So Summer is here and it’s time to embrace bikinis and swimsuits and all pieces beach related. It’s a daunting concept for sure, but taking some inspiration from these ladies might just help you pull it off with panache…
Ursula Andress
Well we might as well start with what is surely the most iconic bikini ever. Andress set the bar ridiculously high for Bond girls when she appeared in the series’ first installment
Dr No, and whilst she does have an undeniably banging body, the bikini she wears to famously emerge from the sea does actually help her out a little. The structured top and discreet padding enhance her chest and the off-white shade sets off her tan, whilst not being too bright or overbearing. Halle Berry’s recreation of the scene in a later Bond film didn’t even come close.
Bo Derek
The braids are of course a style no-no, but blame it on the time period here (
10, the film from which this shot was memorably taken, was shot in 1979) but here Derek gives us a lesson in how to crank sex appeal right up to maximum without showing off much at all. It’s the colour that does it, the nude tone makes her look naked, but as a one-piece, there’s more fabric coverage than in a string bikini, and it also covers up a problem area for many women – the stomach.
Brigitte Bardot
The original Saint-Tropez sexpot had coquettish but innocent nailed down from the word go. Her she is making headlines at Cannes in 1953, pre-bleach blonde bouffant and still getting the cameras excited. The flowered pattern is girlish but the bikini is suitably skimpy and the bandeau top means that clever B.B won’t be sporting any unsightly strap marks.
Penelope Cruz
One thing the Spanish actress is unexpectedly brilliant at is picking out swimwear that actually functions – beach snaps of her almost always see her splashing and jumping around in the surf. Here she shows how to look stylish, but not be caught out should she be hit by a particularly enthusiastic wave. Her red one piece is fairly modest and looks pretty sturdy, but is livened up by chain detailing on the straps and some high-cut legs. Basically it’s
Baywatch done in a classy way/
Rihanna
Even the most fashion-forward celebrities tend to play it safe when it comes to dressing for the beach. But as you’d expect, loose style cannon Rihanna takes a different approach and ends up looking directional and amazing in a panther print one-pieces by cult swimwear label
We Are Handsome. It’s a look that needs some serious confidence to pull off, but also worth bearing in mind no one is going to look at your bad bits when there is a glaring feline face in the way. And you could just follow Ri-ri’s lead and throw on a selection of mis-matched accessories to real go for that maverick touch.
Phoebe Cates
When Cates emerged from a swimming pool in cult Eighties film
Fast Times At Ridgemount High,
she captured the hearts (and god knows what else) of millions of
teenage boys. By picking out a strong, vibrant colour (and they don’t
get more vivid than lipstick red) and a simple design (strappy and
high-cut but fitted) she let her figure do the talking, and would have
stood out even if she wasn’t the only person in the frame.
Elizabeth Taylor
One of the Hollywood legend’s chicest looks came in the form of a white swimsuit, which she wore for the 1959 film
Suddenly Last Summer. For someone whose general motto was more is more, Taylor pulls an unexpected elegant coup in this most basic of pieces. Maybe it’s the fact that she is fully made-up with immaculately coiffed hair, but the demure cut of the suit and the fact that the unusually substantial straps successfully support her ample chest make this one of the classiest options there is.