Showing posts with label Swimsuits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swimsuits. Show all posts

How to look great in Swimwear.




If you want to look great on the beach this summer then you have to know your swimwear. Here is a selection of the different bathing suit styles that are out there.


Bikini swimwear and Swimsuits

The terms bikini-swimwear, bathing suit, monokini, bikini, swimsuit, swimming costume and bathing suit relate to clothing that is designed for the swimming pool or for lazing on a beach, swimming in the sea or for playing water sports.

Swimsuits are often made with an inner lining to prevent the water from making the swimsuit transparent. Swimwear comes in many styles and the latest revolution has come from Miraclesuit swimwear, an American company, which uses a modern fabric which is said to make a woman look up to ten pounds lighter instantly.

· One-piece swimsuit

The one piece swimsuit which is also known as Maillot in French is a form of swimwear that comes in one piece and covers the hip area, the tummy and the breasts and usually has straps going over the shoulders. The one-piece swimsuit is normally very figure hugging and flattering for women and is often the preferred bathing costume for professional swimmers in the swimming pool.

Until bikinis were introduced almost all swimsuits were in one piece with various styles such as the halterneck swimsuit, the surplice (which is a form of wrap-around style) and the bandeau swimsuit style (described below). The standard one-piece swimsuit has two straps and a scooped neck or sometimes a plunge effect which shows more of the boobs. Other styles will have a very deeply plunging back to show off just a little bit more.

· Halter neck and boy short leg swimwear

Some one-piece swimsuits come with halter neck where the straps tie around the neck and attach to the front of the swimsuit leaving more of the back exposed. This is a very sexy style that gives great support to your bust. A style that has reintroduced, having a very 30’s feel to it, is the boy leg one-piece which looks like a classic one-piece with a boy short type leg.

· Surplice swim top

The surplice one-piece has a sophisticated feel to it, almost like a toga, with a diagonal wrap over piece of fabric which is great for hiding a slight tummy. Some women who are looking for maternity swimwear will go for the Swim Dress which has a summer dress fitted feel to it and looks ever so sweet whether you are pregnant or not.

· Bandeau swimwear

The Bandeau style of swimwear is very stylish and very French. A strapless bathing suit with pleats and some have straps or halters for added support and security.


· Bikini

The bikini, or bikini swimwear or two-piece swimsuit as it is sometimes known, is much more revealing than the one-piece swimsuit and is often preferred by younger women. One piece covers the boobs while the other covers the bum and pelvic area.
The bikini was a form of swimwear which had its origins in Greco-Roman times. Floor mosaics from the period of the Emperor Diocletian (286-305 AD) in the Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily show women in bikini like clothes. The ‘Bikini Girls’, as they have become to be known, are shown exercising in garments that to the modern viewer are in fact, bikinis.

However, the modern bikini swimwear was invented by a French engineer named Louis Réard in 1946. The bikini outraged many people when it first began appearing on French beaches in 1947. Réard had named his style of swimwear after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific which was the site of the nuclear weapon test in mid 1946. Réard believed that the burst of excitement created by the bikini would be like a nuclear device, and he wasn’t far wrong. After the introduction Réard‘s business became highly successful. In advertisements Réard kept the mystique of the bikini alive by claiming that a two-piece suit wasn't a true bikini ‘unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring.’

The bikini is said to be the most popular women’s beachwear worldwide. According to Olivier Saillard, the French fashion historian, who said it is due to "the power of women, and not the power of fashion" saying further that, "The emancipation of swimwear has always been linked to the emancipation of women."

The bikini became the official uniform, in 1994, of women's Olympic beach volleyball. It was a turning point for female sexuality and the athletic world and it gave a great increase in viewer numbers, one can only suspect that the majority were male.

· Bikini underwear

Bikini underwear is worn by both men and women and is revealing like the bikini swimwear bottoms. Women’s bikinis are effectively any close fitting, skimpy panties that are smaller than traditional panties or knickers. Men’s bikini underwear is smaller and more revealing than men's briefs.


· Monokini

The monokini, or as it is sometimes known the topless swimsuit or unikini, is a form of swimwear that has only the bottom part of a bikini thereby leaving the boobs exposed.
This style of swim suit is accredited to the American fashion designer Rudi Gernreich who, in 1964, brought it to popularity and is said to have first used the term, monokini.
Monokinis are only for the most daring of women and for those beaches where topless bathing is allowed.


Monokinis come in various styles with some having a fully covered bum and some having a g-string style at the back. In more recent years the monokini has been seen cut high to the waist with high cut legs.

· Bikini tops

Bikini tops come in many styles including a halter-top bikini neck that offers more coverage and support, the strapless bandeau style which is a rectangular strip of fabric covering the boobs which has the effect of reducing large breasts. Then there is the bikini top with cups similar to a push-up bra or the more traditional triangle bikini cups that lift and shape the breasts.


Other variations on the bikini style are the camikini which comprises a camisole top and bikini bottom, the seekini which is a transparent bikini and the tankini which consists of a tank top and bikini bottom. Also mastectomy swimwear is increasingly becoming more stylish and popular.

· Swimsuit coverup


A swimsuit cover-up is a simple and sexy way to make yourself look glamorous and to stand out at the beach. These lovely additions to your swimwear wardrobe come in many forms such as the sarong, or a small triangle of fabric that ties at the hip or the more modest robes or delicate gown styles.


Nowadays many women going on holiday prefer to take reversible swimwear with them to reduce their luggage and to have a wide choice of wardrobe. A popular reversible swimwear brand is Moontide swimwear from New Zealand.

Swimsuits for desperate housewives

desperate housewives bikini


Me and my girlfriend love the show "Desperate housewives" as we do see some similarities between the characters and ourselves. So we call ourselves Desperate Housewives II.


Both of us having been stuck at home looking after kids and juggling a career at the same time decided that we should plan a vacation together when we turn 50.


Yes, the big 5... We wanted some time away from spouses and kids just to reminisce on the good old days, just basically relax and enjoy ourselves.


Been beach bums it has to be a seaside vacation and after setting down on where to go, the next most important thing would be to look for swimwear.


Our bathing suits had both seen better times and to say it is a little old fashion was an understatement.


We wanted something trendy so we scoured around in magazines looking at what swimsuits celebrities were wearing and what was hot for the summer.


In the end we settled on 3 pieces of new swimwear each. Enough for our 2 week vacation in the Bahamas! We had a blast on our holiday. Most of our time was spent lounging in the sun and on the beach sipping margaritas and lemonade with the occasional swim in the pool or sea.


The most important thing was that we wanted to still look and feel good at 50 and we managed to do that. The pictures that we took were proof of that!

Woman's Swimwear from space

womans swimwearI mean: when Nasa helps in making Speedo's high-tech LZR Racer swimsuit, they become kind of swimsuits from space...


When you follow the Beijing swimwear competition, oops, Olympics, you must have heard that Japan wanted to ban their swimming athletes to wear Speedo's.


They even went the extra mile to let their swimmers like Aya Terakawa (see picture on the left) from the Mizumo swim team to wear exclusively Japanese sportswear.


Meanwhile the Japanese came back on their decision on June 12th.


But what worries me the most is: are the Olympics still about sports, about swimming or about swimwear? And if even the Japanese swimmers want to wear Speedo, what about other swimmers that don't have agreements with Speedo?


Wouldn't it be the most fare that from now on everybody agrees on the same swimsuit and therefore concentrate back to swimming in stead of concentrating on woman's swimwear?

Trinny and Susannah talk shape not size!


According to UK style gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, women should forget our size and discover our shape when searching for the perfect outfit.
Or, with summer upon us, the perfect swimwear. The pair, better known through their television show 'What Not to Wear', have identified what they believe to be the 12 different body types of women in their new book, 'The Body Shape Bible'.
You could be a goblet like Catherine Zeta Jones, a lollipop like Angelina Jolie or a brick like Kim Cattrall. But all 12 of the shapes fall into broader body type categories.
For example, if you have a fuller figure, you're likely to be either a brick, an apple, a cello or an hourglass. If you are fairly straight up and down, you're probably a cornet or a column. If you have a large bust in proportion to the rest of your body, you might be a lollipop, a vase or a goblet. And if you have larger hips than shoulders and a generous backside, you could be a pear, a skittle or a bell. Never is a woman more self-conscious about her body than when in a swimsuit, so it is vital that you learn which body shape you are in order to determine which swimsuit will flatter you the most.
Alana Lindsay, general manager of swimwear boutique Sunburn, says most women are misled in thinking they can't wear the latest swimwear in fashion just because they have larger breasts or a larger bottom. "But you can with separates, which allow you to tailor-make your own swimsuit for your body shape," Lindsay says. If you have a larger bust, an A to E cup fitting top, such as a halter bikini or singlet is ideal. But if you want to make your bust look bigger, Lindsay recommends choosing a top with a booster pad sewn into the garment to add lift and push up your cleavage.
If you're bottom heavy, Lindsay suggests opting for a plain black brief and a bold, patterned top to draw attention to your upper body. "Control pants" fitted with power mesh are designed to suck in your stomach, making them a perfect choice for new mothers. Steer clear of boyleg shorts if you want to make your legs appear longer, but they are a popular option for concealing cellulite on upper thighs. If you're wanting to create a curvier illusion, Lindsay says hipster pants are a better choice than full briefs because they show off more of your hips – especially ones with side ties. For curvy girls, swimwear company Bond-Eye has released a Shape Enhancement range designed to hide those wobbly bits and create a slimmer silhouette using power mesh. The collection includes a contoured one-piece, a contoured underwire bikini top in specialist moulded cup fitting for a C through to F cup, a contoured underwire tankini with powermesh and three powermesh pants options.
If you're really looking to turn heads on the beach, you can't go past Maryan Mehlhorn for unique, bold and feminine swimwear. Her summer range features canary yellow, green and red, and animal prints.

Mio Destino, a pretty neat Lingerie site

Mio Destino has a pretty neat site which sells to guys and has gorgeous lines in swimwear, lingerie, corsets, bras & knickers and pajamas.

I think that eyemask in the accessories section looks pretty neat too. If you are after babydolls or camisoles they have a great range of French and Italian Designers garments.

I study fashion so I find that the glossary of fashion and lingerie terms is quite useful. The MioBlog which is linked to the site is frequently updated and covers a wide range of topics though I would prefer more product reviews. If you want to sign up to Mio Destino it's worthwhile as they seem to have a lot of competitions and the chance to win free lingerie from time to time.