Bikinis for beach babes

MANILA, Philippines - There are swimsuits and there are swimsuits, but there’s nothing like the bikini to turn you into a beach babe.

French engineer Louis Reard and fashion designer Jacques Heim introduced the modern bikini in Paris in 1946. Reard, a car engineer, was by 1946 running his mother’s lingerie boutique near the Les Folies Bergerein Paris. Heim, on the other hand, was working on a new kind of beach costume, which he advertised as “the world’s smallest bathing suit” in May 1946. It consisted of two pieces, with the bottom large enough to cover the woman’s navel.

Reard named his swimsuit, which he said was “smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world” the “bikini” after the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific where the testing of the new atomic bomb was happening that summer. He thought the swimsuit would create the same burst of excitement as a nuclear device, and he was right — it was a bombshell on the beach and beyond.

Since that time, bikini styles have evolved, and at SM today, it includes halter style and bandeau tops paired with fun bottoms and boy leg shorts. The good news is that you can mix and match your bikini pieces as some are sold separately, to fit your own style and shape.

Dive into summer’s frolic and be a babe in these beautiful bikinis that showcase gorgeous graphic and geometric prints, as well as blooming florals and stylish stripes.

Whether wearers are heading for the beach, going island-hopping, or simply getting sun-drenched by the pool, these fun and fab bikinis photographed at the Camarin Lake Resort in Caliraya will make fashion waves.

The collection is available at the Girls Teens Wear Department of the SM Department Store.