It’s two months until Memorial Day: Do you know where your bikini is?
No? Well don’t fret. According to Glamour magazine, rare is the bathing beauty who can’t find a pretty, flattering suit this year.
“Manufacturers and designers are now really taking into account what regular people want to wear,” says Glamour editor Bonnie Fuller, whose magazine hosted an outdoor swimsuit fashion show last week at Bryant Park.
“So this year’s suits allow you to show off what you feel are you best assets” — not to mention hide your less-perfect parts with relative ease.
You can rarely go wrong in a tankini (tank top, bikini bottom) or cut-away suits that look like a tank in the front (to hide puffy tummies) and a bikini in the back, says Fuller. “Suits like that give the illusion of bare skin, while keeping you covered,” she says.
Tank suits with color panels — particularly with black on either side — are good for covering bellies. “It makes you look slimmer through the middle,” says Fuller.
And, she says, “it’s always good to buy your suit in two pieces. That way, if you’re an 8 on top and a 10 below, you can get still get the perfect fit.”
The separates route is excellent for pear-shaped girls, who should pick colorful or patterned tops and dark solids below.
“This draws the eye up and away from your bottom half,” Fuller explains.
Speaking of bottoms, many suits now come with matching sarongs and skirts that allow one to cover up a less-than-stellar bum.
SHINING BRIGHT: You don’t have to bedeck your suit with sparkles to sport extra shimmer. A stretchy Lycra number like this one offers a nice sheen. The more you move, the more it lets you shine.
SPARKLE ON: Sequins, rhinestones and beads aren’t just for evening gowns: They also stud some of this season’s snazziest suits. Though bejeweled beauties like the one below look fragile, Glamour magazine editor Bonnie Fuller insists that many are made for flashy water fun.
ANIMANIACS: “Python, leopard and zebra prints on suits are big this year,” says Fuller. “That’s especially interesting, because [those prints] are what we’ve been seeing on runways for a few seasons.” Suits that mirror high fashion? Fine with us.
TOP CUTOUTS: “Cutouts are a big trend this season,” says Glamour magazine’s Fuller of the basic tank or strapless suits that expose the wearer’s tummy, back and hips. This belly-strap suit (below) has fabric only on one side, while the one worn by our beach-ball-toting gal — a Versace runway knockoff — has a geometric design. Note that the cutout requires strategic use of self-tanning lotion: “Otherwise, you’ll get some pretty strange bathing-suit lines,” says Fuller.
THE BOY’S CLUB: The boy-cut suit — like the one at the right — is perfect for those with less-than-perfect behinds. “It covers your tummy and your behind, so you’re not nearly as exposed as with some other bikinis,” says Glamour magazine editor Bonnie Fuller.
CROCHET CHIC: The sexy, open-weave texture of these bikinis recalls the styles of the ’60s and ’70s. But this ain’t your mama’s macrame: New crocheted suits are more colorful and sport finer weaves than vintage versions. Also, says Fuller, “they often come with matching coverups, so you don’t have to feel so bare.”