Anne says.

Claire now leaves it to her 15-year-old daughter to wear bikinis but in the 1960s she favoured bikini tops and denim hipster shorts, a la Daisy of the Dukes of Hazzard.

"They did show a bit of cheek. My father said they were indecent, but they were much bigger than they are these days."

Nowadays Claire wears board shorts to the beach, but all around the bright young things are back into skimpy denim with a vengeance.

One thing that has changed is the sun smarts. Claire reckons most people cover up now.

"Our sunblock wasn't sunblock. It was coconut oil and a bit of vinegar to keep the mosquitoes away. The only thing you needed to add was salt and pepper and you could use it on your salad."

According to a Chilean flight attendant who took a stopover here, New Zealand bikinis would be akin to tents at Rio de Janeiro.

Giovamma Cosmelli says the men in Rio wear tight little short shorts as togs, similar to stubbies.

At Mt Maunganui, large board shorts win out. Nik Hight and Jason Yeoman prefer surfing brands because "they're more likely to stay up".

Nik also likes plain colours. "The others have got all these flowers and crap on them. The younger guys like them, but I'm not going to the beach to stand out.

"And because I spend so much time in the water, I want a pair that are just going to stay up."