Quick shopping fix: the black bikini
Planning your holiday wardrobe? A versatile black two-piece doesn’t have to mean boring!
2011-05-06 06:30:00
By Emily Fleuriot
Channel your inner siren
While we accept this is a colour-popping season - and nowhere is this more apparent than in swimwear - nothing beats a classic black bikini for a perennially flattering and super-chic beach look.
No-one knows this better than beach aficionado Kirsty Hathaway, fashion and beauty director of Beachtomato, who explains why every woman should invest in a black bikini: “As essential as the ubiquitous LBD, the LBB (Little Black Bikini) is a staple piece in our beach wardrobe. Perhaps the only time when black isn’t an obvious option, it still has all the benefits of an ebony favourite – classic, slimming and, thanks to its definite opaqueness, safe (nobody wants to take a dip in the ocean and come out see-through). But don’t mistake safe for boring. Because firstly, when is a bikini, in all its outrage-provoking history and will-I-look-disgusting-in-it-or-not dilemmas, ever boring? And secondly, the woman most synonymous with a black two-piece is a Tomb Raid-ing Angelina Jolie. And she is never a bore.”
And her top tips for getting the black bikini right this summer? Look to the most glamorous of decades, the ‘50s: “For on-trend black this holiday season, go for a glam, high-waisted, ‘50s-inspired look – Chloé, Jets by Jessica Alken and Norma Kamali all have great pieces.”
And we’ve scoured the shops to bring you our top ten black bikinis – read on to view. And don’t forget to check out the Handbag shop for more options.
Picture: ‘Jackie’ bikini by Princesse Tam Tam, underwired triangle top, £47, and shaping briefs, £57, from ASOS
