Summertime Obsessions: Bikinis!

This is my favorite bikini purchase ever!

Years ago (2-3) I stopped by the Everything But Water store at the Brea Mall and spotted the cutest bikini I have ever laid my eyes on. The one pictured right above. It is designed by Luli Fama and I saved for months to buy this pretty bandeau/brazilian cut ensemble. It was pricey but totally worth it.

So for the entire summer I spent pretty much every single day riding my bike up and down the coast of Southern California with my best friend Michelle while digging into some of the best chowder on the planet from The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach.

Manhattan Clam Chowder, Bread and Shrimp Cocktail. To DIE for. I've been going there ever since my daddy took me as a little girl :D

Michelle and I. (My hair was growing in the awkward stage after I buzzed it into a mohawk. Never ever ever ever ever ever again)

But over time the hardware (Starfish on both top and bottom) began to rust and this summer I had to cut it off! So now my bandeau is sans the starfish and I love the pattern but I miss the star! 

So this summer I acquired a new obsession with swimwear, but swimwear at a better price. (I had spent almost $300 for the Luli Fama two piece. Plus a really cute coverup) And my first purchase was the Time Warp two piece plus vest by Body Glove.

And since we're talking shopping smart...

I spotted this set on Ideeli.com and it totaled out to just under $60 for all three. This was amazing to me because I saw the same pieces for $60 a piece on the actual Body Glove site. I'm loving the adjustable two-way back bikini top and the utility belt bottom. I felt like Ursula from James Bond :D sans the knife... and more modern. It is ALL SOLD OUT. But if you want you can find it on Ebay or other sites. It is called Time Warp in Bumble.

Ursula Andress

But the straps were giving me a weird tan line and I went online to find other bikinis and after searching around I settled on a site called ASOS.com and found a brand based in the UK called River Island. I fell in love because it was so girly yet hipster (I hate that word but for lack of a better term...) and most importantly AFFORDABLE. Check em out!

Both by River Island. I do not know the availability on ASOS but it was on Sale :D

The first one was the turquoise blue with 3D flowers all over the bikini top. It is a shaped top and made my boobs look amazing! It has silver bead accents on the ties and also crystal beads on the flowers... The second was a high rise/bandeau combo like they had back in the 50s, I though it was so cute. Some may argue that it could make one look kind of 'grandma'-ey but I thought it was charming and not at all old looking. Each piece I got for around $10 per piece. The quality is surprisingly good. :D

Here I am wearing the turquoise top at the pool... The girls loved it and wanted to borrow my bikini but because of my paranoia of sanitaryness I refused. NEVER let anyone borrow your underwear or bikini!

Bikini Wants

I love this top! And that stomach :P But it looks like a Luli Fama design. I'm not sure, i'll have to check it out. I would love to design something similar to that one day. :)

I love these two as well for the color and accents :D Not sure where these are from.

I will be posting bikini obsessions more and more throughout my future posts, these are just my current obsessions and inspirations for my designs. (Since I aspire to design swimwear :D) Any questions or comments feel free to post below!

And that's all for this folks!

Now you know a few more places to check out the next time you're on a budget but want cute swimwear. While some can afford swimwear costing upwards of $200 you can pick out cute ones online on sites such as ideeli.com which is like a 72-hr "Boutique" similar to hautelook.com or ruelala.com and ASOS.com which is like a karmaloop.com.

:D Happy Shopping!

xoxoxo Michelle