10 International Herald Tribune

Tuesday, July 27, 2004 S T Y L E *

Swimsuits for land and sea

By Jessica Michault son, straightforward suits came down the finest materials like cashmere for
the catwalk paired with matching cov- the cover-ups.’’
PARIS er-ups, hats, scarves or even parasols. In the United States. where the
hrow out the thong, trash the So while buying a suit might have be- swimsuit industry accounts for $3 bil-

T tankini and put away your

two-piece: This summer, the
swimsuit has gone old school.
Fashion houses sent out suits that
hark back to the days of Vargas girl cal-
endars, Betty Grable pinups and Esther
Williams’s ‘‘swimming musicals.’’ De-
signers have finally decided to be kind
to those who didn’t find the time to
shed those few extra pounds before hit-
ting the beach. And as thousands
across Europe make a mass exodus
from city centers in search of sea, sand
and sun, choosing a swimsuit has never
been easier.
High-cut briefs and teeny-weeny
bikinis are still on offer this summer,
but top designers like Donna Karan,
Missoni, Calvin Klein and Diane Von
Furstenberg are proposing suits that
cover up. But don’t get the idea that
these suits will be bland and boring —
far from it. To update their retro looks,
designers are using interesting pat-
terns and colors like lemon yellow, tan-
gerine and mint green, and placing a
focus on the upper body with halter
Archive Photos tops and see-through shoulder straps.
The film star Betty Adding bows, belts or ruffles to swim-
Grable posing for suits also refreshes this summer’s retro
her famous pinup. look.
As in the past, when a woman
wouldn’t leave home without matching
her shoes and handbag, swimsuits
must now have complementary ac-
cessories. On every runway this sea-
come rudimentary, there is nothing ba-
sic about swimwear anymore.
‘‘Women are buying the suit and
finding skirts to match, not the suit to
match a skirt,’’ says Marshal Cohen, the
chief analyst of the retail research
group NPD. ‘‘Even footwear is being
purchased to match the suit to com-
plete the outfit.’’
The swimsuit is no longer just a
piece of clothing to be worn to the
beach. It has become the starting
point around which a summer ward-
robe is built. Some women are now
buying multiple suits each season. A
variety is needed to take them from a
morning at the beach to a night out on
the town, with the top of the suit star-
ring above slacks or skirt. And for
every swimsuit there now must be the
corresponding cover-up, shoes and
bag.
‘‘There are women who love swim-
suits like there are women who love
shoes,’’ says the designer Tomas Maier,
whose eponymous swimsuit line has
seen its sales double this year.
Maier, whose first free-standing
store will open in Miami in October,
believes that a significant part of his
success has to do with the accessories:
‘‘Everything is color-coordinated to
match the suit perfectly and made from
lion a year, swimwear accessories are
becoming big revenue generators.
Figleaves.com, which says it is the
world’s largest online retailer of inti-
mate apparel, has more than 170 brands
available online, 50 of them swimwear
brands. Established only two seasons
ago, the site’s swimwear section has
seen sales double from one season to
the next, and plans are under way to
add 20 brands for next season.
‘‘What is surprising is that people are
buying suits year round, not just in the
months leading up to the summer holi-
days,’’ says Diana Whitehead, the com-
pany’s spokeswoman. ‘‘Swimsuit
brands consistently hold at least two of
the top 10 spots of our top selling
brands,’’ she said.
In addition, many of the customers
who buy a swimsuit on the site are likely
to buy a matching beach dress or bag.
‘‘Many women are wearing swim-
wear as streetwear,’’ according to Co-
hen. ‘‘They are buying more than one
swimsuit, recognizing they are getting
more wear out of them.’’
This confirms that swimwear, which
was once considered a peripheral seg-
ment of the fashion world, has now
found its place in the world of style.
Add to this the newly created need to
accessorize a suit, and the future is
looking bright for an industry that is
taking its inspiration from the past.
International Herald Tribune

Christopher Moore/Andrew Thomas

Donna Karan’s one-piece with bows, Pringle’s strapless suit with matching bag, Missoni’s multicolored swimsuit worn with a scarf.

Clockwise from top left: Stella McCartney’s high-waisted swim briefs and matching top, Calvin Klein’s belted retro inspired suit,
Eley Kishimoto’s swimsuit with matching wrap and parasol, Anna Sui’s ruff led suit, Michael Kors’s suit with see-through straps.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
CROSSWORD 14 15 16
Edited by Will Shortz
17 18
ACROSS 34 Paul Scott 56 Fritter away
1 “If it ___ broke chronicles set 57 Unusual sort 19 20
…” in India 58 Place for a kiss
5 “Guilty,” e.g. 37 Weather map 59 Hatchling’s
9 Clio winner area home 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
14 Most stuck-up 38 Have more 60 Wagnerian
16 Poker ploy troops than earth goddess 28 29 30 31
17 “M.T.A.” 39 Right on the Chanel
map DOWN
singers, 1959 32 33 Modern frames meet Hollywood glamour in sunglasses this summer. Here, Chanel’s red fish-shaped oversized sunglasses.
40 Response to 1 ___ Lindgren,
19 Makes merry Pippi
20 Chart shape someone
pointing Longstocking’s 34 35 36
21 “Bearded” creator
flower 41 Actress
22
25

28
Mall binge
Murals and
such
Dover’s state:
Abbr.
Peeples
44 Take a
gander at
45 Make ___ of
(botch)
2

3
Naturally
belong
It may be seen,
heard or spo-
ken, in a say-
37

39 40
38

41 42 43
The summer look: big and bold
ing 44 45 46
29 Rang out 46 U.S.M.C. V.I.P.’s 4 Quick puffs PARIS The glamour factor has moved up a ural wood. The glasses come with the
31 Like gastric 47 German article 5 A.T.M. necessi- he retro vibe seen in swimwear notch with the arrival of the first line ubiquitous wraparound lens and have
32
33
juice
40 winks
Group values
48 Is fearful of
50 Schubert
chamber work
6
7
8
ties
Trouser part
Pothook shape
J.D. holder:
Abbr.
50 51 52
47

53 54 55
48 49

T is echoed in the essential sum-

mer accessory: sunglasses. The
slim, barely-there sunglasses with the
of glasses from Boucheron, the French
jewelry house. Boucheron’s
sunglasses are laser cut along the
frames whose finishes recreate the
look of both bone and mother-of-
pea rl.
Solution to July 26 puzzle 56 57 graded lens of last season are taking a temples in the form of an uncoiling For those in search of the quirky,
9 Golfer Palmer, back seat to big, bold eyewear that can serpent and tricked out in Swarovski look no further than Chanel. Karl La-
R O C K I N L E T A B L E to pals
58 59 60 conceal a furtive glance. Once again crystals to match the color of the gerfeld’s sense of humor comes shin-
U G L I B O O T H S L U G 10 See socially
B R O N Z E S T A R T U N A
11 Former the sun-bleached images of Jackie O frames. With names like Super Star ing through in his latest version of the
Russian orbiter Puzzle by Len Elliott The New York Times wearing her oversized black frames and Rock Star, these glasses are de- Jackie O sunglasses. In candy-apple
Y E T E R E L I P R E A D 12 “___ was say-
M L I L E A R ing …”
come to mind. signed to get noticed, while at the red and shaped like a pair of fish, these
P A G O D A S S L A Y I N G 13 Prefix with 26 Knee-slapper 36 Buddy in 48 The Everly The names given to some of the new same time keeping their wearer in- sunglasses give a whimsical lilt to the
I L O N A M I T E R B O L natal 27 Six-pointers, Bordeaux Brothers, e.g. sunglasses reveal their inspiration. At cognito. retro glamour of this season’s eyewear.
P O L K F A D E D A B O U 15 Up to, for short in brief 37 Lab charge 49 Josh Versace, the Diva line, with its over- Another big-name designer who Don’t plan on picking up these
18 Newspaper 29 Hair-splitter? 40 Mae West’s “___ 50 Onetime Pan
E N D A A R O N S H O N E page Am rival sized lens and rectangular frames, re- has waded into the sunglasses market sunglasses just yet; they will be avail-
30 LAX abbr. Angel”
D E M E R I T O C T A N E S 22 Home of the 41 Less cluttered 51 Linden of “Barney flects the glamour of Hollywood’s this summer is Alexander McQueen, able only in November. But for the jet
31 Envelope abbr.
E M I R O R B N.H.L.’s Sharks
42 “You’re so right!”
Miller” golden age but keeps the look modern with the April launch of his signature set summer is a year-round season —
R E D C A P S D R U P S I 23 Awards to be 32 Gumball cost, 52 Body shop fig.
once 43 Courtroom fig. by making the frames available in un- sunglasses line. Mixing tradition and and who knows that better that
A L A E L O V I N G C U P S hung 53 Java container
24 Positions of 33 The “E” in Q.E.D. 45 Broadcaster 54 ___ kwon do
usual combinations, like black fronts new technology, his glasses are avail- Cha nel?
M I L E A D O R E O P A L with white arms or transparent lilac. able in ultramodern titanium and nat- — By Jessica Michault
esteem 34 Cafeteria carrier 46 Sci-fi, for one 55 Football game
P A S S Y A W E D Z A N E 25 Need liniment 35 Vacuum feature 47 James of blues divs.