Today's Fashion Affirmation

"I have made my peace with bathing suits".

The very thought of going bathing suit shopping, let alone wearing a swimsuit in public, sends most women into a tailspin. Under those department store florescent lights, with next to nothing on, all of our imperfections are glaringly obvious. When faced with this situation, the impulse might be to put our clothes back on, flee the dressing room, and resign ourselves to wearing the same chlorine ridden swimsuit for another season. On the other hand, we could stay and face our demons.
So, if you are less than thrilled about wearing a bathing suit on your next beach vacation, then perhaps you will find comfort in being reminded of this: all of us have imperfect bodies, imperfect personalities and imperfect lives. Mare Petras, fitness expert, author and inspirational speaker, cautions us about the pitfalls of pursuing perfection in her book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Swimsuit Shoppers". A strong proponent of mind-body fitness, Petras advocates striving for balance, "vibrancy, and vitality" rather than perfection. Removing the pressure to be perfect is a critical step towards self acceptance.
We can also make friends with our bodies by developing healthy lifestyle habits such as exercising, eating nutritious food, and managing stress levels. Living in our bodies is a lot like living in our houses. They both require constant upkeep in order for us to fully enjoy residing in them. Unlike home maintenance however, the stakes are much higher if we fail to take proper care of ourselves, and we don't have the option of moving from our bodies. As a veteran of the fitness industry for thirty years, Mare Petras has her own formula for sustaining a healthy lifestyle. Her motto is "K.I.S.S." or "keep it simple, sweetie". All three of her Fitness Simply books are full of common sense techniques, meant to inspire and energize you on the inside and out.
The next time you put on your bathing suit, take some deep breaths, and then call to mind the things you like about your body. Also, do one extra health enhancing thing each day. Eat a handful of blueberries, take a brisk walk after dinner, or just sit quietly with your eyes closed for five minutes. Remember to also practice this month's affirmation.

The Bikini Goes Beyond Basic This Summer

For more than fifty decades, the bikini has been an enduring swimwear fashion force. Variations of this ever present style appear each season, and they are often inspired by what is current at the time in women’s wear designs.  No doubt you will spot most of these bikini trends at the pool during the dog days of summer:

1. Mixing It Up: The fact that tops and bottoms are often sold separately opens up the door for creatively blending bikini styles, colors and patterns. The combinations are endless, and include such pairings as polka dots and solids, crochets and florals, and string bikini bottoms with bandeau tops. By buying several separates, women can expand their swimsuit wardrobe by simply interchanging tops and bottoms.
2. Prints, stripes and color blocking:  Nautical stripes, exotic animal prints and florals are lighting up beaches everywhere. At Old Navy, bikini bottoms and tops come in daring black and yellow geometric designs, leopard prints, and soft blue floral prints. It's Anchors Aweigh this season with the strong emergence of nautical striped suits. Target has an exciting array of them in colors such as mint, coral and magenta. The Xhilaration Juniors Mix and Match Reversible suit comes in eye catching forest green and pink stripe, and is trimmed in trendy polka dots. Those who purchase solid color bikini separates can experiment with color blocking, the practice of combining swathes of at least two complimentary or contrasting hues. With color blocking, even the most unlikely combinations coexist well, like purple and chartreuse or orange and fuchsia. Both Old Navy and Target sell solid pieces suited for color blocking.  
3. Adornments and hardware: Romantic ruffles, seen on dresses and tops this summer, have made their way onto bikinis. Victoria Secret sells a delicate floral ruffled bandeau top with a removable halter strap and a ruffled bottom that is right on trend. Bandeau tops now come decorated with daisy and rhinestone accents. Metal or plastic rings, strategicallly placed on the hips and in the center of a triangle cut bikini top, continue to be a strong trend, as are mock ties, jewel embellished halter straps and buckles. Now you can wear your heart on your hips instead of your sleeve with Victoria Secret's "Heart Ring" bikini. Macy's also carries many suits with these contemporary flourishes. 

Who is responsible for the bikini's staying power? Historian Olivier Saillard credits "the power of women and not the power of fashion" for this phenomenon.