I asked my girlfriend a while ago if she’d consider wearing a thong at the beach and her reaction was something along the lines of “both too much and too little”. Too little on a regular beach as it leaves almost nothing to the imagination, and too much on a nude beach. She said she’d rather go fully nude among nudists than attract unsolicited attention at a regular beach.
Times have changed though and thong swimwear does seem to be more mainstream, at least in Europe.