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Descriptions of bikinis from Swimpedia
One Piece Swimsuits
Classic swimwear
Our grandmother’s swimsuit – the classic one-piece swimwear is no longer as popular as it was 50 years ago. A one-piece swimsuit is still well-liked (and always will be) amongst mature women who can have good reasons not to expose their abdomens. Although not very common, some younger women will choose to wear one-piece swimwear ensembles, considering them to be more modest.
One-piece swimwear styles cover the female’s torso. Before the introduction of the bikini on French and American beaches in the 50′s and 60′s, all women wore this kind of swimsuit. That doesn’t mean that the idea of the one-piece design is totally dead.
An example of a recent innovation is the bodyskin – not described in the first edition of SWIMPEDIA. Bodyskin covers the entire torso, legs and arms not because of the modesty, but to reduce friction and make professional swimmers more sleek and sleemline when moving thorugh the water. The texture of a bodyskin imitates that of a fish or shark.
Strapless
One variation of the one-piece swimwear is simply… strapless. The general idea remains the same: to not uncover too much.
We include this example of a swimsuit because of the inspired design. However there’s something missing in the overall swimwear pattern. As it is, the motif is purely a graphic decoration, however the round forms could more ideally symbolize chakras.
There’s enough space for the chakras of love, power, and sexual energy, for anahata, manipura and swadhiszthana. In this case we would have to delete the center circle of the swimsuit and add a third one much lower. This is an idea, perhaps, for more risqué designers, since the position of the lower chakra may be too dangerous for those accustomed to “pretty” but less meaningful swimwear patterns.
Monokini
There are hundreds of variations of monokinis. All of them are one-piece swimsuits but the difference is (in part) that the entire back is exposed. Historically, the bikini was introduced much earlier than the monokini, but the latter has not attained the same popularity on beaches as the Bikini, although it still remains a favorite style for designers to play with. Perhaps designers love to work with the possibilities that the monokini offers, for example there are many ways for the top to connect with the bikini bottom; sometimes the piece is asymmetrical. We’ll include the asymmetrical monokini in the next edition of Swimpedia.
Monokini exists thanks to beach fashion designers, photographers and models but its functionality is dubious. From the point of view of a regular woman going to the beach to take tan, there’s no reason to cover or uncover the torso in this way. However, top model poses (like the ones shot for the bikini editions of Vogue) often feature some variation of monokinis for purely photographic purposes.
Sling
Any doubts? Kazakhstan is a huge country in central Asia. Probably there’s no other country so far from the sea – in fact it’s considered landlocked. There’s one body of water, The Caspian Sea, but it’s not connected with any of the oceans. Kazakhstan is a country with unique features. One of them is that the people who live there love green slings. Thank you, Borat!
Burqini – Religion on the Australian shores
Islam is… a very old and respectful religion. Maybe this is one of the most profound religions of the world. It’s so deep that sincere devotees attain the ultimate liberation from the suffering by helping atheists, Indians and Christians say goodbye to this part of life. In the meantime, we still must continue living inside our bodies, but thoughtfully, Muslims protect us all. How do they do this? By hiding women’s bodies from men’s eyes. In this way we remain protected from the Devil and our wives are protected from the sun. Everybody happy?
Burquinis are in fact a serious form of swimwear for active Muslim women, even lifeguards on Australian beaches can be found wearing the complete head and body-covering ensembles that resemble diver’s wetsuits. There are slim form-fitting designs modern colors, as well as modest traditional ones that come in black. Aside from the Burquini, that’s been made famous in Australia by a company called Ahiida, there’s also a line of Muslim women’s active sportswear called Hijood that looks almost identical. Many of the pant-blouse and head-covering swimsuits are also available in modest loose fitting plus sizes. It’s noteworthy that these suits, while not being sexy or flattering to the female form, are at least made from spandex and fabrics that are lightweight, crafted specifically for swimming and not for wearing on the street. This is an important issue since swimming pools will often not allow entry to those who are not wearing swim specific attire.
Bikini Tops
Bandeau
A strapless type of bikini top that often ties around the neck. For this reason it’s considered suitable for wearing while tanning. Since the bandeau is often elastic or stretched tightly across the bust to keep it in place, it top tends to flatten and diminish the bust line so is more suitable for women with medium to large breasts who don’t want to accentuate cleavage.
Triangle
Bikini tops often have two triangle shapes to cover the breasts, joined by a string or band that runs along the bottom and ties at the back. From the tip of the triangles there are usually ties that go around the neck or form straps across the shoulders. Coverage varies from full to micro. Triangle bikinis seldom have underwires, but flatten the chest less than a bandeau.
Push-up
The key to a pushups is usually the shape and placement of padding, the firm underwire design and strong straps that may tie around the neck or in the back. Push-up bikini tops offer extra support, a bit of a lift, and a closer positioning of the breasts so as to induce a rounded appearance of cleavage even on women with small breasts. One of the most flattering bikinis.
Tankini
This type of swimwear offers modest coverage for active women. Although resembling a one-piece suit, it is in fact two – a t-style top that covers the abdomen and a bikini bottom that may be skimpy or offer full coverage. Tankinis offer the coverage of a one-piece with the versatility of a bikini, while offering a little more coverage for pregnant ladies and new moms.
Micro
Micro bikini tops offer the least possible coverage without actually being naked. They are more a small piece of eye candy that’s provocative. It’s considered a very hot bikini and requires a near perfect body to pull off the look, therefore it’s hard to find them on regular beaches. Micro bikinis are a favorite for photography that ends up online for voyeurs like you.
Bikini Bottoms
Scoop
This type of swimwear is a conservative bikini design with almost full bottom coverage in the back and with frontal coverage only about an inch below the navel. This is not the bikini that most men ogle over, but it’s more comfy for those ladies who actually swim in their bathing suits. The term “scoop” refers to the bikini bottom, which may be skirted for fuller coverage.
String
The string bikini consists of one or two rows of thin strings that keep the bottom of the suit on the hips while connecting the small frontal piece of fabric to another small “something” in the back. There’s usually not much fabric required and the strings usually tie on the sides of the hips. String bikinis that offer little rear coverage may fall under the category of thongs.
Brazil
Brazil bikini bottoms are cut very low in the front and revealing in the rear, much like a thong. The term “Brazilian waxing” is the result of women wearing Brazilian bottoms needing to remove unwanted hair from the entire region since very little of it will be covered by the swimsuit. Brazilian styles are often less revealing than some micro and string styles.
Thong
Almost full exposure, especially in the rear, although the front may have a triangle or more modest coverage than a string. Easier to spot on beaches in France, Brazil, South Africa or Australia than in the US. Thongs are suitable for women with near perfect rearview silhouettes and flawless skin. Very little is left to the imagination – none if it’s a G-string.
G-string
The term is often used interchangeably with thongs, however thongs can have a thin piece of fabric covering the middle of the buttocks, whereas g-strings cover nothing, being merely a string between the cheeks. G-strings can provide similar frontal coverage as a string, thong or brazil, often in the form of a triangle or an almond shaped piece of fabric.
Micro
A kind of thong covering nothing. A minimalist style for joyful bikini women. Micro swimwear is about accentuating a perfect body, youthful breasts and perfectly toned thighs and buttocks. Most micro bikinis serve no practical function except to look provocative – often in gold/silver fabric with scarcely enough material to cover the essentials. Even strings may be optional.
Sarongs & Beach Dresses
Tunics
There are 5 main types of beach dresses: the tunic, sarong, kaftan, pareo, and poncho. All of these are usually transparent and made of cotton, not spandex as swimwear usually is.
Tunics originated in ancient Rome and were more frequently seen on able-bodied soldiers than on women. Nowadays, as beach cover-ups, their most notable features are their long sleeves and very short skirts, which don’t usually go past the upper half of the thigh. Legs remain completely exposed whereas almost the entire upper body is fully covered. However, tunics can be very sexy when made from a soft stretchy fabric, usually cut on the bias, to give a formfitting silhouette around the waist and hips. Often the lower skirt is flared with slits on either side from hem to (almost) waistline, and the sleeves may be bell-shaped or tapered for a tailored fit.
The most casual style of tunic is one that’s made from terrycloth and has a drawstring under the bust and sometimes along the upper forearm. It may also have bat-like sleeves that, when the arms are elevated, look like wings. These may also be crafted in natural cotton with colorful embroidery accents, or with white eyelet – a favorite style from the hippie era. By the way, it’s fun to note that the opposite of a tunic is a pareo since it covers nothing but the legs.
Sarong
Sarongs come from South-East Asia and are still very popular and commonly worn today by men and women throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries of that region. Sarongs are in fact nothing more than long rectangular pieces of fabric that can be worn in several ways depending on how they are tied, but tying the sarong is an art. When it comes to men, a sarong may be worn loosely draped around the hips with a corner tucked into the part that wraps around the waist. For women, it may be worn draped under the arms, but over the breasts, and then, using the two ends, tied in a knot at either side. They may also be worn with the fabric crossing over the chest area, then tied around the back of the neck.
The beauty of a sarong is that it can be a casual beach cover-up as easily as it can be tied into an elegant dress with side slits – it’s all in the way you tie it.
Kaftans
Kaftans originated in ancient Persia. Traditional Kaftans are like long dresses with full sleeves that are part of the upper tunic-style bodice, which covers most, if not all, the body. The beach variant of the kaftan usually has a shorter hemline. Kaftans and sarongs are sometimes sold together or labeled similarly because of the amount of the body that they cover once they are in place, however this is a mistake, because kaftans are more like robes or floor-length tunics that have sewn or tailored elements, while sarongs are merely tied cloth, closely resembling pareos in the way they tie (although pareos have less fabric) and the kaftans are closer to what some call Hawaiian muumuus (but without the ruffles).
Long or short kaftans are great to hide under because there’s usually lots of flowing fabric that doesn’t have a defined body shape in mind. It’s therefore very popular as a cover-up for plus-size ladies.
Many of the newest designer Kaftans are colorful, may have fringed hemlines or drawstring ties for giving a little under-bust shape in the front while leaving the fabric flowing in the back. Some of recent collections are sheer fabric with Moroccan embroidered motifs around the necklines and open sleeves. Others are famed for having bright colors with elaborate hand-woven or hand-embroidered accents along the edges, sometimes with wide bands of embroidery along hemlines that reach the floor. Others are short with slits, made from silky chiffon- like fabrics, very sheer – more like a Cleopatra Egyptian style.
Pareo
Pareos come from the South Pacific, in fact it’s the Tahitian name for a wrap-around skirt. It’s really that simple because a pareo is not much more than a small piece of fabric (smaller than a sarong) which is merely tied around the hips. Although a sarong and a pareo can be tied in similar ways, it is accepted that a pareo will be shorter, skimpier in general, and may even be shaped like a shawl that ties on an angle. T
he main difference between a sarong and a pareo is that the latter isn’t usually tied over the upper body or around the neck because in the pacific islands being topless was natural – covering the breasts was not a normal practice, however covering the hips and thighs was, and still is the natural way to a pareo. It is now acceptable to call the wraparound skirts from Hawaii, and other tropical and Polynesian islands, by the same name – pareo or pareu.
The opposite of a pareo, that exposes everything on top, would be a poncho, since it covers almost the entire upper body while exposing lots of leg.
Poncho
Ponchos come from the Andean countries of South America and are also notoriously famous in Mexico. However, these versions are heavy woven wraps intended to keep the wearer dry. This was done by having only one opening for the head, creating a cape effect that allowed for the arms to be under the cape, and only the hands were exposed when needed. The idea was that heavy leather or wool pants were worn below, however in the beach poncho designs the legs are left bare. Ponchos are the Latin-American version of the Persian kaftan, only a poncho is usually much shorter. On and off the beach, the poncho wrap or cover-up is internationally famous for plus-size ladies because it tends to conceal upper body flaws.
Ponchos can be great to just throw over the head and leave loose over the entire upper body, often good for easing sun exposure on the shoulders while still tanning the legs. The fabric of the poncho can be very light translucent or heavy; even a hooded version has become popular to protect ears from wind, sand and sun.
Crazy Bikini
Fusion
Fusion bikini fashion is about color and texture – crochet meets spandex; Moroccan embroidery kisses French lace touching bare flesh. It makes one ask if it’s for the beach or a party. Sometimes a sweetie, not a bikini, other times sassy and feisty, but always flirty.
Violet
Colors of Thailand, of an earthly paradise, of unprecedented elegance, splendid patterns, indulgence. Only to touch is to know if the body within is flesh or plastic; warm or cold because violet is only warm when a little red brings out the purple within.
Lion
Acute-angled geometrical shapes accent the round forms inside the bikini. It’s about contrast. The roar of a lion, the purr of a kitten within, the angles of claws, the texture of fur. Emerge from the jungle as a lioness, splash into the pond as a woman.
Tunic
The Mediterranean Sea. A transparent tunic the color of flesh. Perfectly shaped legs. The cover-up covers nothing and yet makes the upper body alluring with a hint of mystery…and then there’s a sea breeze, and a yacht and …
Khaki
This is Marrakech. It’s a sensual proposition said without words. The dangling charms tinkle, calling to those who listen to join her beach belly dance at midnight. All that remains to know is: will you go?
Bali
Untypical, unsymmetrical. A twisted tankni. It’s called Bali, like the island where everything’s in it’s place just a little off center; where the banquet is perfect, but not exactly what the menu says. It’s chic style, nudity, exoticism.
India
Simple, surprising. The successful melding of Hindu folklore with crochet and fringe. Hippie a la 20’s flapper dress with a glimmer of Agra marble carving in the distance. Mumtaz Mahal kisses Vishnu over mango champagne cocktails.
Joyful
Blossoming hibiscus for young girls. It’s enough to be joyful just knowing you have an impeccably flat belly to show off, but the shyly skirted bottom and full coverage top makes us wonder what joyful contradictions await behind the glimmer of the (almost smiling) lips.
Tanga
Bottom as in a dream. Bikini? Invisible. Nakedly clothed. Words not required. It’s just a walk in the park. A Sunday stroll. A reason to glance back in your rearview mirror. Oh, yes it’s probably a tanga, perhaps a g-string.
Hard
Hardcore purple. Take notice of how the light reflects traces of color around the models navel, as if the artist had brushed her with a moist luminosity. Next, focus on the dual image of a cat looking up at her left breast. Sorry, what? What are YOU looking at?