Hello, beach babes!

When the days drag on long and the sun’s rays penetrate through the strongest sunblock, one gets the feeling that summer springs eternal. During this time, when summer temperatures hit the 80s and 90s, the beaches beckon, and beach/resort wear are flying off the store shelves.

Before I joined some friends for a weekend at Punta Fuego, I consulted Aileen Sipat, an expert in swimsuit and resort wear, for my weekend wardrobe for fear that if I wore my old ones, I would look so dated, let alone outmoded.

Sipat, who just opened Azucar, a boutique that carries resort and formal wear on the second floor of Greenbelt 5, had the great idea of sending her summer collection, along with her sultry Azucar Beach Babes, to do a pictorial on the rocky beaches of Punta Fuego on the weekend I was there. I had a fun time directing and styling the shoot of these models, all of whom had drop-dead-gorgeous bodies. 

With beach weddings so much in vogue these days, Sipat has a collection of short and long dresses in her resort-wear collection. The long dresses are so versatile that one can use them for lounging all day long and turn them into eveningwear with the right accessories. 

Once upon a time, which seemed not too long ago, we wore shorts and tees, bikinis or one-piece bathing suits with colorful sarongs to cover what seemed too exposed. These are all outmoded now. Beach babes nowadays want to look like they just stepped out of the pages of Vogue. They wear sexy mini-dresses, candy-colored long dresses, colorful caftans, and scanty bikinis.

Recently, I was strolling with two lady friends along Boracay’s white sand beach, and in front of Discovery Shores, memories of Baywatch flashed before my eyes. The most gorgeous and sexy specimens of bathing beauties were playing volleyball with some delicious-looking hunks and two things happened: 1) We all stopped and gaped admiringly; and b) We all stopped breathing and died of inferiority complex. Not because they were playing with the hunks, but because they were all uber-sexy and wonderful to look at. From what planet did they come from?

The new crop of Filipino girls is somehow different today. Most of them are taller and better endowed. Most of them are health-conscious, and into sports. Think of running, biking, Pilates, tennis, badminton and gym training. They are all into that. A lot of my friends in their 20s, 30s and 40s are tri-athletes. They are into running, biking and swimming. As a result, they have well-defined bodies and are oozing with self-confidence when they hit the beach in their scanty bikinis.

Well, it’s summertime and the living is easy, as the song goes. Enjoy the beaches and resorts, and don’t forget: No matter what age you are, try to look like a beach babe!