Contents - Los Cabos Magazine

Swimwear for 2007 offers a plethora of colors, styles, and details. In addition to look, good fit and quality are what customers look for when purchasing swimwear. We all know that not all bodies are created equal when it comes to selecting swimwear. Fortunately swimwear variety and sizing improves every year. Women want to be fashionable, especially when on vacation in a beautiful resort area such as Los Cabos.

Style and Comfort

Although the bikini is still the granddaddy of swimwear fashion, swimwear has transitioned in the past couple of years to become part street wear. The new swimsuit fashions allow you to get from the beach, pool, or gym through the hotel lobby, or meet up with friends for a cocktail without feeling exposed. More coverage is the trend and swimsuits are starting to take on the look of street wear to take one from day into night, from the beach and beyond.

Margarita Partridge, the maven for swimwear in Los Cabos and owner of Tropica Calipso Swimwear in Puerto Paraiso Mall and Las Tiendas de Palmilla, carries a hip line of swimwear designed to fit and flatter real people with all different bodies. In her opinion, one of the greatest innovations in styles has been the tankini, a variation of the bikini. The sporty style of the tankini has a longer top that leaves only a small portion of the tummy exposed. If you don’t want to expose your tummy at all, go for the mock tankini. The top covers the entire torso, with a moderate or high waist bottom that enables the woman who would not usually opt for a two-piece suit to have the coverage of a one piece with the comfort of two. Other variations of the tankini include the bandini and the camikini. The bandini is a bikini with a bandeau top made out of a straight, striplike piece of fabric. The camikini is the same as the tankini, except the top looks like a camisole. Of course, there are some wonderful one-piece suits available including the maillot, which offers a variety of styles such as one-shouldered and halter-necked.
 
Color Trends

This year bold subdued hues are hot. Cafe creme, and rich chocolate brown are guaranteed to spice up your beach wardrobe. Wear cool nautical blues in slate, rather than electric blue, to beat the heat. Swimwear prints may seem more conservative this year, but they are still very popular. Trends include suits with lot of prints on white backgrounds, along with a token on-the-wild-side animal print. Fiery reds and slimming sophisticated black and white will never go away, but this year the designers have added flirty lace for fun. New colors include corals, yellows, limes and purples, and shades of sweet strawberry, warm golden apricot, and violet infused with hollyhock to contrast with calming sky blues.

The Cover Up
 
Swimsuit cover-ups complete your look. Designers continue to offer more accessories for their swimwear collections. Swimwear cover-ups are high fashion and make a statement when you surface from the pool or beach to go for lunch, or when you set out for a walk around town after a morning swim. When you don’t feel like baring it all, put another layer on your skin; there are many styles from which to choose. The Cotton Club in Plaza Puerto Paraiso carries a beautiful shirt-style cover-up in various colors which, paired with gauzy pants, would take you anywhere. Terry-cloth pants, wrap-around pants, caftans, sleeveless, hooded tunics, or a tiered skirt can all complete your look, but the favorite is still the sarong, or a pareo as it is know in Los Cabos. The pareo is one of the most essential fashion accessories that travels well, looks great, and feels fantastic. What matters is what you do with it. With a few simple knots, your pareo can be worn in a variety of ways. Knotted at the neck, the pareo offers full coverage. Wrapped around the waist the pareo can be worn as either a long or short skirt. Or the pareo can be worn toga style with the knot tied at one shoulder. Pareos are easy to wear and very sexy.

Beach Accessories
 
With a floppy polystraw hat, seductively slanted to keep the sun’s rays at bay, and a crocheted natural raffia straw beach bag, you’re set to go. Hats are stylish and make you look cool and feel cool at the same time. Many are crushable and reversible. Other beach accessories to consider are bags with matching scarves, multi-colored canvas handbags, totes from small to extra large, or the boat bag. There are bags to fit all your summer essentials and more. Don’t forget sunshades! To protect the eyes from the sun’s glare, select polarized lenses and still look sophisticated, sexy and stylish. 
 
Caring for Your Swimsuit

After swimming in the ocean or the pool, always rinse your swimsuit with regular tap water to eliminate salt and chlorine, the principle chemicals that affect the Nylon and spandex fibers. From time to time, wash your suit by hand with cool water and liquid detergent without bleach. To lengthen the life of your swimsuit, minimize direct contact with your swimsuit when applying oil-based tan lotions. Be sure to hang dry your swimsuit out of direct sunlight and avoid storing your suit until it is completely dry.

Discriminating women have multiple choices of swimwear to create the perfect look. Fashion plus comfort equals fun in the sun.

Cabo San Lucas, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico - Last Revision - 27 July 2007 - AAS