One of the ‘advantages’ of having editing rights to the blog (although I’d still prefer Ella to be sitting in the big chair, and letting me work in my comfort zone) is that I can see what people are searching for when they stumble onto or into the blog. And one of the things that has made a regular appearance during my tenure as an acting editor is that I can see that one of the search terms that turns up is ‘1950s naturist’.

I can see the appeal. In more strait-laced times, naturism would have had a much more daring aspect to it than it does 60 years later. And I guess that was the era of ‘nudist camps’ and ‘nudism’ more than naturism as we know it today. Photos of smiling people innocently playing with beach balls.

Inspired by this revelation, I’ve decided to update my Vintage page, and offer up a selection of new photos that are intended to capture a sense of 1950s naturism. Borrowing a friend to model for me, and stopping only for her to buy a 1950s hairstyle and swimsuit (quickly abandoned!), we hopped on over to the Image Essentials sim, and rezzed a boat scene. Many, many photos later, the fruits of our labours can be seen over at that page. Naturism, kind of, but also glamour in the poses. I think that’s perfectly fine, given that 1950s naturist photography often looks very staged for the camera.

Harry

We’ve reported from Mykonos, which turns up in a search for naturist locations, before. Ella has never put it in the slurls list, and I don’t know if this is an oversight or deliberate, but I’ll try and find out. Note that the link goes direct to the beach, a different slurl from that which you’ll find for the main tp point at Mykonos. I’ve done this deliberately because my guess is that the sim isn’t ‘naturist’, but is merely clothes-optional with regard to the beach and its environs. TP in in swimwear, at the very least, if you’re uncertain and then do as the Grecians!

I love the airy feeling, the colour and layout of the sim which really does capture an essence of Greece. You can rezz and ride a donkey, for example, and that was a SL first for me!  I did opt for the ‘swimwear’ option for my visit, in the absence of any clear instruction to a ‘naturist’ zone, and so Harry was subsequently despatched to round up willing models 🙂 for the naturist element of it.

What I will say is that it felt very laid-back. I can imagine that the builders have simply factored in that ‘clothes optional’ element because it simply reflects the real Greece, and a kind of personal freedom of choice that exists on many of the beaches there, with users opting to wear swimwear or go nude depending on their own feelings on the matter. To that end, there’s no signs on the sim saying ‘nude beach’, but I imagine there’s a quiet acceptance to whatever dress code you choose.

Barbara

The photos are basically stock-shots. I am constantly photographing in SL both naturist and non-naturist aspects of life on the grid, and I got this lovely looking couple on the beach one day. I’ve not cropped them as I felt it was important to try to capture a feeling of the space, air and light that is present on the sim, as well as the marvellous looking build.

Harry