SULTRY SARONGS, SCARVES,

& G STRINGS SET THE BAR FOR SUMMER SWIM

Sun’s out, guns out, buns out. View the latest seaside swim alongside recent STRAPPY, SKIMPY, and SILKEN from MONSE, FRANKIES BIKINIS & GUSH.

Photos Lily Moskowitz @1i1ymoskowitz. Models Ralyssah @rbandzztm & Gio @lovergirlgio ; J Wills @th3lov3club & Lily Moskowitz @1i1ymoskowitz ; Hannah Richtman @hannah.richtman @thebreak in G-STRING from @getgush.

“Will you help me— I have no idea what to do with all of this extra string!”

At least three times so far I’ve heard something similar this summer, two of which ended in an attempt to form some slipknot bow situation that seemed half intentional. Or at least wearable…

Making it crystal-coast-clear that swim wear has sacrificed FUNCTION for AESTHETIC. Performance appears to no longer serve the primary purpose of the bathing suit as a product. In the age of the influencer, perhaps more favorable for the swim wear designer is to keep in mind those who suit up not to swim, but to sit pretty on the sand and take the sun. And, of course, to take pictures while they’re at it.

New swim silhouettes debut in criss-cross halters and wrap-around ties on the beaches of the East Coast in Queens, New York. Beachgoers and best friends alike sport waist baubles and belly beads, while others don jeweled sunglass chains as a matching embellishment. Straps meet strings; founder of luxury resale retailer THE BREAK reveals new ecologically conscious swim wear line, consisting of the only piece you’ll need all summer. Called GUSH, this v-line thong was designed by HANNAH RICHTMAN to sit flesh on bod without wrinkling or ruching (Slides 3-4). Fittingly styled with cowboy boots, the G-String finds its fraternal twin in this underwear fit for outerwear. After two years indoors, it seems the world is out to show some skin.

Whether or Not The Suit Stays On for a Dip in the Waves?

Worries solved with the season’s staple: THE SCARF.

Tied around the waist as a sarong-style skirt, spread upon the shore as the classy woman’s picnic blanket, or wrapped around the head (a reference not only to the religious garment of the hijab, but to Westernized reinterpretations of the headscarf, including QUEEN ELIZABETH & the silks of the Anglican monarchy; the ever iconic Hollywood styles of ELIZABETH TAYLOR & AUDREY HEPBURN as later referenced for DIOR FW’21; early 19th century works by PAUL POIRET; even silent film actress ANNA MAY WONG’s distinct taste in Chinese silks and millinery), the scarf appears to be universally revived by fashion’s it girls as

the final word in sustainability, minimalism and multipurpose wear as a dual-use garment.

Photographer HERB RITTS in 1987 image of BRIGITTE NIELSON (Slide 11) mimics the motif of our summer style spread in his portrayal of a woman bare in the sun, tangled in fishing net, strung and salted..

Yet sultry as ever.

Shop Latest Swim as pictured (Slide 1) from FRANKIE’S BIKINIS, SSENSE, & FARFETCH.

Written by Lily Moskowitz