2008 Woodie Awards
Skin is Still in For the Hot Summer Looks
Madeleine Marr/syndicated writer/krt campus
Issue date: 4/8/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Some things never change. Skin is still in.
So when you gals set out on your shopping excursion for this summer's hottest bathing suits, chuck the pareo.
"The two-piece is really taking over,'" says Rod Beattie, the Los Angeles-based designer of celeb-heavy swimwear lines La Blanca and edgier Playa by La Blanca (which debuted this year). The forerunners: string bikinis, tankinis (bikini bottoms worn with a tank top) and low-rise, boy-leg shorts paired with any top bandeau, halter, sash you see fit.
Believe it or not, this is cause for celebration. Boy shorts can nicely hide problem UTLC (upper-thigh/lower-cheek) zones; tankinis are often constructed with built-in bra support. As for the string bikinis, you're on your own there.
Another trend, fellow mall junkies, is that pieces are sold as separates so you can go on mixing-and-matching frenzies and give the illusion of owning more suits than you actually do. Plus, no one has to know if the top is a size 6 and the bottom a 10 (Anne Cole at department stores and J. Crew, www.jcrew.com, are just two of many companies that let you buy differently sized separates).
As for the maillot, it isn't exactly dead, just no longer NC-17. Peek-a-boo cut-outs bare tummies, flash sides and do wonders for cleavage. Miami-based Agua de Coco by Brazilian designer Mirla Sabino is showing a C-shaped asymmetrical pink, red and yellow onesie (about $100). Burberry's black-and-lime-trimmed striped version ($150) has a neckline that plunges just low enough to keep the innie-outie info to yourself.
This summer, it's anything to get noticed. Get it?
Colors follow the cue. You'll see a zippy rainbow of a palette from honeydew greens, punchy yellows, fire-engine reds and like spring and summer fashions pink, pink, pink.
"Pink is blowing out the door," acknowledges Jodi Randolph, head designer for Venus USA swimwear in Jacksonville, Fla. "Every single hue of it is out there from bubble-gum pink to pastel pink and hot fuchsia."
So when you gals set out on your shopping excursion for this summer's hottest bathing suits, chuck the pareo.
"The two-piece is really taking over,'" says Rod Beattie, the Los Angeles-based designer of celeb-heavy swimwear lines La Blanca and edgier Playa by La Blanca (which debuted this year). The forerunners: string bikinis, tankinis (bikini bottoms worn with a tank top) and low-rise, boy-leg shorts paired with any top bandeau, halter, sash you see fit.
Believe it or not, this is cause for celebration. Boy shorts can nicely hide problem UTLC (upper-thigh/lower-cheek) zones; tankinis are often constructed with built-in bra support. As for the string bikinis, you're on your own there.
Another trend, fellow mall junkies, is that pieces are sold as separates so you can go on mixing-and-matching frenzies and give the illusion of owning more suits than you actually do. Plus, no one has to know if the top is a size 6 and the bottom a 10 (Anne Cole at department stores and J. Crew, www.jcrew.com, are just two of many companies that let you buy differently sized separates).
As for the maillot, it isn't exactly dead, just no longer NC-17. Peek-a-boo cut-outs bare tummies, flash sides and do wonders for cleavage. Miami-based Agua de Coco by Brazilian designer Mirla Sabino is showing a C-shaped asymmetrical pink, red and yellow onesie (about $100). Burberry's black-and-lime-trimmed striped version ($150) has a neckline that plunges just low enough to keep the innie-outie info to yourself.
This summer, it's anything to get noticed. Get it?
Colors follow the cue. You'll see a zippy rainbow of a palette from honeydew greens, punchy yellows, fire-engine reds and like spring and summer fashions pink, pink, pink.
"Pink is blowing out the door," acknowledges Jodi Randolph, head designer for Venus USA swimwear in Jacksonville, Fla. "Every single hue of it is out there from bubble-gum pink to pastel pink and hot fuchsia."