12:00a.m. 3rd July 2008

| By Amy Remeikis

Justin Timberlake dons a pair of budgie smugglers for his role in the new movie The Love Guru.

Budgie smugglers, lolly bags, DTs, banana hammock, sluggers.

Call them what you will, the humble men’s Speedos are still dividing public opinion 47 years after the first man to wear them on Bondi Beach was arrested for public indecency.

That nameless first offender was never charged, but there are many who may wish that the fashion police had come down harder on him as a deterrent to others.

And it seems that the man who claims to be “bringing sexy back” agrees.

Justin Timberlake sports a pair a few sizes too small in his role as professional French ice-hockey player Jacques “Le Coq” Grande in Mike Myers’ new comedy The Love Guru.

“You can’t bring sexy back in a Speedo,” the singer said in an interview to promote the movie.

“There is nothing good about a man in a Speedo.”

But as a man who has been wearing the Aussie icon for 32 years, Sunshine Coast Surf Lifesaving development officer Byron Mills said they do have their advantages.

However, there are rules.

“In my opinion, if you are training or doing some sort of activity related to the water, it is OK to wear them,” he said.

“In terms of lifesaving, it is a must for a lifesaver to wear them ... boardshorts can balloon in the water and you can often lose them (in the surf), and people sometimes grab them.

“Boardshorts can be a hindrance when performing a rescue.

“But I think it is inappropriate to go for a run in them or riding a bike.

“And there is nothing worse then old Speedos. They have to have elastic.”

Photo Gallery: Are Speedos sexy?

Are Speedos sexy?

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Faye Rolph Models director and Coast fashionista Simone Merlo thinks that when worn well, the Speedo is sexy.

“Obviously, the nicer the body, the nicer the look in a pair of Speedos,” she said.

“And a man with a shorter leg is always going to look more flattering in a Speedo, because it lengthens the leg.

“I think Speedos are sexy. I guess it is the connotation that follows with Speedos, in that they are related to sporting prowess.

“When I think of a Speedo, I think of health and vitality and everything which goes along with that.”

And when faced with Borat’s mankini, maybe the Speedo isn’t so bad.

Are Speedos – or “budgie smugglers” – sexy? What are your thoughts on the iconic Aussie swimwear?