07.10 Swimsuit Issue 2010

7.10 cover - Sarah Desmarais, 25, Oxford, MA

Sexy, Seductive, and Oh-So-Flirty

By Emily Kopec

Sexy peek-a-boo cutouts turn heads this bikini season. Swimwear designers are glamming it up this season by infusing fashion’s latest geometric cutaway looks into their swim creations, namely the monokini. Thanks to high-profile trendsetters like Lady Gaga hitting the town in skin-revealing bodysuits with side cutouts as daywear, this summer’s hottest swimsuits look like they got a makeover with a pair of designer scissors. These cutouts are never trashy, just classy…and SEXY! Also superhot are the colorful patterns ~ from the floral and feminine to the bright and bold ~ splashing their way across swimsuits.

Whatever style you choose, don’t forget to dress your swimsuit up (not down!) before you head out the door, because this summer is about creating runway-ready outfits based on your swimsuit. If it’s sheer, silky or transparent, it’s hot. Why wear your suit with a cotton tank and gym shorts when you can wear it with an open silky white shirt and high-wasted twill shorts? Swimwear has intertwined with daywear like never before to become one smoking hot body-conscious entity. Can you handle it? Can HE?

Playful patterns

Get inspiration from your tropical dream vacation (whether real or just in your head!). The picture-perfect postcard scene of lush green palm trees against a bright blue sky with blazing orange sun also makes a scorching print on a swimsuit. Don’t forget about purple sunsets, fruity mixed drinks (bonus if topped with a cherry!) and even colorful island maps ~ all these images look hot on swimwear. Keep the paradise-found vibe going when dressing up your suit ~ slip into a cute bright skirt fit for a hula girl and top it off by pinning a flower in your hair.

If that tropical dream vacation took place in Jamaica, you be hitting the beach in reggae style, mon. Choose a suit that showcases the colors of the Jamaican flag colors: red, yellow, and green. Look for rainbow-type patterns ~ whether vertical, diagonal, or horizontal ~ or even an actual rainbow (Roxy.com has a supercute string bikini with these colors splattered diagonally, $82.). These bright hues also look great as accents against a black background. Be reggae chic by covering up with a lightweight, long t-shirt, aviator shades and transparent platform sandals (more on those later!).

There are so many reasons to love watercolors: they evoke a sense of serenity, they put the mind at ease, and last but not least, they flatter all figures when printed on a swimsuit. Soft edges of color blur and blend together, creating a dreamy piece that also distracts the eye away from extra junk in the trunk, or wherever it may be. (If you happen to have a rockin’ fake tan going on, it will be accentuated by this whimsical pattern!) On a similar note, floral patterns continue to be a strong presence by delivering a girlie graciousness with the same body benefits as watercolors. (theorchicboutique.com features a whole section on the floral trend, including the Soleil One-Piece by Badgley Mischka, with bright blooming flowers and a bandeau-style top, $180.) How to work an outfit out of these feminine prints? With a chameleon necklace, high-waisted shorts and Grecian sandals.

There’s no denying that classic nautical stripes rock the warm-weather world. Admit it, you know and love the image of a fun-loving model casually hanging off the railing of a yacht with one arm, one knee bent, wearing navy and white stripes. Why fight it? It’s so Americano. Whether thin or thick, stripes look classic and sexy on a swimsuit, especially in navy and white or red and white. (Check out the red and white halter bikini on amiclubwear.com featuring an anchor patch, $32.99.) This look is a boatload of fun (sorry, couldn’t resist) to dress up. Try rolled khaki shorts with a cropped navy tank. Shoe-wise, it’s all about the revamped boat shoe! Read all about it coming up!

What happens when you give the tried-and-true animal print a colorful update? You get the hot summer trend of bright animal prints, and this one is sure to send an electrifying bolt across the beach! Best suited on simpler cuts (such as bikinis and one-pieces), the meeting of happy bright colors and animal prints gives a playful yet sexy vibe to your swimsuit. (Hotmiamistyles.com offers an aqua leopard padded underwire bikini, $37.99.) Common sense (which we know isn’t so common) would say to keep the accessories to a minimum since the swimsuit will be making a va-va-voom statement on its own. So keep it simple and wear your colorful animal print suit with a black sarong, black flat sandals, and – oh, okay – oversized sunglasses.

Two summer shoe trends you didn’t see coming

They’re oh-so opposite but oh-so cool!

For the A-list glam girls who won’t hit the beach in anything less than supermodel style, this one is for you. The transparent platform sandal will make you pant with lust. Their bulky bottoms with thick, clear wedges and thick, shiny-transparent straps look amazing on bare tanned legs. The clear visibility component shows off tanned legs while flattering those lucky feet all in one dream platform shoe. Prada has come out with some drool-worthy versions of this hot little number. They’re worth investing in because they have a timeless quality, they match anything (they’re clear!) and they are truly a statement piece.

A little more down-to-earth and a lot more practical is the updated boat shoe. No, that’s not a typo, and these aren’t your father’s beat-up brown boat shoes. Available in a fresh crop of punchy colors like bright pink and turquoise, the boat shoe has taken a decidedly girlie turn somewhere between the marina and the clubhouse. Done in supple leather with classic leather ties, these shoes can be slipped on and off with ease and worn just about anywhere. They look especially fabulous with shorts ~ both short shorts and longer styles ~ and are perfect for adding a nautical appeal to your outfit. Give them a try, they might just become your favorite shoe.

Guys, Ditch The Speedo (Please)!
Now You Can Tan Right Through Your Swimsuit

By Erin Hansen

Will a men’s tan-through swimsuit help you finally get rid of your Speedo? Let’s face it, it’s not easy getting a tan without tan lines. Your only option these days is to either sunbathe nude or lie in a tanning bed. And even with the Speedo, you still have tan lines.

There is a solution, however ~ a men’s tan-through swimsuit. They have been around for about a decade, but the technology (and the styling!) has improved tremendously in the past couple of years, so now the idea is beginning to catch on.

Wondering how a men’s tan-through swimsuit can give you an “all-over” tan? Well, the suit contains a lot of tiny holes so the sun can reach the skin. It’s not rocket science, but the trick has always been how to make a tan-through suit that lets the sun come though while at the same time not letting wandering (and by that of course we mean admiring) eyes see through the suit! This feat is accomplished by using a high tech woven material with high contrast, bold prints. This way, the possibility of someone seeing through the tiny holes is virtually impossible (they’d have to get up real close and personal…and should have to buy you dinner…to see what lies beneath).

The material in a men’s tan-through suit works wet or dry. It’s best to move around while wearing one of these suits because it helps the tiny holes expose more skin, thus giving you a more even tan. In fact, these suits have become so popular in recent years that a lot of people wear them around the yard while gardening or doing yardwork (OK, I don’t know about your neighborhood, by mine could sure use a few hot guys bending over doing yardwork in tight swimsuits!).

An additional benefit of a men’s tan through swimsuit is that the design helps reduce exposure to ultra-violet rays ~ you still have to be careful though, because the SPF rating is 6, which is not very high. This means that you can still get a sunburn in one of these suits ~ and I can only imagine that a sunburn on, uh, the nuggins isn’t very pleasant.

So ~ we’re agreed, you can finally ditch the Speedo, right? All you’ve got to do is check out the tan-through options at TanThroughSwimsuits.net and at www.figleaves.com.

Captivating Cutouts

There are plenty of glamorous ways to wear this trend, especially with a sexed-up monokini. Play peek-a-boo with just the center of your stomach in a design that features a bikini-style triangle top and an open scoop to below your belly button. This style covers as little (or less) as a bikini, but amazingly is still just one piece. Or choose a style that covers the stomach and has circular side cutouts, with or without a deep plunge on top. Risk-takers can really work this trend by choosing a suit with wide straps cutouts diagonally criss-crossing their way across the stomach in an asymmetrical pattern. Another intense look is a monokini with a “boob tube” style top supported by halter straps that continue down the center of the stomach to connect with brief-cut bottoms, with ajoining straps boldly cutting their way across the waist. These styles may sound a little out there, but they look extremely sexy on a swimsuit. They offer multiple peeks of skin in a geometric pattern that comes off as futuristic-cool. Also, you choose what you want to reveal and conceal. Tip: The more intricate cutout styles look best when the suit is a solid color (black is a fail-proof favorite).

Get your legs ready for beach season!

With beach season fast upon us the last thing you need is dry and scaly legs! Don’t let a little dry skin ruin all the hard work you have been doing to look bikini ready. The FAB Ultra Repair Cream is the ultimate beach essential that transforms your parched, scaly legs into fabulous silky smooth masterpieces! With the help of colloidal oatmeal, ceramides and soothing eucalyptus oil, this cream provides immediate relief and visible improvement for dry, itchy, raw, scaly skin. Slather it on those dry and cracked legs and get touchable legs that even the sand won’t ruin ~ and stop paying the nail place to do it for you. Ultra Repair Cream ($28) from First Aid Beauty is available on Sephora.com and select Sephora stores nationwide.

Key elements to dressing up your swimsuit

This summer, keep your gym clothes where they belong: the gym. These gorgeous new swimsuit styles deserve a little more, don’t you agree? Think along the lines of building a cool outfit based on your swimsuit, not just throwing whatever’s lying around over it.

A silk or satin liquid-y white blouse gives a tres chic look over your swimsuit. Wear it loose and free so your swimsuit peeks through. Keep the first few ~ if not all ~ buttons undone. If it has long sleeves, roll them up a few times. The silky material feels cool against your skin, and gives you solid sun protection if needed later in the day. Your satin shirt will go far in giving you a tailored, pulled-together look (if white is too hard to keep clean, opt for black).

Another option is to wear a sheer tank top over your suit. Taking cues from men’s white tanks, the scoop neckline is generous and the arm holes dip low. Sheer tanks give a sexy show of your suit beneath while keeping your covered. Look for one in a citrus-y shade like lemon, or stick to not-so-basic white or black.

Lindsey Christine, 21, Winchendon, MA & Leah Van Damme, 22, Worcester, MA

Complete your look with a pair of leg-lengthening high-waisted short shorts. Whether done in twill, cotton, or denim, high-waisted shorts are the modern way to wear mini shorts. With your silk shirt unbuttoned, the high waistline will show through up front. If you’re wearing a sheer tank, tuck it in. Flaunt the waistline even more with a skinny belt. Very cool.

If you prefer a one-piece cover-up, check out the new deconstructed one-piece. First introduced in the form of a dress, this fashion-forward look features asymmetrical hemlines, random diagonal details like shirring and ruffles, and an overall deconstructed look.

Another hot one-piece look is the lightweight prairie dress. Look for denim and lace materials that pack a country punch.

Five fast, gym-free ways to look hotter in your swimsuit and really turn his head

Wear tan or transparent sandals to make legs look longer.
DIY mani/pedi: nude fingers with neon pink toes.
Wear a large, wide-brimmed straw hat to keep hair and sun out of face. Yes, this can be done without looking like a Real Housewife of Orange County.
Self tan or spray tan. Enough said.
Wear large statement earrings. Bonus hotness points if they sparkle.

The extra details

Translucent jewelry and accessories are in high demand this summer, from Lucite bracelets to clear, see-through beach bags. Acrylic and glass are also great ways to wear this trend. There’s something special about accessories that are see-through. It’s a simple concept that never loses its candy-like appeal, and it’s perfect for summer.

We’re also seeing the return of oversized sunglasses (not that they ever really left the building) in all kinds of shapes, from old-school shapes to glamorous Jackie O lenses. If they’re large and in charge and face-flattering, you should wear ‘em.

A sheer summer scarf is an easy way to give your summer get-up that extra polished touch if you feel not dressed up enough. Lightweight materials like silk chiffon don’t weigh you down. Look for vibrant colors and patterns.