Those lucky to live in an endless summer know the importance of the perfect bathing suit. Because summer starts and ends at the beach.

Go halves (or quarters) on a Hampton’s cottage with a pool.
Boat on your local lake and secure your straps before jumping off the bow.
Take a tropical trip where the water is bluer than the sky.

The perfect beach bikini is the cornerstone to any summer activity AND wardrobe.

We have movies, and the French, to thank for the modern bikini.

If Coco Chanel hadn’t made suntans fashionable would French girls have started to roll up their cuffs in St.Tropez?

If French girls weren’t in love with a good tan would Jacques Heim have created the smallest swimsuit of the time?

If Jacques hadn’t created the atome would Louis Réard have felt challenged to create a bathing suit smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world: the bikini?

And if Louis hadn’t created the bikini, what would Brigitte Bardot have worn on a Cannes beach in front of the whole world?

“People were craving the simple pleasures of the sea and the sun. For women, wearing a bikini signaled a kind of second liberation. There was really nothing sexual about this. It was instead a celebration of freedom and a return to the joys in life.” – Jamie Samet, a fashion writer for Le Figaro.

You’ve just swum up to a massive rock next to a secluded beach. There’s a rope dangling down. Of course you get goaded into climbing up. Now you’re standing at the edge looking all the way down into that turquoise water — and baby it’s a long way down.

You can only do one thing at this point.

JUMP.

This is the ultimate (and literal) freedom in your bathing suit.A two-piece bikini is so much more than a practical piece item…

It’s a feeling.

The best summer bathing suit amplifies your assets and mutes your self-conscious.

Ideally it’s tight, small and frames what you want it to frame.

Spending money on swimwear is hard to swallow at first, but when you find the right cut (and get it in a classic color/print), you probably won’t buy a new one for years to come due to the quality and timeless-ness.

The trick to flattering swimwear: go tight with no hardware and get a smaller cut. Counterintuitive, but that’s the biggest trick. With tight and cheekier cuts, you’re less likely to experience sagging and more likely to gain some more lift.

Your swimwear should make you feel beautiful and confident.

It should feel and fit like a second skin. There’s nothing in the world that’s more uplifting than a bathing suit that does the work for you. A few that work for me and why…

Magazines endlessly write headlines about “Choosing A Bikini For Your Body Shape!.” These are only useful in essence. As a bare-minimum base. A jumping off the dock point. Don’t obsess over details and technicalities, “if you have big elbows, try a halter-neck bikini with a ruched bottom,” because choosing the best summer bathing suit for YOU is more personal than a mass magazine can suggest.

Here’s how a bikini guide should work…

Choosing The Right Bikini Checklist For YOU

• Is it there any slippage or poppage?
• Is the bikini quality durable (i.e. will it pill, rip, fade, etc…?)
• Will it be see-through when wet? Follow up: Do you care if it is?
• Does the color/print make you feel outrageously happy?
• Do you basically want to live in this bathing suit forever?
• Do you feel like your own best summer beach babe in it?

If you’re able to honestly answer these questions…

If you totally adore the swimsuit, even if you’re an apple and it’s for a pear…

Stash the coverup and break out the SPF ?.

Because babe you just found your perfect bathing suit.