Heat
Waves Due from Brazil this Swimsuit Season
http://ezinearticles.com/?Heat-Waves-Due-from-Brazil-this-Swimsuit-Season&id=30552
By Blake Kritzberg
If you've passed a swimsuit hanging on a rack, or touched on a swimwear
website, you've probably noticed that Brazil is leaving no stone unturned
on the beach scene this year.
Why the focus on Brazil? You'll find the answer in a bikini-sized
history lesson. In short, Brazil is urbane: almost every Brazilian lives
in the fast-paced city. Tack on Brazil's legacy from Europe -- a love
for high fashion that borders on religion. Now top it all off with Brazil's
5000 miles of beach, each and every one of them filled with fashion-forward
women who insist on clothes to sizzle at the scene.
Now let's return to America. We've done and redone the triangle-top
and string bottom. We've pretty much exhausted the thong -- de minimis
can only go so far before there's nowhere left to go. But there's one
thing we haven't exhausted: high glamour.
Enter Brazil, drenched in the big, heady spirit of the sixties, and
the international goddesses that drove it. Think Brigitte Bardot. Or
Ursula Andress, stepping out of the surf in her belted bikini to set
the world on fire.
// The Colors
Just like other areas of the fashion scene, the Brazilian retrospective
combines modern colors and fabric tech with unmistakable hues from the
Sixties. This means bright, bright plastic white, cocktail black, and
clashing fluorescents. And touches of vinyl and metal. And Mod.
// The Shapes
The old triangle top, always meant for the small-busted woman, starts
to look a little blah compared to the womanly styles from Brazil, like
low-slung "hipster" bottoms (especially beguiling when combined
with kicky belts). You'll find Brazilian tops emphasizing larger busts,
with stabilizing lace-ups or underwire support.
// The Textures
My favorite thing about Brazilian styles are the textures, which seem
exotic in our post-production, plasticized world. Brazil knows that
women love the softer side of sexy -- the kind that never shows up in
beer commercials.
Instead of vying for minimal coverage, Brazil uses high-tech savvy
to weave water-friendly crochet and macramé into swim tops and
bottoms. We love the macramé-strung bikini bottoms -- sometimes
adorned by brassy buttons or shells. And we love the giant embroidered
flowers (touched up with crystals), the French knots, and the hand-painted
fabrics that show up on tops. But our favorite is the lycra-touched
crochet pullover that goes from day to night. Wear it on the beach,
then wear it again at the lounge. A feminine, crocheted top over a bikini
bottom is the kind of look that hits the Richter scale.
Best of all, these styles can be dressed to the nines with a smoky shade
of eye shadow and big, clunky jewelry.
// Your Mission
Did you accept the Brazilian challenge for your beach adventures this
summer? Then bring in another major trend by mixing and matching tops
and bottoms. Don't be afraid to combine hot pink with orange (a hot
Mod look). But then, don't take trends too far -- it's probably best
to leave your knife belt at home.