Bikini Paradise

Get outta the office, get into your bikini!

2011-06-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hey (hey) you (you), get into a bikini
Who me?
Yes you, get into a bikini
Wooooooooooooooh. Wah! Yeah!

Who's that lady
Coming down the road
Who's that lady
Who's that woman
Walking through my door
What's the score
I'll be the sun
Shining on you
Hey Cinderella
Step in your shoe
I'll be your non-stop lover
Get it while you can
Your non-stop miracle
I'm your man

Get outta the office
Get into a bikini
Get outta the office
Get in the back seat baby
Get into a bikini
Beep beep, yeah
Get outta my mind
Get into my life
Oooooooooh
Oh I said hey (Hey) you (You)
Get into a bikini

Oh baby

Okay, I totally admit to ripping off Billy Ocean's song... but hey, it was all for a good cause... the cause of getting sun and wearing your bikini.

To get you started here is an old blog post I found about Toronto beaches. They're world class beaches. Seriously, and that is just in Toronto CANADA! Just imagine the really nice beaches if you live somewhere like Hawaii...

Nevertheless it does make you wonder... I mean Toronto people mostly work in offices. Toronto lawyers, Toronto website designers, Toronto bankers, Toronto accountants, Toronto mailroom clerks, Toronto IT staff... basically every boring office job you can think of... and right outside their stuffy offices are "world class beaches" just waiting to be used, waded in, sunbathed on... and half of the people in those offices are presumably women, right?

Although I admit some of them might be in the 40 to 65 range and shy about wearing a bikini, that should not discourage them from dieting in time for summer (ie. The Master Cleanse Detox Diet)... and not just dieting either. Don't forget exercise! Yoga, Weightlifting, Parkour and other healthy activities.

Lets take for example Canada's rather tubby Prime Minister... Stephen Harper. The guy lives at 24 Sussex in Ottawa. Guaranteed his fish belly white legs hasn't seen a beach in a long time... Just a sec, let me do a Google image search and see if my hunch is right.

Yup, the closest thing to Stephen Harper going to the beach is the Beaches of Normandy on Remembrance Day (you know, to remember the Canadian soldiers who died freeing France from the clutches of Nazism during WWII). And he's wearing a suit.

Anyway my point, my original point, was that bikini / swimsuit wearing should not be limited to people stuck in Toronto offices. EVERYONE! From the Prime Minister in Ottawa to the lowly blue collar installer of Ottawa windows should get out there, get some sun... and burn, baby burn!

BURN, BABY BURN
BURN, BABY BURN
BURN, BABY BURN
BURN, BABY BURN, BURNIN'

TOOK BY SUPRISE, ONE HUNDRED STORIES HIGH
PEOPLE, GET LOOSE YOUR, GETTING DOWN ON THE ROOF
DON'T YOU HEAR, FOLKS SCREAMING, OUT OF CONTROL
IT WAS SO ENTERTAININ', WHEN THE BOOGIE
STARTS TO EXPLODE, I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY

BURN, BABY BURN, DISCO INFERNO
BURN, BABY BURN, COME BURN THAT MOTHER DOWN
BURN, BABY BURN, DISCO INFERNO
BURN, BABY BURN, COME BURN THAT MOTHER DOWN, BURNIN'

So yeah, don't forget the sun block. I feel I should warn people. Don't want you blaming me when you get sunburnt. I warned ye now!

I learned something recently while visiting relatives for Father's Day... apparently glass does NOT protect you from getting sunburns. So if you're sitting in a really sunny room, sunrooms for example, you CAN get a sunburn from the sun's rays coming through the windows. This really depends on the type of glass and how well it protects from UV light, but the general rule of thumb is to understand that glass won't always protect you.

Designer Swimwear in the Winter???

2010-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

CANADA/FASHION - If you live in Canada or some equally northern country the idea of going swimming in the Winter may sound really ridiculous. ie. Check out our older post about Bikini Skiers.

But lets pretend for a moment that you belong to a gym with a pool... or you have a YMCA membership, who also have pools. Well then, suddenly the idea of wearing designer swimwear in the Winter does not sound so bad... especially if there a cute swim instructor or life guard.

Or maybe you like going to spas where you can luxuriate, or even Women's Retreats in Mexico... Regardless of how and why, its always possible you will be on the lookout for quality swimwear, even though its cold and wintry outside.

Or maybe its BECAUSE its cold outside that you go looking for designer swimwear and a warm place to wear it. ie. Cuba is always nice.

Or maybe you are a supermodel like Devon Owens (see photo on the right) or Adriana Lima. I mention Devon Owens because I like her nose. Its bizarrely cute.

After all its not like the rest of us wear bikinis socially... unless of course we are going to beauty pageants all the time, or perhaps attending beauty school. Note: People often misinterpret what beauty schools actually teach. They do not actually teach people how to be beautiful. What they really teach is cosmetology, the use of cosmetic make-up, hair styling, skin treatments, manicures/pedicures, etc. Its really the safe non-hazardous alternative to liposuction and breast implants.

Anywho, my point is that it is NOT a fashion crime to wear a bikini or other forms of swimwear of the winter. ie. A person could go skiing in their bikini if they were quite daring and then hop in the hot tub soon after.

There are lots of other fashion crimes out there that people can break. Wearing swimwear in the winter is not one of them. Now if you were an ERP software developer and a bit clueless when it comes to fashion maybe you would not even care... you know, the type of person who can watch Big Bang Theory and gets every one of the jokes. Or worse, maybe if you were the type of person who plays Dungeons and Dragons... and therefore is so completely beyond hope.

Although I must admit fantasy artists do include quite a few chainmail bikinis in the artwork... but you realize, that stuff cannot be making very good armour.

(I am not certain what the point of the graphic on the right is about, I just thought it was interesting. Apparently it has something to do with avalanches and windchill effects. The colder and windier it is the less likely there will be avalanches.)

Just like bikinis are not very good at keeping you warm. I recommend wearing a hat, a scarf and some gloves while wearing a bikini outside.

Oh oh oh! I just thought of another way someone might wear a bikini in the winter. Figure skating. Seriously. Those girls must be freezing their assets off.

Oh... and I should mention Winter is actually the best time of year to do two things: #1. Exercise, because you use more energy in the winter as your body tries to stay warm. #2. Go shopping for bikinis. Its the off season so you can get some nice prices.

Padded Bikini Tops For Young Girls?

2010-04-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

FASHION - Worried little girls are growing up too fast?

British fashion chain Primark recently stopped selling padded bikini tops for little girls after they were criticized for selling something which sexualizes young girls.

Known more for its cheap price Primark acted quickly after the British newspaper The Sun published a front page story about the product which is aimed at girls as young as 7.

The retailer got in trouble in 2002 for selling thong underwear in children's sizes with the words "eye candy" and "wink wink". Makes you wonder if one of their executives in charge of children's wear is "wink wink"... not normal and enjoys sexualizing little girls.

It reminds me of the preteen beauty pageants some parents in the USA take their kids to... its disturbing.

Which begs the question when is a good cut off line for young women wearing bikinis? 12? 13? 16? I'd argue that if they still have baby fat they're probably way too young.

Its bad enough when 12 year old girls are wearing t-shirts that say SLUT and local governments are increasing sex education at a younger age, but with the internet the issue of predators is an increasing problem.

YIKES! It just feels like the genie is out of the bottle and there's no way to put it back in without sticking a GPS tracking device on your kids. And even then it can be fruitless.

Boycotting all clothes made by Peter Nygard

2010-04-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

FASHION - Hello fellow bikini fanatics!

When shopping for bikinis or any other clothes this summer please remember to boycott all clothing made by Peter Nygard.

Reasons:

#1. Peter Nygard is a fashion executive who runs his company like a mini dictatorship. He believes he is "God" and has temper tantrums when people don't do what he tells them to do.

#2. Peter Nygard sues any news agency that says anything bad about him. Very few newspapers or television news companies will say anything about his illegal misdoings because they're afraid of lawsuits and legal intimidation.

#3. Peter Nygard has a slew of people working for him hired especially for maintaining his good reputation. They routinely harass bloggers for saying anything bad about him.

#4. Peter Nygard is 67-years-old and likes having sex with 16-year-old girls. One such girl from the Dominican Republic has since gone missing. She might even be dead. Lawyers for Peter Nygard claim the girl is alive and well and that Peter Nygard treated her well and was a "perfect gentleman". Why would they bother to say that unless they were hiding something?

#5. Peter Nygard's company, Nygard International, has sweatshops overseas. One of the sweatshops in Jordan makes pants for his company and has 1,200 SLAVES trapped inside and not allowed to leave. If they do sloppy work they are beaten and raped. The women were smuggled into Jordan from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The factory workers then stole their passports and kept them prisoners there.

#6. Peter Nygard is currently suing the Fifth Estate documentary company in Canada because they were the only company with the GUTS to stand up to him.

PLEASE BOYCOTT PETER NYGARD. DON'T BUY ANY OF HIS CLOTHES!

UPDATE! THE OLD BOYCOTT PAGE WAS DELETED NO THANKS TO NYGARD'S LAWYERS: Please join the new group at Boycott Nygard's Brands

2010 Bikini Trend Setters

2010-04-06T20:41:00.001-07:00

FASHION - Looking to celebrities to try and determine which will be the bikini trends this Summer 2010? Look no further than Lady Gaga, Paris Hilton, Avatar, triangle tops, strapless bikinis, side tie bottoms.

Also don't forget your sarong, the sunglasses, the shoes, the hat, the handbag and some jewelry. Ankle bracelets, stone necklaces, shell jewelry and anything resembling the film Avatar are certainly hot this year.

Meteorlogists are also predicting record-breaking heat this summer so don't forget the sunblock, your hat and carry lots of fluids. I recommend Aloe Juice.

Paris Hilton trying really hard to look cool. Is she yesterday's news yet?

Lady Gaga and her disco ball bikini.

Lady Gaga wearing chains on her bra/bikini.
(Obviously not a good idea to actually swim in.)

Neytiri and Jake swimming together.

Bikini Islanders lose in court

2010-04-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

POLITICS - Bikini Islanders, the indigenous people of the Marshall Islands, who sued the United States government years ago for nuclear tests on the islands during the 1940s and 1950s have lost their suit.

The Bikini Islanders is seeking compensation under the Fifth Amendment for the “many resultant indignities they suffered, from the loss of their homes and livelihoods to the horrific effects of radiation poisoning.”

Between 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 67 nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands, then a U.S. protectorate under the United Nations. The blasts was equal to exploding 1.6 Hiroshima atomic bombs every day for 12 years. The islands most directly affected were Enewetak and Bikini.

The name "Bikini" was later used to represent the shocking and scandalous swimwear we now all love.

In 1986 the U.S. Congress established a $150 million trust fund to help compensate former residents of Enewetak and Bikini. In exchange for the money, the plaintiffs agreed not to bring suits against the federal government. But they never actually PAID them the money, resulting in another trial years later.

In a 2001 settlement, the government agreed to pay the groups far more than that, promising the people of Enewetak $385 million and the people of Bikini $563 million for the loss of their land.

But again they have yet to receive anything more than a token payment, not the full amount.

In 2008 the United States Court of Federal Claims, dismissed the suit saying the Bikinis had missed the 6-year statute of limitations and that they had filed too early because Congress could still act and give them money.

So... they waited too long, but acted too early. Huh?

In other words the United States government is so cheap they're using a legal loophole so they don't have to pay up.

Shocked? I'm not. The U.S. government is a bunch of cheap bastards with no intelligence or honour whatsoever. They took an island paradise and destroyed it.

Red Sonja delayed until 2011

2010-04-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

ENTERTAINMENT - Due to delays in production a new version of the film Red Sonja (featuring a bikini-chainmail clad, sword wielding Rose McGowan) has been delayed until 2011. It was originally supposed to come out in 2009.

While it may look good on Rose McGowan, I don't recommend it as beachwear.

Karolina Kurkova's missing belly button

2008-11-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

SUPERMODELS - The mystery behind Karolina Kurkova's missing belly button has been revealed. Because I know y'all having been on the edge of your seats just wondering. The Czech supermodel set tongues wagging (again) last week after she appeared on the catwalk at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show showing off her vanishing belly button. Now her rep has come forward to explain things.

"She had an operation when she was an infant. It's a fact and just thank God she's healthy," the rep said.

"Karolina's body is amazing, but her belly button is unusual," a fashion insider told Page Six magazine. "It disappears in photos, so we keep a collection of belly button shots in different positions, and Photoshop them on to her whenever she's doing a bikini picture."

How clever! Although this, together with those ridiculous fat taunts from earlier this year, means it is definitely time to lay off the poor girl.

Indonesia Allows Bikinis

2008-10-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

FASHION/POLITICS - After months of discussions, Indonesian lawmakers have agreed that bikinis are acceptable attire for beaches in the world's most populous Muslim country. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, with Muslims making up some 86.1 percent of the 235 million population.

"Tourists will be able to wear bikinis in special tourist areas, such as in Bali, so Indonesia's tourism industry won't be hurt by this legislation," Democrat Party lawmaker Husein Abdul Azis told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, October 17.

"We are listening to the protests of stakeholders and people at large," he added, referring to fears the tourism industry would suffer if bikinis were criminalized.

Bikinis were to be criminalized under a new a pornography bill, being debated by the parliament. But politicians and tourism entrepreneurs have warned that the bill would undermine the country's tourism industry.

Indonesia has declared 2008 "Visit Indonesia Year" and hopes to attract seven million visitors, earning 6.7 billion dollars in foreign exchange revenues.

Proposed in 1999, the bill defines porn as sexual material that includes photographs, cartoons, films, poems, vocalization, conversations and body gestures in the media, or in public shows, exhibits or performances.

It calls for criminalizing those who arouse sexual propensity, desires or longings or contravene community ethics, decency or morality. The bill also imposes fines on women who refuse to cover "sensitive" body parts, such as hair, shoulders, midriffs and legs.

It also slaps a seven-year jail term on people caught kissing in public. The porn bill will treat recreational and leisure areas differently.

No word yet on whether Ms Indonesia will also be banned from wearing a bikini.

Paris Hilton strips to her bikini in fake election bid

2008-10-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

POLITICS - Socialite and party-girl Paris Hilton has stripped down to a silver stars-and-stripes inspired bikini as part of her mock election campaign for the United States presidency.

The celebrity heiress, who has released two humourous videos and a music video as part of her campaign, has now posed in a US presidential election-inspired photo shoot. It features Hilton's "Secret Service Dudes," and in it she talks about creating a new department for fashion police, being good at sipping a martini and being the best "Commander in Bikini".

Paris For President Lyrics by Paris Hilton

Paris for president,
At the Palms chillin’ with the martini.

Paris for president,
Your commander in bikini.

When they tell you ’bout my policies
To stop the player-hating on the USA,
Incentivize nuclear non-proliferation and ratify Kyoto today.
You can ride in the motorcade…
in the hybrid, pink Escalade!

Paris for president,
Not another oldie cliche.

Paris for president,
you can get married if you’re straight or if you’re gay.

If you’re gonna put lipstick on a pig, make sure that shit it matches her skin tone.
you can trust me with my finger on the button,
“Nucular” is a vocabulary don’t.
Trading in the cabinet for a walk….in….closet…hey!

Paris for president,
America should put me in charge.

Paris for president,
look at Bush it cant be that hard

Simon Cowell, he might be a little mean,
but when his oldest kicks the bucket
I’ll put him on the court supreme
Then I’ll paint the white house pink
and move Camp David to Maui…

Paris for president,
A proponent of clean energy.

Paris for president,
The real maverick in D.C.

Water boarding is torture and,
global warming is totally not hot.
I’ll make a department called the Fashion Police
and boost the economy with all of the new jobs.
Make over Lady Liberty…in Donna, Tommy, and Calvin Klein.

Paris for president,
Get your cute little butt out there and vote.

Paris for president,
Dispensing beauty tips and hope.

Paris for president, hey!
Paris for president, hey!
Paris for president, hey!

I’m Paris Hilton and I approve this message.

Bikini Skiers

2008-09-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

The first day of daylight saving brought fine, sunny weather to much of the country yesterday and spurred about 30 hardy souls to carve the slopes of Mt Ruapehu each dressed in a bikini as if they were heading for the beach.

But don't be fooled - while the sun was blazing, a cold front and fresh snow on the mountain saw temperatures plummet to minus 5 degrees celsius, with the wind chill generated by hurtling downhill making it feel more like minus 15C.

The skiers and snowboarders took part in the downhill race at Turoa to raise funds for Breast Cancer Research. About $3000 was raised.

Mt Ruapehu marketing manager Mike Smith said there were plenty of volunteers - mostly blokes - to collect donations and carry jackets to the bottom of the course.

"Those girls are pretty hardy," he said. "It was cold enough being fully clothed, to be honest."

Both Turoa and Whakapapa ski-fields have had record-breaking snow bases leading into the school holidays, which run this week and next week.

Yesterday saw the welcome return of the sun after a wet and windy week.

Wellington enjoyed clear skies and 14C temperatures. Napier recorded 15C and New Plymouth hit 17C.

But MetService forecaster Andy Downs said last week's changeable weather would return today, bringing gale-force winds.

"That will bring clouds in, and it will rain later in the afternoon or evening."

A cold southerly was expected tomorrow morning, he said.

And with the spring equinox last week, the days will now be longer than the nights.

Sarah Palin in a Bikini

2008-09-29T07:44:00.001-07:00

Interested in Sarah Palin? See Also:

John McCain chooses Sarah Palin

Saturday Night Live Parody of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton
Sarah Palin, America's right-wing sweetheart

Sarah Palin's Shotgun Wedding
McCain gambling with the Republican nomination

Polls suggest Obama will beat McCain 280 to 258

80s Bikini Comedies

2008-09-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

Though 1980s beach films seem objectifying and anti-feminist, they offer a utopian space where class and gender hierarchies begin to dissolve.

A group of young women dressed in homemade army-print bikinis are stretching in the shallow water on the beach, preparing for a running race.

Todd [through megaphone]: Okay! It's time to get wet! Are you ready?

[Alan rushes up to Todd, distressed]

Alan: Todd! I just read the invoice from that surgical supply house ...

Todd [through megaphone]: On your marks! [Turns to Alan] So?

Alan: The thread... the surgical thread we used to sew the bikinis!

Todd [through megaphone]: Get set! [Turns to Alan] What about it?

Alan: It's full of dissolving stitches, Todd!

Todd: I know!

Todd fires his gun to start the race, and the film cuts to a slow-motion shot of the girls running through the water as their bikinis gradually fall off. Then we see onlookers -- boys, men, women, and one police officer, who all laugh at the spectacle, and a close-up of Todd and Alan, smiling.

No, the above scene is not from a porn movie. It's from the The Bikini Shop (released as The Malibu Bikini Shop in the U.S.), directed by David Wechter, one of a number of low-budget Hollywood beach movies that had a brief resurgence during the 1980s. You may have come across such films as Summer Job, Spring Break, Sizzle Beach USA and Private Resort in a dark corner of your local video store -- not naughty enough to be behind the curtain, but titillating enough to provide pubescent boys with their first taste of adult entertainment. The movies belong to the broader genre of the teen movie, and they necessarily include gratuitous female nudity, as in the scene detailed above.

The movies are, at first glance, basically tit-and-ass comedies that take place on the beach. There is no doubt that the novelty of seeing daggy '80s fashion can make these films fun to watch now, but they have more than mere nostalgia value. The films capture the transition from adolescence to adulthood. But whereas we must reluctantly accept adult responsibilities, '80s bikini movies allow us to indulge the fantasy of rejecting them and return to a world where fun rules.

The basic premise in all these films is the same: a group of young, attractive characters spend their spring break or summer vacation on the beach getting naked (girls) or trying to get laid (guys). This gives ample opportunity for gratuitous nudity and close-up bikini montages, but these same ingredients -- the beach, a vacation and sex -- bestow the movies with unlikely substance.

The Bikini Shop follows college graduate Alan (Michael David Wright) on a trip to California, where he intends to settle his deceased aunt's estate and return to Chicago to be married into high society. But the aunt left half of her estate to Alan's rowdy brother Todd (Bruce Greenwood), who doesn't want to sell her beach house -- he wants to run his aunt's bikini shop with Alan.

So begins Alan's journey. His transformation from an upper-middle-class tire sales executive to a laid-back Californian can be understood as a liminal journey. Film theorist Adrian Martin observes that liminality -- an anthropological term that refers to the transitional period between major life events -- is, more than any other aspect of teen movies, the thread that connects them all. For Martin, liminality manifests in teen movies as "that intense, suspended moment between yesterday and tomorrow, between childhood and adulthood, between being a nobody and a somebody, when everything is in question, and everything is possible." This brief but often life-changing detour between life stages figures in The Bikini Shop: by the end of the film, Alan has dumped his snobby fiancée, fought to keep the modest shop, and shacked up with the shop's salesgirls in the beach house. As Alan goes from wearing full suits to shorts and Hawaiian shirts, his core concerns have gone from money and status to family loyalty and hedonism.

You'd be hard pressed to think of any teen film from any era that doesn't explore liminality. American Pie focuses on a group of boys determined to lose their virginity before they finish high school; the quest to "become a man" by having sex is as explicitly liminal as the classic teen transition between high school and college. Dazed and Confused limits its focus to the last few days of middle school and the rites of initiation teens experience in order to enter senior high's social circle.

At a basic level, liminal journeys can be understood as various rites of passage. But the implications of liminality are more complex than this. Cultural anthropologist Victor Turner, author of The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, explains that the liminal operates in opposition to structured society, and "secular distinctions of rank and status disappear or are homogenized". '80s bikini movies explicitly explore this aspect of liminality within the space of the beach, separating the subgenre from other teen movies.

As the strip between the ocean and the land, the beach is itself liminal -- neither land nor sea, but with the characteristics of both, as John Fiske, Bob Hodge, and Graeme Turner observe in Myths of Oz: Reading Australian Culture. And according to Lena Lencek and Gideon Bosker, authors of The Beach: The History of Paradise on Earth, the space of the beach "sizzles with the erotic voltage of bare-breasted, bare-buttocked beauties and virile stalwarts," providing an escape from "the nagging sense of fealty to cash, work, and responsibility."

At the beach house in The Bikini Shop, there are no limitations: alcohol flows freely, flirting is par for the course and everyone -- even Alan, enjoying a spa with beautiful salesgirl Ronnie (Barbara Horan) -- is shown having a good time. It no longer matters that Alan belongs to a higher class than his fellow partygoers, or that he has a fiancée: as a liminal space, the beach in The Bikini Shop facilitates the breakdown of sexual and class boundaries.

The beach also provides the opportunity for rejuvenation and the blurring of boundaries in Where the Boys Are '84. In the movie, Sandra (Wendy Schaal) reluctantly accompanies her college friends to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for spring break, disappointed to be missing out on the trip she had planned to a more sophisticated vacation spot, Bermuda. Seeing the masses of semi-naked college students spilling out on the beach, her friend Jennie (Lisa Hartman) exclaims, "It's a supermarket of sex!" But Sandra describes the carefree environment as a "zoo" and insists that a girl should only date bankers, lawyers, and doctors. But these prejudices against the nonprofessional classes disappear during her beach vacation, during which she dates a police officer -- a lowly civil servant.

The similarly stereotyped affluent snob Barbara (Chantal) in Summer Job also relaxes her prejudices during her time working at a beach resort. At the beginning of the film, she sourly explains that her "daddy" made her apply for the menial resort job to build her character. Barbara arrives at the resort with a personal assistant and treats all her fellow employees like crap. But by the end of the movie, Barbara has befriended many of the other employees and has even taken to dating the equally stereotypical geek Herman (George O).

Class is not the only social category dissolved at the beach. In Spring Break, Nelson (David Knell) gradually gains the courage to defy his overbearing stepfather during his college vacation, turning the familial hierarchy on its head. Sandra lets her own inhibitions collapse in Where the Boys Are '84 when she allows herself to get drunk and perform a table-top striptease in a bar, literally stripping off her self-imposed restrictions.

The characters in '80s bikini movies often face a significant life change: Alan's impending marriage and career, Sandra's college graduation and entry into upper-class society. Their deviation to the beach is often portrayed as a last escape, the last chance to enjoy the frivolity of youth before entering the real world. Hovering between life stages, the liminal break offers a chance for necessary personal growth.

Typically, the characters return to society having absorbed the necessary lessons, but sometimes, they don't. In The Bikini Shop, Alan chooses to remain in the liminal space of the beach rather than return to his responsibility-filled life with his fiancée. Alan simply refuses to grow up. Here, the beach film positions liminality as a utopia, where one can permanently escape the pressing obligations of adult society. Such a resolution perhaps explains the modest popularity of '80s bikini movies during their heyday. What teenager wouldn't fantasize about never growing up, about spending their life surrounded by near-naked specimens, enjoying endless parties and no-strings-attached sex? Who wouldn't at least dream of rejecting the often-terrifying prospect of maturity and responsibility?

Of course, one could argue that '80s bikini movies are nothing more than sexist drivel. The endless stream of impossibly beautiful women that litter the mise en scéne of these films provide eye candy and little else. In The Bikini Shop there are several overtly sexist set pieces -- the most offensive involving the installation of one-way mirrors in the bikini shop's changing rooms. But to attack the films for negative attitudes toward women would be to take them far more seriously than they ever took themselves. Like the beach in these films, '80s bikini movies themselves are a liminal space inviting us to suspend such judgments and providing us with a foray into irresponsibility, careless fun and good times. In this world, the abundance of naked women is not sexist; it's just refreshingly free of political correctness. The free exchange of sex is not irresponsible; it's just fun. And the idea that we, like Alan, can live out our days on the beach? Well, that's just great.

Bikini Blabble

2008-09-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of Facebook you'll probably like this new Facebook application called Blabble. Loads of fun for you and your friends.

French beaches Vs Topless Sunbathing

2008-08-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

According to reports coming from France, sunbathers on the Cote d'Azur, who once adopted a "laissez faire" attitude to nakedness, have turned against displaying too much bare flesh.

Even regulars at La Voile Rouge beach club on Pampelonne's Beach, in St. Tropez, where it all started shortly after the actress' film And God Created Woman, prefer to keep their top on.

The development has sparked a minor debate in the country which has always prided itself on being less prudish than its Anglo-Saxon neighbours.

For some it is simply a change in fashion, for others it marks a new conservatism sweeping France. Yet others say it is to do with increased health concerns about skin cancer and sensitivities to the growing Muslim community.

"It is seen as a bit vulgar now," said Sabina Hourdin, 38, from Paris, holidaying in St Tropez. "It is like mini-skirts. You don't show your legs any more, you cover them up more.

"In the 70s and 80s less was considered more when it came to clothes but now that has changed. It has gone out of fashion."

But a spokesman for the health ministry put the cover up down to cancer concerns.

"Whereas people once thought nothing of exposing their flesh to the sun for many hours, people are generally a lot more sensible nowadays.

"This is certainly the case as regards women who are very conscious of the risks of exposure to bright sunshine."

Geraldine Doree, a 34-year-old publishing executive from Paris who was enjoying the beach at St Tropez, said: "In the past the whole place would have been filled with topless women, but people are a lot more sensible nowadays.

"The health risk is very great, and people prefer to cover up for longer periods. It might also be that people are now more aware of the offence topless sunbathing might cause.

"There are many Muslims in the south of France who might find such a sight upsetting."

In the past La Voile Rouge - or Red Sail - was described a seaside sanctuary of "French aristocracy that has no qualms seating a grandmother in a Chanel pantsuit next to a topless-teenager having Chandon sipped from her belly button".

It was here that Princess Grace and Brigette Bardot would arrive by yacht in the 1950s when it was little more than a fishing shack.

Now it is lined with beach clubs and bars and known for its gorgeous women and Mediterranean playboys.

There is even a makeshift catwalk for them to sashay down in the middle of the space.

Bikini Runways

2008-06-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Swimwear should suit body, not trends

2008-06-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

Swimwear should suit body, not trends, says fashion model Monika Schnarre.

TORONTO — Elegantly clad in all black and peep-toe heels, it's hard to imagine anything could look less than flattering on Monika Schnarre.

But the statuesque former supermodel recently spoke candidly of one swimwear look that wasn't among her best - the boy short.

"I looked back at pictures from the cottage, and it was in a really bright print - and I've got a booty," recalled the six-foot-two Schnarre. "It didn't look good. It wasn't good for me."

"There are skirted options, which I think are really flattering, but that's where someone has to be really honest with you, and say, 'It's not working, Monika. You're really not rocking out the boy short."'

Schnarre said while it's tempting to snap up the trendy new item off the rack, sometimes what's hot doesn't necessarily work for everyone - and that's OK.

"I've always said in fashion, it doesn't matter what the trends are, you should wear what looks best on you, regardless of what's in," she said. "If skinny jeans don't look good on you, don't wear them."

The Toronto-based beauty, who has graced the covers of Vogue and pages of the famed Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, is suiting up once again - this time as the face of a Canadian brand making a comeback.

Following a decade-long hiatus, Sea Queen is relaunching with a new swimwear line designed to fit women 35 and older.

But the 37-year-old Schnarre said the pieces are "not your old lady swimsuits" and that the collection incorporates looks inspired by the runway.

Among the one-piece, two-piece and tankini suits that comprise the line, the swimsuits include bold accents like belts, metallics and exotic tiger and jungle prints.

When trying to find the right size, Schnarre said the focus should be on the fit rather than the number on the tag, which may not match up to what you normally wear in clothes.

"If you wear something that's too tight, it can work in clothing, maybe, but in a swimsuit it's not forgiving, and you don't want any digging into the skin," she said.

"And don't get hung up on the size. If you're a size 6, you might want an 8 or a 10 just because again, you don't want cutting into the skin. It's not flattering."

For those with a larger bust, Schnarre suggests trying out a halter which is adjustable, thus allowing you as much or as little support as you need, while women with a smaller bustline may want a little enhancement in the form of a bra.

Among the features in the Sea Queen line is a built-in bra with malleable moulded cups featuring flexible underwires touted as being able to keep their shape in and out of the water.

For a more boyish figure, Schnarre said ruching can create some curve as well as a beautiful waistline.

And while belts can be a stylish addition, in the case of women who are petite with a slim build, the empire waist may be a better option because it gives the illusion of looking taller, Schnarre said.

"If you're quite short, I think that a belt on the waist would just cut you in half," she said.

"But up here, (it) creates the illusion of a waistline and a longer torso," she added, motioning to a suit featuring the empire waist.

As for accessories, Schnarre likes to infuse a little glamour in her swimwear look by wearing heels around the pool which helps to elongate the leg, in addition to donning a hat and sunscreen.

But she stresses that whatever bathing suit buyers opt to pick up, their focus should be on selecting something that looks great on you - no matter what's considered "in."

"If a one-piece is in, but you look better in a bikini, rock the bikini, it doesn't matter," she said. "It's all about looking your best."

Additional tips on how to flaunt assets, minimize flaws with right swimwear

For a woman with...

A large chest: Look for suits with underwire, soft cups with wider straps for best support.

A small chest: Look for suits with detailing and pattern on top which will give the illusion of a larger chest. Two-piece bathing swimsuits are also a great way to enhance the bust.

Full hips: Try a suit with a skirt to visually even out your line. Printed top with solid coloured bottoms also help draw the eye upward.

A tummy: Look for suits that have a built-in tummy control and those with ruching or a crossover design to help camouflage your midsection.

A short torso: Try a bikini to elongate your body. Two-piece swimsuits with lower cut bottoms give the illusion of a longer torso.

A long torso: Try suits that give you a balance effect. A deeply-cut neckline, higher waisted and higher cut bottoms help make the torso appear shorter.

Bikinis made of Salmon Skin

2008-06-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that salmon's scaly skin could be so useful, or become a fashion statement one day? Claudia did. She also saw a source of cheap raw material in the masses of salmon skin discarded worldwide every year.

Her Lycra-trimmed, ultra-mini salmon-skin bikini, which she describes as durable and elastic, and trousers have now become wardrobe must haves of most celebs.

“Many people who lived near rivers and oceans have used fish throughout history. It's not my original idea,” she told a British website. “It’s amazing, it’s a used product and you transform it into a product with added value.”

These days Escobar is busy scouring the local markets looking for materials to go with sheep wool. Why? Because she has just returned from a trip to pick up wool shed by sheep in the Scottish islands. She is already excited about developing something traditional using the wool.

Bollywood Divas in Bikinis

2008-06-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Kareena Kapoor started off a fashion trend when she dropped a few kilos to get into a bikini for Tashan.

Soha Ali Khan raised eyebrows and even upset her protective big brother Saif Ali Khan when she got herself a sexy look for a magazine cover. After years of playing the good girl, Amisha Patel got a brand new look for her cameo in Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic.
Telly bahus Sangeeta Ghosh and Shweta Salve have chucked their good girl image and are looking bold, brazen and ravishing in their debut film, Bhanvra. Even petite Amrita Rao seems to have finally gotten tired after playing girl next-door and tries to get herself a glam makeover, while even Priyanka Chopra gets into the beach babe mood in Dostana.

What makes Bollywood divas get glam and shed clothes and their conservative screen image almost overnight? “What’s wrong about showing off a bit skin? Actresses have been wearing skimpy clothes for years, we are more casual about it now,” says actress Sangeeta Ghosh. “I did ‘bold scenes’ because the script demanded that,” points out Sangeeta. “I believe that if you are comfortable then there is nothing wrong in it. I always do things that I believe are right for me,” chips in Shweta, who has done some ‘hot, hot’ bikini scenes in her debut film.

But do filmmakers want their leading ladies to look ‘glam and sexy’ or do the actresses offer to flaunt skin? “Of course, the filmmaker asked me to wear a bikini and I had no reservations,” says Shweta. The only problem — shrugging off a glam image is not easy.

Ask Mallika Sherawat, Neha Dhupia, Celina Jaitley and their ilk, how they have been caught in that image trap for years now. “No film works because the leading lady is wearing skimpy clothes. Ultimately, you have to act,” affirms Sangeeta. It is official, every top star from Rani Mukerji to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have got into the glam mode more than once in recent times to woo the audience. It becomes a matter of surging ahead of competitors. Malaika Arora Khan feels it is “very important to keep changing one’s image because this is the only way you will sustain in this business”.

In the race to look glam and scorching, actresses seem to have no qualms about shedding a few inhibitions, if it brings them rich returns. So, who’s next on the going glam brigade, we wonder!

Does the bikini have too much hype?

2008-06-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

The evolution of the bikini has been interesting.

Now, the bikini is almost a prized piece of art. There’s great fascination around its history, invention and evolution. The bikini was invented to create a fashion sensation. Wow, it’s always got a great reaction! That said, there is a practical aspect in that, it’s much simpler to get in and out of a two-piece than a regular swim costume. Historically, during war time, rationing textile made it more efficient to wear a bikini. It was a dramatic change and made the bikini socially acceptable. That’s what led to the glamourization of two-piece swim costumes. It should be considered that the one-piece costume caused a very similar reaction in the 1910-1930 period, as women were seen for the first time with bare legs, active and outdoors. Glamour women in a bikini had arrived and were making a sensation. When stars like Brigitte Bardot and Ursula Andress began wearing the bikini, the star factor attached itself to their clothing. To feel as glamorous as a movie star, it made perfect sense to copy what they wore.

There is evidence of bikini-shaped garments from antiquity -- Greek images on urns and Roman mosaics depict women athletes wearing what is essentially the modern bikini. The bandeau top is functional and acts as a brassiere for athletes -- ancient and modern. The best-known version of the story is that engineer Louis Reard and fashion designer Jacques Heim invented the ‘Bikini’ in 1946 in Paris -- and named it for the atomic bombs being tested in the Bikini Atoll of the Pacific in July of that year. Apparently, they thought it would cause a similar explosive reaction. Heim & Reard’s ‘Bikini’ was actually quite daring, with a high cut string bottom, although the version that eventually became popular. Gradually, as it became acceptable in Western society to bare the midriff, bikinis have become smaller, and sometimes leave out the top altogether--see Rudi Gernreich’s edgy (and not very popular!) ‘Monokini’. Different styles are acceptable in different places -- a beach in Brazil is different to one in North America.

Fashion wise, the two-piece or bikini just follows the development of the 20th century. First it became acceptable for women to bathe in the sea, and woolen swimming dresses emerged; as women began to assert themselves as athletic and advances were made in fabric technology,synthetic one-piece costumes developed. The next logical step was the simpler two-piece. It’s popularity has in- creased in proportion to the popularity of sunbathing, swimming, beach holidays, and other aspects of modern life. Hence, bikini wars started. To a point, where the bikini became an obsession!

"Men think the bikini is the most sensual garment." - Suneet Varma, Fashion Designer.

The bikini is nothing but a three piece triangle. It’s like the bermuda triangle, where men just lose themselves. It drives men crazy. The bikini makes men forget any other attachment they have. Essentially, the bikini was adapted from the lingerie. It’s almost like an undergarment which can be worn outside.

The evolution of the bikini triggered the inside-outside revolution. Gautlier revolutionised the bikini and corset by making his models wear them on clothes. In fact, La Perla’s colourful bikini tops are worn only under transparent shirts, to show-off. The fashion interpretation of the bikini has been over-glamourised. Now, I see women on Miami beaches wearing bikini briefs with sexy halter tops. I agree, bikini’s the most seductive piece of clothing ever invented.

It has an emotional, physical and metaphysical dimension to it. It can be sensual, sporty, seductive all at the same time. When it’s sporty, bikini’s construction is not so exhibitionist! Most men I know, find it the most exciting piece of garment. Iconic images of a bikini always arouse great curiosity. Men and bikinis have a unique, interesting relationship -- it’s pure erotica. That’s why bikini has been over-glamourised because it’s the briefest garment in the world. The bikini has changed the shape and style of fashion. There’s nothing sexier than the itsy-bitsy, teenie weenie bikini!

HAPPINESS = SWIMSUIT SHOPPING

2008-06-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about you. If you haven't bought your swimsuit yet or aren't crazy about the one you grabbed, this is your week. The fast and furious markdowns are starting, making now the time to get out there and find a suit that makes you feel so fabulous you could skip to the snack bar in it.

And, I can assure you: This year, it's out there.

Never before have I witnessed a summer when designers served up so many completely different swimsuit silhouettes. It's as if they finally realized that women come in different shapes and sizes.

I won't bore you with the suits you've already seen (tankinis) or the styles made for those without an ounce of body fat or self-consciousness (can you say "mono-kini"?), but I do want to point out the styles that offer most real women a completely new chance for flattery and comfort poolside.

Although these suits would certainly flatter a woman who typically wears a string bikini, they're especially good news for the truly swimsuit-phobic.

The swimdress: It sounds awful, but top swimwear designers like Gottex and Donna Karan and even junior lines like A.N.A at JCPenney are turning this retro idea into a cute, swingy, slightly clingy style that skims your thighs and backside in an oh-so-flattering and not-too-revealing way. Some versions are one-pieces with pants sewn in; others are two. All are less daunting than a traditional, high-cut tank.

The longer tankini: Instead of stopping at the waist (not every woman's smallest part), some newer tankinis have a fit-and-flared shape that skims out over your hips. Those with a halter-style top look sleek, chic … not at all like you're trying to hide something.

The retro bikini: Some of the newest-looking two-pieces are vintage in inspiration. The upshot is that they have much higher waistbands than we've seen in years, offering a way to wear two pieces without revealing an area that some of us consider a problem spot.

Surf skirts and board shorts: The board shorts that guys have been wearing to the pool for the last few seasons are crossing over. The "hers" versions are much shorter than his, but the bold colors and looser cut offer a fashion-forward way to get more coverage for your bottom half. Layering them over a bikini bottom (that's peeking out from the waistband) makes them look less body-camouflage. Newer yet are the mini "board skirts" -- made of similar fabrics and in a similar, baggy cut ... but as cute little skirts that you could wear almost anywhere.
Tales from the dressing room: We try on and tell all

What we're all really looking for is not just a perfect swimsuit … but a swimsuit that gives us a perfect body. And, if you've been in the swimsuit department lately, you know there are plenty of brands promising just that. Their tags assure you that they'll take off 10 pounds, trim an inch off your waist, and lift and rearrange your body in ways no body-sculpting class ever could. But is this fashion hype … or reason for hope?

We sent two of our favorite Scene shoppers, Christa Ritchie and Maisy Fernandez, and two celebrity testers, Lynda Lambert and Jenny G. from the Lambert and Lindsey morning show on 102.3 The Max (where I chat about fashion every Tuesday morning), into the dressing rooms to test and tell.

THE TESTER: CHRISTA RITCHIE

The Miracle Suit (at Dillard's and Macy's): "The Miracle Suit's tag said 'ten pounds in ten seconds' and it definitely felt like it did that. People warned me that it would feel like a girdle, but I wouldn't say it was that uncomfortable. It was like pulling on a pair of Spanx, but the tightness didn't bother me. It did what it said. And I liked the ruching and the low-cut neckline. It didn't look like a suit my grandma would wear."

The Magic Suit (Macy's): "This one promises to make you look 7 pounds lighter … and that was about right. It had less of that suck-you-in feeling and a little less support than the Miracle Suit. But it worked too. It's a better choice for someone who wants the slimming without the tightness."

Coco Reef (Macy's): "These suits didn't make specific claims and they didn't have the waist-slimming action -- but they are made for women with larger chests. They came in cup sizes from C to double D, and they really were very supportive and really cute.

Comment: "You do have to pay attention to how these suits reshape you. Sometimes they squeeze you in one area and it does kind of distort you in another. Make sure you check yourself from every angle."

THE TESTER: MAISY FERNANDEZ

Profile by Gottex (Macy's): "It doesn't promise to shave off 10 pounds, but it does accentuate the shape you already have -- great if you have an hourglass figure. More important, it does the job comfortably."

Great Lengths (Macy's): "This brand is made a bit longer in the torso to prevent riding up, and it has a tummy-tucking feature. I tried the wrap style, and it really did nip in my waist. However, the leg openings cut almost straight across, making my legs look shorter."

THE TESTER: LYNDA LAMBERT

Anne Cole Shirred Front Tankini (Dillard's): "This was my favorite. It wasn't called a shaper officially, but it has the built-in bra and padding -- so it had good support. It also had a good fit overall and was cute and comfortable. I didn't feel like I was wearing armor. I could actually swim in this."

The Magic Bra Swimsuit (Dillard's): "I tried these on with my mother … and this was her favorite on me. It did flatter and support my chest, unlike a lot of two-pieces."

Comment: "I had a problem with some of the hardware on suits and the positioning of the hardware. I think they'd produce weird tan lines, and some of them hurt."

THE TESTER: JENNY G.

Adjustable Roxy Halter Bikini (Macy's): "I really loved this suit. The closure on the back of the halter was really secure, and there was enough coverage in the front. The bottom wasn't too skimpy and I liked the side ties because you can adjust them. The bright prints shout 'summer.' "

Lucky Brand Bikini (Macy's): "This didn't have specific claims, but the top was surprisingly supportive for a bikini."

Comment: "I agree with Lynda that you have to be careful about some of the hardware on the suits. Some of the suits I saw had belts and buckles near the waistline that were just unflattering."

Summer Bikini Trends and Comfort

2008-06-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Suddenly summer is upon us and it's time to start donning your swimming suit. Those who worked out this winter and stayed in shape can show off all they want in a little bikini. But for those who want more coverage, there's a large selection of tankinis, long tops -- some that are flared -- with boy-leg shorts.

Most manufacturers now offer two-piece bathing suits with the tops and bottoms priced separately, allowing a customized fit.

"The one-piece swimsuits with cutouts are selling well," said Vickie Smith, who works in the swimwear department at Dillard's in Wichita, Kan.

She also said that the tankini styles that are categorized by bra size are selling well "because getting a top to fit can be the biggest problem some women have when it comes to buying a swimsuit."

Clare Brown, head of buying at figleaves.com, an online swimwear shopping site, says "bright colors -- a trend that reinvents itself every year -- include zingy greens joining last summer's corals and lemons."

Metallic fabrics, animal prints and every size of polka dots you can imagine are other trends you'll see.

Swimwear featuring lingerie touches such as lace, bustier styling and ribbon trims are very feminine.

Turquoise blue is one of the hottest saturated colors for swimwear and beach accessories this year. But don't be surprised to see a wide range of brown shades, usually accented with brights.

"Retro looks such as high-waisted briefs are key for the summer. The one-piece is making a big return -- from revealing high-fashion cutaways to sophisticated, figure-flattering suits," Brown said.

Frilly and feminine, or sleek and sporty, there's a swimsuit that will take you poolside through the summer.

Princess Tam-Tam Bikini

2008-06-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Mention Princess Tam-Tam to movie buffs and they will immediately regale you with stories of the classic 1935 black and white film starring Josephine Baker, who plays a Tunisian girl introduced to Parisien high society.

Mention Princess Tam-Tam to lingerie fans in the know and they will go into paroxisms of praise about the French range of ultra-sexy underwear. Many of us have bought it online or swooped on one of their gorgeous shops while on holidays in France. In fact, that is one of the noticable features of French fashion shopping -- the number of lingerie shops in ratio to shoe, bag and fashion boutiques. Clearly, French women realise the importance of dressing well, from the first layer out.

The good news for Irish shoppers is that Princess Tam-Tam swimwear is now available exclusively at Arnotts in Henry Street, Dublin. Their white bikini (see overpage) has proved hugely popular this year and you can shop to suit your shape, with bandeau tops or sexy triangles and bottoms that come in boy shorts styles or regular bikini briefs.

Kay Casey, swimwear buyer at Arnotts, reports intense interest in the co-ordinated pieces, such as loose parachute trousers, flattering tunics and co-ordinated pool shoes.

If you like your swimsuit to have a strong, structured feel, I suggest you check out the Gottex summer offerings, which will definitely create poolside or beach drama (see above), and this architectural fashion feel is also evident in the Louis Féraud range, which has fascinating cut-out pieces.

Former actress-turned-celebrity spokeswoman and swimwear designer, Elizabeth Hurley's black bikini is not cheap at €130, but it will a be work of art guaranteed to turn heads. That's for sure. The Miss Sixty swimwear pieces are bright and beautiful, with hot pink prints on black backgrounds.

If you feel you need a little coaxing to get back into swimwear, try Miraclesuits, exclusive to Arnotts. The marketing claim is that you will look 10 pounds lighter when you pull them on and this is reportedly due to Miratax, a patented fabric that has three times more Lycra than fabric in other swimsuits. There are cuts to flatter your legs and give the illusion of slimmer hips.

A little like creating your own pizza to suit your tastes, you can choose a suit to match your body type and play up or down your best and worst features.

Bikini Tree

2008-06-11T14:36:00.001-07:00

Bikini Barmaids

2008-06-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Folks steamed over barmaids in bikinis:

The south sound communities of Auburn, Lakewood and now Bonney Lake have each been stirred up by the scantily-clad fashion statements made by local coffee stands, the Tacoma News Tribune has reported.

This is nothing new for us in Kitsap, whose residents have already confronted "pastie Tuesdays," at Espresso Gone Wild in Gorst and the hot pink pants of Natte Latte nearby. Other stands around here have also featured promotional "bikini" days.

But are these kinds of stands, where "bikini baristas" foam your double tall lattes wearing next to nothing, breaking the law? So wondered the News Tribune, who was told that the three cities who had complaints did look into the law-breaking aspect.

There appear to be three areas of law that cities have examined: one that protects the barista (labor laws), and two that protect the consumer -- criminal indecent exposure laws, and health code violations.

So far, city and county governments have found no clear violations on any front. But just in case you're curious, take a look at the statute on indecent exposure in Washington:

"A person is guilty of indecent exposure if he or she intentionally makes any open and obscene exposure of his or her person or the person of another knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm."

Regardless of how this law looks, it is possible that critics of the stands might find a lawmaker to take up the cause -- and pass a new law. A somewhat similar situation occurred in Texas a few years back when state legislators attempted to pass guidelines in an effort to cover up cheerleaders.

Here in Kitsap, there's been no such controversy quite like those of the south sound. When asked about the stand for a February Kitsap Sun story, Kitsap County Sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilson said this:

"I'm sure a lot of people consider this titillating. Unless we get a complaint or we physically view it ourselves and say, 'This is over the line,' we're not going to do anything about it."

Kelly Brook is Best Bikini Body

2008-06-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Kelly Brook has been named as the star with the best bikini body in a new poll, beating Halle Berry and Elle MacPherson to the top spot.

The poll, which was conducted by Debenhams’ department store, has included 2000 participants that answered the question who had the best ever bikini body.
Kelly Brook, who was 28-year-old beauty leads the poll. She was followed by Halle Berry, who infamously appeared topless in the film “Swordfish” and showed off her bikini body in the James Bond film “Die Another Day” came second.
Ursula Andress, who is now 72 and starred in the film “Dr. No” in 1962, came in third. Underwear queen Elle MacPherson was fourth, while Raquel Welch came fifth - just ahead of Marilyn Monroe.

Debenhams’ top five bikini bodies:

1. Kelly Brook
2. Halle Berry
3. Ursula Andress
4. Elle MacPherson
5. Raquel Welch

Old bikini styles new again

2008-06-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

As swimsuit season approaches, women are discovering that many of this summer’s suits represent a sharp turnaround from the crass arrangement of string and sequins that in recent years has made the Hamptons shore look like a Vegas sideshow.

Probably for the first time since Lindsay Lohan was born, fashion designers, from the high-end likes of Miuccia Prada and Stella McCartney to mainstream classics like Jantzen, have taken a more refined approach to swimwear, emphasizing one-piece looks, halter tops, high-waist boy shorts and ruffles and ruching as camouflaging details.

Jantzen’s most popular look this season is a sassily ruched one-piece, updated in lifeguard red and now called the Vamp, which would seem to encourage accessorizing with a cigarette and a martini more than a Pilatesstick.

“The extra coverage feels really right,” said the designer Shoshanna Gruss. “What more people are realizing is that these shapes are beautiful, and more women can wear these. More is more.”

Now one could argue that the covered-up direction in swimwear has something to do with the tanking economy (ahem, tankini), or perhaps it is a precautionary statement against too much sun exposure.

More likely, such looks have come around again for the same reason they were popular a half-century ago. As the Macy’s window display of historic Jantzen suits would suggest, leaving a little to the imagination imparts a lot of allure. Care for an example? A black lace suit from 1954 was called the Man Trap.

Whats hot in 2008?

2008-06-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Zimmermann McKenzies floral frill bikini, $209 at Saks. Bubble crepe swim cap, $5.40 at allswim.com; John Galliano high-waist bikini, $300 at Saks Fifth Avenue. Karen Walker Eyewear sunglasses, $200 at gargyle.com. Floral bucket bag, $875 at Stella McCartney. Dean Harris pyrite ring, $2,300 at Barneys; Abaeté halter swimsuit, $255 at abaete.com. Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses, $100 at Opening Ceremony. Patricia von Musulin hand-carved Lucite bangle, $600, and ring, $280.

Karla Colletto halter swimsuit with boy legs, $237 at Bergdorf Goodman. Silk petal hat, $755 at Marni. Patricia von Musulin hand-carved ebony and sterling silver cuff, $800, and bangle, $900.

Jantzen strapless Vamp swimsuit, $100 at macys.com. Marni resin, wood and leather necklace, $1,143 at Marni, and silk petal bag, $1,085 at Barneys New York.

Le Truc embroidered bikini, $292 at Breeze in Brooklyn. Karen Walker Eyewear sunglasses, $170 at Bird in Brooklyn. Vintage Patricia von Musulin hand-carved ivory earrings, $1,400, and bird’s-eye maple ram’s head cuff, $3,200, both with sterling silver inlay.

Suggestive, not skimpy

2008-06-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

You probably think that Hollywood stars, with their toned figures, would dazzle audiences in skimpy swimsuits, but Hollywood’s most memorable caught-on-film bathing-suit moments are more suggestive than revealing, according to model-turned-stylist Lawrence Zarian.

“What’s so sexy about a swimsuit is the imagination,” says Zarian, the host of TV Guide Network’s “The Fashion Team.” “When it comes to fashion, we’re too often giving the goods away.”

The best on-screen suits come from a generation ago, avoiding today’s emphasis on shocking amounts of skin.

“You see plain girls with enhanced breasts showing off,” Zarian says. “Sex sells, but it comes and goes. Sensuality lasts a lifetime.”

Zarian’s top Hollywood swimsuit looks:

•Deborah Kerr in “From Here to Eternity” (1953)

Kerr’s black halter-neck swimsuit with boy-short bottoms was feminine without being risque, Zarian says. “That kiss scene is heralded as one of the most romantic scenes on film ever. It was a modest one-piece, but the scene just oozed sexuality.”

•Farrah Fawcett’s pinup poster (1976)

Zarian thinks her red one-piece, tank-style bathing suit, pictured below, was the inspiration for the “Baywatch” suits that came 20 years later. The front wasn’t all that low cut and the leg openings certainly weren’t high cut, but you were still left with the feeling you saw something you shouldn’t have.

“It was the first time we saw nipples, yet everything was covered,” he notes.

•Jacqueline Bisset in “The Deep” (1977)

Having her mostly covered in a white T-shirt contributed to the mystique, Zarian says. “When you put a sexy figure in water, it adds to the senses.”

•Bo Derek in “10” (1979)

Derek’s actual swimsuit isn’t all that revealing: It’s a one-piece tank-style suit, although the straps are pretty thin. The sexy part is the flesh color and that she’s wet, according to Zarian.

“She was the fantasy of everyone — men and women. ... Yes, the bathing suit was a little too tight, but that was the point of the movie, the ‘Perfect 10.’ I loved the late ’70s!”

•Halle Berry in “Die Another Day” (2002)

Berry donned a similar — albeit orange — bikini to Ursula Andress in the original James Bond film “Dr. No” in 1962, complete with a belt to hold her knife, but Zarian says that Berry’s dark skin made a stronger statement.

Paris Hilton in a Bikini

2008-03-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

For more about Paris Hilton, read her biography.

Burger King Bikinis

2007-06-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

Burger King to fight decision on bikini ad complaints

Should the bikini girls be banned?

Burger King is to appeal against an Advertising Standards Authority decision upholding complaints against two of the fast-food company's TV ads.

After a number of complaints, the authority found the advertisements for two different burgers, each featuring three bikini-clad women, breached an advertising code of practice forbidding the use of sex appeal simply to draw attention to a product.

Burger King said yesterday it would appeal the decision, which had caused the two "highly popular" advertisements to be withdrawn.

Marketing manager Megan Denize said she was disappointed the commercials had had to be withdrawn as they had received approval from the Television Commercial Approvals Bureau before being broadcast.

Burger King had used an independent research company to track responses to the advertisements for the past seven months. The results from more than 700 consumers aged between 15 and 49 showed most of them either "liked or loved" the commercials.

"We believe this is a much better indicator of community reaction than the small number of complaints received by the Advertising Standards Complaints Board," Ms Denize said.

In one advertisement, the women in bikinis ride horseback on the beach, then - still in bikinis - are depicted in workplaces including an office and a laboratory, before riding horseback to a Burger King outlet.

Complainants said the style was extremely sexually suggestive and "indecent", degrading to women and could best be described as "soft porn".

Trimming around the bikini line

2007-06-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

I was recently out at my apartment complex’s pool, soaking up some sun with a few friends, when one made a comment about the hair around my nether region. I was totally embarrassed and shocked that she was looking at my bikini line. So now I’m concerned about it and totally uncomfortable putting on my suit, period. What should I do? - Hairy Girl

Dear Hairy Girl:

Now that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, it is officially summer. And summer officially signifies the time to wear tank tops, sundresses and bikinis. The thing about bikinis is that they just don’t cover up much. Any excess flab or soft curves are visible (though a little color from the sun help shade this), as well as any stray body hairs (sun is not helpful for these). The truth is, everyone has body hair. Some have more than others and some people dislike that hair more than others.
In Europe, for the most part, they let it run wild. Got a little tuft, no big deal. In South America and the Middle East, they tend to get rid of all body hair — arms, legs and other regions — all smooth. Here in the states, we’re probably somewhere in the middle. It’s not necessary to make your entire body as smooth as a baby’s butt, but it’s also unacceptable to have private hair hanging out of your bikini zone. Truly, it’s what you are personally comfortable with that should be your standard, but I’m sensing from your question that you are not comfy with what you’ve got.

So, what’s a girl to do? You have oh-so-many options, my dear. Most common options: You can trim it (easy, but still a bit noticeable), shave it (causes quite the itch), use a depilatory cream (can cause a burn while using) or wax it (painful, but works well). The first three options are all self-administered and you can try them out at home anytime. Actually, waxing can also be do-it-yourself, but you have to be pretty good at yoga to remove the hair from all the right spots. Most ladies that wax go to a salon to do so. The thing is, you have to get over the thought of someone seeing you “down there” and also decide how much you want to remove.
I’ll admit it’s painful, but a good waxer will help ease the pain in many ways. If you’re not sure where to go, there’s a laundry list of places in the phone book. But I’ll tell you a few you can try out off the top of my head — Modish, La Dolce Vita, Aqua Salon or Spa Deus. Best of luck figuring out what works best for you and enjoy the summer.

Bust is a top priority when shopping

2007-06-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

Swimwear designer offers advice on finding right style to suit you

NEW YORK - For most women, shopping for a bathing suit is not on top of their list of favorite things to do. There are unflattering lights to deal with, flashes of skin left dull and dry by the winter and sizing that seems to make no sense, bringing up all sorts of body image issues.

The least swimsuit manufacturers can do is offer a full range of shapes and styles, upping the odds that eventually shoppers will find the best one, right?

Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss thought so. But as a tween and then a teen, Gruss struggled finding a suit that would fit a frame that was petite everywhere but her bust. When she chose a career in fashion design, she made rethinking bathing suits a priority.

``It didn't make sense that swimsuits were in sets. You wouldn't buy your lingerie in sets,'' she said.

On a recent browsing expedition through the swimwear department at the flagship Bloomingdale's on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Gruss pointed out that many companies now offer bathing suit separates and tops based on bust size, as her line does, instead of dress size.

She's not claiming to be the first designer to do these things but she does think the rapid growth of her swimwear collection since it was introduced in 2001 certainly helped nudge the industry forward.

She began with only a handful of bikini styles and it has grown to include 40 prints each season, tankinis and one-piece suits, which she added after she became a mother in 2005.

Gruss thinks she owes that success to not only understanding her customers but also because she is a customer.

``I remember being here with my mom. I looked 29 when I'd put on a bathing suit because the styles that fit me were either too old, too sexy or nothing fit. That was the worst feeling in the world when you're 13,'' she recalled.

Because she was athletic and wanted to be able to move around without worrying about falling out of her bathing suit, she often resorted to a big baggy sweat shirt as a cover-up that rarely came off. Again, not really a look coveted by teens.

Gruss went to the University of California Los Angeles -- bathing-suit country -- and earned degrees in history and art history. Then she went to work at a lingerie factory to learn about fabric, construction and design. Her personal experience as a hard-to-fit figure has influenced everything she's done since launching the Shoshanna label in 1998.

She first produced sundresses because they were easier to market. In 2001, when she introduced swimwear, it was a personally important moment. Then, following the birth of her daughter with husband Josh Gruss, she added children's swimwear under the label of Shoshanna BabyGirl.

Now that she's 31, Gruss is looking for something different from her bathing suits than she did in her sexier single days. She's still trim and petite -- and she's still busty -- but now she needs to be able carry around her daughter, build sand castles and even dive into the water on little Sienna's command. However, she doesn't want to sacrifice style.

Gruss is, after all, part of the socialite set that is photographed regularly, including when she's at play in the Hamptons and elsewhere. For a recent -- and childless -- trip to Jamaica for a wedding, Gruss packed five suits: a pink gingham triangle bikini, two bandeau bikinis, a black eyelet bikini with a halter top and a white eyelet one with a strapless bra top.

``This is to look cool in front of my friends. If my daughter was coming, I'd have a one piece.''

The Bloomingdale's tour starts in her own section. Gruss emphasized that her tops, both for one-piece and two-piece suits, are offered with A-DDD cup sizes in either petite/small or medium/large back widths, similar to bras. (The line is primarily intended for women who wear a dress size of 0-12.)

By using an underwire bra construction with 26 components, including boning on the sides, silicone gripper tape at the top and a classic hook-and-eye closure in the back, Gruss is confident her strapless tops will stay up on women of all bust sizes. They won't flatten a large chest nor slip down on a small one, she said.

When you're in the dressing room, stand up, sit down and move your arms to make sure the suit fits, she said. ``If you think you might fall out in the dressing room, it's definitely not a suit for racing or swimming laps.''

Gruss thinks a teenager might gravitate toward a halter top, perhaps in eyelet or a madras print, because that silhouette offers the most coverage if she chooses to play a little beach volleyball or actually swim.

Conversely, though, the coverage from a halter might also appeal to an older woman who isn't interested in baring as much as she used to.

That doesn't mean this woman isn't sexy, Gruss said. She said a halter-style one piece, especially one with ruching and boning -- both tools to give support and flatter one's figure -- conjures up images of Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s.

A triangle top, especially as part of a string bikini, defines your shape for you, Gruss said, so it works well for a woman who feels her breasts are of unequal size. Also, she said, since it's often adjustable at the neck, it's appealing for someone looking for a little lift.

In general, suits with higher backs have more support, and crisscross straps are sturdier than tank straps.

Gruss pointed out a green one-piece by La Blanca with a shirred bodice, which hides a multitude of flaws, and then a Michael Kors one-piece with a plunging V front that's laced together with a chain.

The Kors suit creates the ``illusion of perfection,'' she said, because who else would dare wear such a risque suit than a perfect woman?

Except that, upon close examination, it's not that racy. Gruss highlighted the high back, built-in cups and full-coverage bottom.

The tankini is a phenomenon that Gruss doesn't quite get. She sees the appeal of a sportier style but it often comes off as a little matronly, she said. If you're going to wear one, make sure the top meets or covers the bottom and try a youthful, trend-right baby-doll style.

Gruss identified other key looks for the summer of 2007: geometric or nautical prints that have a 1970s jet-set vibe; the sweet sexiness of a full-coverage, Brigitte Bardot-style bikini in a gingham or eyelet fabric; or metallics. Gold, she said, is flattering on almost any skin tone.

``Swim is always all over the place but this year is very feminine, very celebratory of the body,'' Gruss said.

A fit that flatters

2007-06-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

THERE'S A SWIMSUIT FOR EVERY BODY; THE TOUGH PART IS FINDING IT

Every woman's body is different, which means that just about every body needs a different bathing suit.

The tank suit that looks so good on your neighbor might be flattering on you, too, but it might be even better if the leg were cut just a little bit higher or you went with a bandeau top instead.

Swimwear designer Lori Coulter deems there are 140 measurements relevant in choosing the best swimsuit for your body. Those measurements, taken by a digital body scanner to produce a three-dimensional image of each of her customers, are the basis of each suit produced by her company, Lori Coulter TrueMeasure.

There are 40 basic styles that can be adapted with different necklines, straps, leg heights, built-in bra types, fabrics and embellishments.

But Coulter, whose business is based in St. Louis, also says that personal style and mindset affect which bathing suit is right for you. Even a fabulous figure doesn't mean there isn't a good, better and best suit out there.

Dorothy Abrahams, a 33-year-old actress in New York, finally found the right bathing suit last year for her athletic frame - a J.Crew bikini - so she bought several on sale at the end of the season. "They elongate me. They've got lift, and the bottoms aren't too skimpy, so they're functional but look good."

Before that, she wore boy shorts. She says they're a genius idea but, surprisingly, she finds the smaller bikini bottom more flattering.

Like many women, Ellen Duffield, a 26-year-old British tourist shopping in Manhattan on a recent day, noted that her bottom is a bigger size than her top. She opts for bikini separates, usually a halter-style top and a medium coverage bottom.

According to Coulter's letter-based system of categorizing shapes, Duffield would be an "A," a narrower top and wider bottom.

A halter really is ideal for a woman with a V-shaped figure, someone who is broader on top, or an "0" shape, a full trunk often with slender arms and legs, Coulter says, but it actually works on almost anyone as long as she doesn't have very narrow shoulders.

Coulter's other recommendations, based on swimsuit shape:

A tank gives good coverage and bust support and is best suited for classic hourglass "X" figures or for "V" figures. Especially on an X, Coulter says the tank "is not a boring suit."

String bikinis are surprisingly flattering to a lot of figures. An "A," with narrow shoulders and wider hips, benefits from the smaller bottom on this kind of suit because it makes the bottom appear proportional.

The string top, with its triangles covering the bust, helps emphasize the bust and define the waist of an "H" shape, someone with an equally proportioned upper and lower torso, a straight waist and typically slender arms and legs. "An H looks great in a bikini almost all the time. You want the lower rise to elongate the waist," Coulter explains.

An "X" also can wear a string bikini if she's petite and the swimsuit isn't too skimpy.

A bandeau top is for women with a C-cup bust or smaller. It works best on H and A figures because they don't have overpowering shoulders.

A skirted suit is not Coulter's favorite silhouette on anyone, since she almost always recommends a higher leg opening to create an inverted V at the hips. But, she adds, a woman with full square hips and slim legs might find the skirt flattering.

The boy short is another style that Coulter steers women away from. "It's for the surfers or people doing athletics and have great bodies. It's hard to wear."

Coulter leaves the question of wearing a one- or two-piece suit up to the individual, since you don't really know which one will look better until you try it on.

"The one-piece is on the comeback, but if you have a great body and you want to show it off, the bikini never goes out of style."

Golden Bikini to Raise Funds for Charity

2007-06-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

eBay India, in association with Peches Lifestyles, a European lingerie brand, has launched an online auction of a bikini made of ultra fine gold fibers and embedded with 215 topaz stones weighing 50 carats and 409 rubies weighing 53 carats.

Proceeds of the sale will support the Breast Cancer Management by the Cancer Patients Aid Association. The auction starts Sunday and will close Thursday June 7.

The bikini, reported to be one of the most expensive items ever to be auctioned on the site, was created by five craftsmen in 400 hours using a fabric made from extremely thin gold fibers, each thinner than a strand of hair.

The result is an extremely flexible and elastic bikini, weighing approximately 357 grams in gold.

The cost of creating this unique ensemble was reported at over Rs. 6,000,000 ($148,000). To participate in the auction go to www.ebay.in/charity.

Bikini Hut Fashion Show at Bayside Expo in Boston

2007-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Singapore Bikini Fashion Show

2007-05-25T20:39:00.001-07:00

Bikini Models Fashion Show

2007-05-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Boston 2007 Bikini Fashion Show

2007-05-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Body Glove Girls Bikini Fashion Show

2007-05-25T20:35:00.004-07:00

Bikini Fashion Show Video

2007-05-25T20:35:00.003-07:00

Bikini Catwalk Video Pictures

2007-05-25T20:35:00.001-07:00

Gisele Bikini Fashion Show

2007-05-25T20:34:00.001-07:00

Erina Yamaguchi in Bikini

2007-05-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Bikini Karate Babes

2007-05-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Benny Benasi - Satisfaction

2007-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Top Ten Resort Wear Essentials

2007-05-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Increasing travel options and access to exotic, tropical destinations has resulted in a niche market of casual, yet fashionable, resort wear apparels that invoke relaxation whilst also offering style.

Designers have been rising to the occasion by broadening their collections to include glamorous beach wear options, casual summer cover ups and chic lounge looks, even during autumn and winter seasons. The result has been an explosion of beaded kaftans, embroidered tunics, glitzy metallic bikini’s, jewelled sandals, elegant tropical prints in natural, breathable fabrics, all depicting a lifestyle of relaxation, classic luxury and elegance.

This is the essence of resort wear. Clothing that is easy, yet glamorous, sexy whilst being understated, casual yet elegant, fun and flirty.

Organizing your vacation wardrobe can be trickier than you think. Limited by luggage size and weight, you have to be economic with your vacation clothing choices. We’ve tried to make it easy for you with our 2007 top 10 list of resort wear must-have’s to ensure that your vacation packing is a breeze.

1. a pair of lightweight, neutral tone, linen pants are essential to every vacation wardrobe and can be easily paired with a variety of tops for different looks time and again. Matched up with a brightly printed T or kaftan they can give a sophisticated look to the most casual traveller out there.

2. A tunic cover-up for beach days, afternoons around the pool, or sun-downer cocktails at the bar.

3. A large, canvas tote handbag in a bold, tropical print will save the day when your toting beach accessories, or just mulling around local markets for a bargain or two. This season is showcasing even larger bags than last year which are just perfect for holiday shopping.

4. One well fitting bikini! Go the extra mile to find a bikini that fits to make you feel fabulous and ditch all of last year’s left-overs.

5. A selection of v neck, cotton t’s in tropical shades are handy to throw on for coffee runs, lunch outings, or even sporting activities.

6. A flatteringly feminine skirt in a floral or botanical print that speaks to the eco consciousness of 2007 will update your wardrobe this year.

7. A pair of bermuda shorts are easy, comfortable and a hip choice for summer casuals.

8. A pair of jewelled sandals/flip flops are casual enough for beach wear, but dressy enough to liven up casual bermuda’s or linens for a city outing.

9. A baby doll sundress can double up for day, or slinky evening wear if dressed up with accessories.

10. A pair of metallic, strappy heels will have you looking edgy for night time entertainment. Metallic is definitely the “new black” for 2007.

Resort wear is all about the fun of life. Enjoy your vacation wardrobe choices all year round and bring the sunshine into your life.

Airline drops ad with singing, bikini-clad Cubans

2007-05-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Spanish airline Iberia has cut an advertisement showing black Cuban women in bikinis bottle feeding a baby tourist as he sings "feed me mulattas come on little mamas, take me to my cot" after complaints it was sexist.

A consumer rights group demanded Iberia, Spain's national flag carrier, pull the ad for online sales as it was offensive to Cuban women and could encourage sex tourism. The animated cartoon shows young Cuban women driving the baby to the beach, dancing for him and massaging him after he is transported to the Caribbean island.

"It's sexist, Cubans could find it offensive," said Ruben Sanchez, a spokesman for the Facua consumer rights group. Foreign tourists have long travelled to Cuba to buy sex and companionship in exchange for hard currency and gifts. Iberia said it had not meant to offend anyone with the ad.

Best & Worst Beach Bodies 2007

2007-05-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just in time for summer, Star magazine reveals which celebrities are beach-bod ready, and those who should opt to stay in winter hibernation mode.

Best Tattooed: PINK

Dainty bows tattooed under each butt cheek? Why not! When you look this good in a bikini from behind it’s a gift! Hard-bodied Pink shows off her super-toned physique on a beach outside Sydney

Best Booty-Shakin: Rihanna

This Barbados-born hip-hop princess grew up frolicking on the beach – and she still rules the sands! Rihanna, 19, is hot in a bedazzled black bikini- and even pulls off that dowdy cap! – while hanging in her native island country

Best Oscar: Charlize Theron

No fair! Charlize, 31, is blessed with killer beauty and great gams – and he has an Oscar at home (for 2003’s Monster) to boot! The statuesque former model lights up the beach in Malibu while sporting a teeny-weeny print bikini.

Best Bikini: Cameron Diaz

Wow, that’s one lucky ogre! The star of the new hit film Shrek the Third hits the beach and shows off her supremely toned and ultra leggy 34-year-old bod in an adorable sherbet-striped bikini.

Best Better-Half: Kelly Preston

Her tubby hubby, John Travolta, ranks among the worst bods, but Kelly proves that opposites attract during a Hawaiian getaway. John’s a lucky, lucky guy!

Best All Around: Jessica Biel

It’s easy to see what attracted Justin Timberlake to his new love! The bootylicious ex-7th Heaven star, 23 – who was recently spotted visiting her new sweetie in London, where he’s launching his world tour – Is a vision in white while romping ton the beach in Hawaii!

Best Plus-Size: Queen Latifah

All hat the Queen! Her best accessory? Confidence! In a flattering black one piece, Latifah, 37, proves that (a bit) bigger can be a whole lot better while vacationing in Hawaii.

Best Curvy: Penelope Cruz

How do you say hubba-hubba-haubba in Spanish? The Madrid-born stunner, 33, is muy caliente in a dark one-piece suit while frolicking in the surf on the celeb-fave Caribbean isle of St. Bart’s.

Best Back from Bony: Kate Bosworth

Now that’s much better, Kate! After shocking fans with her skeletal fram last fall, the Superman Returns star, 24, is positively pinupworthy – and absolutely gorgeous! – in a flower-print bikini and trendy white shades while in Maui.

Best Hot House-Wife: Nicollette Sheridan

You think she’s desperate? Fat chance! Nicollette is the TV housewife with the ridiculously hot figure! The 43-year-old (that’s not a typo!) rocks a colorful striped bikini while strolling in Malibu.

Now for the Hunky Hollywood Men – The Best Bods Go to…

Best Action Hero: Hugh Jackman

Wolverine is looking kinda fierce! The X-Men star, 38, flaunts major muscles along with his swoon-inducing, screen-idol good looks on the beach in his native Australia.

Best Hidden: Jude Law

Hey, Jude! We thought you were scrawny! Who knew that the dreamy and blue-eyed actor, 34, had such a rockin’, well-sculpted bod? Jude reveals just enough to prove he’s got the right stuff while on vacation at the beach on Britain’s Isles of Scilly.

Best Soccer: David Beckham

The English soccer legend and admitted metrosexual, 32, proves that he’s the rare guy who can actually pull off a teeny Speedo-style swimsuit (unless of course, those are his undies!) Question: Did wife Posh have the privilege of oiling him up so nicely?

Best Bachelor: Andy Baldwin

The star of the Bachelor’s tenth season is a ripped-and-ready megahunk – no wonder so many women made fools of themselves on national TV! The 30-year-old licensed doctor and US Navy lieutenant is clearly a catch – in or out of uniform!

Best Morning Show: Matt Lauer

Eat your heart out, Al Roker! The Today show chatter, 49, and his surprisingly ripped abs are the talk of the town in the Hamptons. Plus, Matt gets extra points for having his adorable daughter, Romy, 3, in tow.

Star's Fave Couples…These Heavenly Bodies Attract!

Best Back-ON Duo: Tommy Lee & Pamela Anderson

Their romance is on-again, then off-again, then – what do you know! – back on! Although it’s tough to keep track of the couple’s status, the buff tattooed rocker, 44, and his blonde bombshell baby moma, 39, always look awesome when they strip down to hit the beach together, as they did recently in Maui it’s tradition – they even wore bathing suits to their 1995 wedding!

Best: Side-By-Side Sexy: Rande Gerber & Cindy Crawford

He’s a former model. And she’s, well, a former supermodel! But this hot couple looks like they could still rock the runway. The pair shows off their fit bods in the Bahamas.

Best Reality TV: Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt

Somebody’s proud of her new bod! And why not? The Hills beauty, 20, paid good money for it! Along with her equally fit manage/beau, Spencer Pratt, the recently augmented looker hit the beach in Malibu.

Best MTV-Ready: Nick Lachey & Vanessa Minnillo

He’s an MTV-fave heartthrob; she’s a gorgeous former VJ. Together, the brand-new live-in couple sun, sip and show off their fantastic swimsuit shapes while boating in Cincinnati.

Best Old Married Couple: Harry Hamlin & Lisa Rinna

After more than 10 years of marriage and two children – and it’s rumored, a few cosmetic procedures a piece – Harry, 55, and Lisa, 43, are still one of the hottest couples on the beach in Malibu! We should all be sol lucky!

Finally Star reveals the Worst Beach Bods of 2007: Everyone out of the water! Scary sea creatures have washed up on shore!

Worst Saggy: Uma Thurman

Talk about letting it all hang out, well, down. We know the mom of two, 37, can afford a bikini top that offers a lot more support – and a lot less droop!

Worst Burnout: Courtney Love

Let this be a lesson: Years of not caring for your body make you look scary in a bikini! Also, if you get gastric-band surgery – as Love, 42, reportedly did – splurge for the additional procedure of tighten saggy skin!

Worst Secret Sagginess: Kate Hudson

Kate, 28, looks so perfect when she’s wearing clothing! But the actress and single mom’s plunging blue bikini revealed a surprisingly saggy tummy during a Hawaiian vacation.

Worst Man-Boob: John Travolta

Where have you gone, Tony Manero? The one-time Saturday Night Fever heartthrob, now 53, looks like he ate him! Even worse than that flabby tummy? Unsightly man boobs that look like they could use a bikini top!

Worst Bikini: Hulk Hogan

The former hard-bodied wrestling stud turned Hogan Knows Best patriarch, 53, has gone wrong in so many ways – not the least of which is squeezing himself into a neon-green slingshot suit that makes it tough to avoid noticing Hulk’s uh, hogans.

10 Tips from Bikini Bootcamp

2007-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

I cringed when I first read the title of the new cookbook by Erica Gragg and Melissa Perlman, owners and founders of the Amansala Spa on the Mexican Riviera. Based on their popular fitness program, it's called Bikini Bootcamp: Two Weeks to Your Ultimate Beach Body. It sounded like some type of regimen involving grapefruit and cabbage (possibly in tandem) and rounds of push-ups.

Despite initial hesitation, I was intrigued by the story of two best friends relocating from Manhattan to Mexico to open a resort — next thing I knew, I had read the book cover to cover. The premise is simple: It's a guide for spa clients who wanted to live like Amansala guests even after returning home. Though the book includes workout advice and a 14-day get-in-shape plan, I focused on the cookbook section, which features about 80 Asian- and Mexican-inspired recipes. I was impressed that a "diet" book wove in flavor-boosters such as avocado, white wine, sesame oil, and brown sugar, and also that nearly every dish contained some kind of fat to keep you sated. I tried a few of them, and the recipes tasted as good as they looked.

After taking one bite of the Amansala Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing, my husband — who does most of the cooking in our household — said, "You're going to have to make this salad three times a week. No less."

Gragg and Perlman's overall eating philosophy is sensible: Buy organic when possible, eat lots of fruits and veggies, choose foods that are only one step removed from their natural state, and mix in whole grains and good fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil) judiciously. Since not all of us can travel to the sleepy beach town of Tulum, where resort recruits snack on fresh mango and strength-train with fallen coconuts (no joke!), I asked Gragg for more healthy eating advice. Here are her tips.

Eat Mindfully: Raise your hand if dinner often means chowing down while zoning out to Idol (or whatever happens to be on TiVo backlog). To encourage readers to focus on their food and how it tastes, the authors suggest setting a pretty table (even if you're dining alone), turning off the television and iPod, and even ditching those books and magazines. "Being mindful of not only why you are eating but also what you are eating means not only will you only eat when you are truly hungry, but you will begin to value and enjoy your meals so much more," says Gragg.

Low-Fat, Not Nonfat: Gragg and Perlman love a smoothie (their ginger-pineapple, which is made with plain low-fat yogurt, was my favorite). And since I can't stand the insipid mouth-feel of nonfat yogurt, I was thrilled that all the recipes call for low-fat dairy products. Here's Gragg's take: "The human body needs some fat to properly absorb vitamins and minerals. Remember, it's about portion and balance."

Focus on Fiber: When purchasing cereal or bread, the authors suggest choosing products that have four grams of fiber or more per serving. "Fiber is very filling, which means that you will eat less, yet feel fuller," explains Gragg. "Beyond that, fiber aids in digestion, flushing through your body very quickly, and soluble fiber binds to cholesterol and helps the body eliminate it." Okay, okay. I'll eat more fiber.

A Is for Amaranth: I was skeptical about this indigenous Mexican grain that the authors suggest as a morning cereal. (It can also be used to increase the fiber content of bread or pancakes.) It took much longer to cook than the package indicated, and its stubborn bits clung to the saucepan, bowl, and stove, even after repeated scrubbing. But I do love a toothsome grain, and I've become fond of its nutty flavor. (Oatmeal now seems bland in comparison.) It also packs a nutritious punch: Gragg points out that amaranth has three times the fiber content of wheat and a healthy amount of calcium.

Start with Soup: Having soup before dinner fills you up, and it's an easy way to sneak in a few extra servings of vegetables.

Mixing Up the Salads: So their guests don't tire of the same old greens, chefs at Amansala create salads using beans (black, garbanzo, and cannellini), whole wheat couscous, soba noodles, and raisins with apples (for a chicken salad). My favorite "green" is Napa cabbage, because the hearty heads stay fresh for up to a week in the fridge.

Sprinkle, Sprinkle: Many recipes call for a teaspoon or two of healthy mix-ins such as flax seeds, sesame seeds, and slivered almonds, all of which add fiber and protein and keep you satisfied until the next meal.

Spice It Up: "Too much salt leads to water retention and an energy slump," warns Gragg. I'm a bit of a saltaholic, but I found I needed less of the white stuff with these recipes because their flavor was pumped up with herbs and spices. I was digging through my pantry and fridge to bring out ingredients I don't use nearly enough, including curry and ginger powders, turmeric, and jarred jalapeños.

Befriend the Blender: With all the soups and smoothies I was eating on the Bikini Bootcamp diet, I used this do-it-all appliance more over the last month than I have since receiving it as a wedding gift. Blended salad dressing has been my personal revelation, and I don't think I'll be able to go back to making it with a whisk. It emulsified better, so the flavors seemed more cohesive, and it stayed blended, making it a cinch to grab and pour without having to remix.

Follow Your Fist: If you're craving a snack, try to eat something about the size of your fist, suggests Gragg. Of course, this shouldn't be, say, four chocolate truffles. The authors' snack suggestions were mostly the usual diet suspects (fruit, yogurt, veggies, air-popped popcorn), though the jicama sticks sound interesting; they're dusted with chili powder and finished with a squeeze of lime. If spas served bar snacks, that one would certainly be on the menu.

Try these recipes from Bikini Bootcamp:
• Amansala Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing
• Chicken Curry with Veggies on Whole-Grain Couscous

The bikini: a feminist issue

2007-05-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Turkey's ban on posters showing women in two-pieces will not stop its emancipated women dressing however they please.

A brief history of the Turkish bikini: nice respectable teenage girls were wearing them in the resorts around Istanbul and Izmir as far back as the 1960s. On "unspoiled" beaches it was not uncommon to attract a mob of staring men in those days, but as more resorts opened up, the bikini followed. By the 1980s, attitudes had relaxed all along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. This was partly because so many millions of Turks had spent time as guest workers in Germany, and partly because many more millions now had television, and their favourite programme was the bikini-studded Dallas.

In the 1990s, when mass tourism went massive, it was not uncommon to see a Turkish village woman bathing fully covered, while on a skimpy towel only metres away a foreign tourist sunbathed topless. You can think of that as a contradiction, or you can think of it as inevitable when some sectors of a rapidly changing society modernise faster than others. By the middle of that decade, though, the bikini was facing a serious challenge. The Islamist Refah party (soon to be banned and replaced by the Fazilet party, also later banned, eventually paving the way for the latest ruling) was by then taking a serious interest in women's modesty. It was at about that time that you began to hear about beach clubs that offered separate facilities for men and women and required Islamist dress. There was also the sad tale of the group of Islamist girls who were drowning but not rescued for fear of offending their modesty.

This caused great consternation in secular circles, where women's clothing is also politically symbolic. So it has been since the founding of the Republic in 1923. Ataturk did not actually ban the veil, but he did instigate what the Turks call a dress revolution; his adopted daughters were amongst the first to model western clothing and it soon became a mark of modernity - and patriotism - to follow suit. Turkish women got the vote before French women did. Because westernised families also took female education seriously, women established themselves in the professions far sooner than in many parts of Europe (including the UK). The percentage of tenured women professors was already higher in Turkey than anywhere else in the world in the mid-1990s, when the then dominant Islamist party came up with the brilliant idea of sending covered women into the universities that were commonly acknowledge as secularism's most sacred space.

Many of their secularist classmates were so upset by the very sight of them that they'd spit in their faces. This is not hearsay, as I saw it with my own eyes. But the divide was not as clear cut as that might suggest. There were many women academics who understood the political gamesmanship involved, but who thought that covered students had the right to an education just as they had the right to decide on what they wore and that, armed with an education, they would, with time, effect change from within. Of course, this presupposes a family that allows girls to make their own decisions (which is definitely not always the case) and even more important, a state that upholds those girls' right to do so.

There is a very real and understandable fear that an Islamist-dominated state would turn the country into "another Iran". But the Turkish state has since its inception been dominated by secularists - secularists who are inclined to believe that Turkey is not really mature enough to enjoy the human rights that those of us living in European democracies take for granted. So the Turkish state decided that it should be the one to decide what women did or did not wear on their heads. It banned the headscarf in universities and all state buildings.

The debate about the rights and wrongs of this measure still rages on. Some ask why it is Islamist women who have to bear the full brunt of this state-imposed sanction, and not Islamist men. Isn't that sexism in a pernicious new form? When one Islamist leader decided more or less overnight that the headscarf game had played itself out in terms of political advantage, he commended his female followers to abandon them. Some did; others took the rather feminist position that they should be the ones to decide when to take their headscarves off. A handful of disgruntled activists started a human rights organisation for covered women. Others took to conserving their modesty by wearing wigs.

In the mid-90s, the approved uniform for Islamist women was not something anyone could have enjoyed wearing in the heat of summer. There was not just the Islamist headscarf (tightly tied under the chin, to distinguish it from the common-or-garden peasant headscarf) but the heavy, badly cut ankle-length trench coat. That there has been continuous negotiation "from within" is evident from the annual revisions to that outfit. Trench coats eventually gave way to waistcoats. Scarves became ever silkier and colourful, and this year skirts worn by girls from good Islamist families have gone right up to the knee. It is commonplace to think of Islamist parties as representing the marginalised, the hopeless, and the dispossessed, but the mainstay of today's ruling Islamist party is the emerging Anatolian bourgeoisie. They have money and (like the westernised urban bourgeoisie) they like to express their rising status with expensive clothes.

Expensive or no, their clothing remains politically symbolic. But what does it signify? Some (and I would include myself in this group) believe that Turkey is now confident enough after 84 years of secularism to allow for muted religious expression in the private sphere and that a democracy can and should support the right to such expression without blurring the line between Islam and the state. But (partly because Turkey is indeed so very secular in spirit) there are many who fear the AKP's ulterior motives. These include not just the westernised bourgeoisie but the Alevis.

The Alevis are a substantial minority (between 10% and 40%) who were persecuted by the Sunni Ottomans, and also by the Republic after Ataturk turned all Sunni clerics into civil servants but chose not to recognise the Alevis or even to count them. The Alevis believe in the equality of the sexes. Alevi women in particular fear what might happen to them should the Sunni AKP gain too much power. The hundreds of thousands of secularists who have been marching in recent weeks to protest encroaching Islamism are predominantly women and most of these women come from secular middle-class families or Alevi families or both.

What has fanned their fears? The media. In particular, those sectors of the print media that are closely allied to the party that stands to gain most by fanning that fear. This is the CHP, the Republican People's Party, founded by Ataturk, and traditionally the home of westernising, Europe-facing secularism. But ever since the Islamist AKP decided to embrace the European project, it has turned virulently nationalist, even ultranationalist. By which I mean not just anti-Europe, but pro-army, perhaps even pro-military coup. Freedom of expression is not high on this party's list. Neither is democracy. I don't want him to sue me, so I won't tell you everything I know about Baykal, the CHP's leader, though I would urge you not to buy a car from this man.

The sad fact - and it is a fact much discussed in the electronic network of Turkish feminist activists - is that neither the AKP nor the CHP have much to offer Turkey's emancipated women. But there are millions of them, and they have minds of their own. They even have an Emily's List. So we shall see.

Bikini skater going that extra mile for charity

2007-05-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

THE lengths some people are willing to go to in the name of charity is truly remarkable; from swimming the Channel, climbing Everest, running a marathon dressed in a rhino suit or even roller-skating 14 miles in a bikini.

The latter is exactly what 29-year-old Newtownstewart woman Amanda McConomy is currently training to do in aid of the Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF).

On Saturday July 28 Amanda will be embarking from her Grange Park home to skate a total of 14 miles along the back roads between Newtownstewart and Omagh before turning at the Sperrin restaurant and heading home down the main road.

"Running was destroying the bones in my hips so I had to stop it and soon fell in love with skating, after only three weeks I noticed I had lost inches around my legs," said Amanda. "Every chance I get I am out on the skates."

It was while skating about one day and Amanda was inspired to use her new fitness hobby as a means to raise money for the UCF.

Amanda explained why she chose the cancer charity: "It is a disease that affects so many people. I am a diabetic myself but I am able to control it; I am never going to be placed in a situation when I am suddenly told that I have only a few months to live."

Amanda has been practising the route over the past few weeks, getting ready for the big day when the tracksuit comes off and the bikini comes out of the cupboard.

According to Amanda there is a great buzz around Newtownstewart, although some locals think she is "not wise" for attempting this unique charity appeal.

She said, "Everybody in the town knows me and think I'm mad for doing this in a bikini. But I don't care about the embarrassment to me, I am thinking about the money this will raise for the people suffering from cancer.

"If people want to see me in a bikini out on the roads they will have to sponsor me."

Call me Bikini Babe if you like

2007-05-25T19:54:00.002-07:00

Bipasha was at Cannes on Saturday. "But it was like not being there! I wasn't at Cannes film festival for even a full day. This was my first trip to Cannes and I'd have liked to see and experience more. I landed with John in the morning and was out by evening.

All I had time was the press events for our film Goal. That's it. No sightseeing, no shopping. I'm a major shopaholic, though I like to buy stuff for others and not just for myself. And of course I'd have liked to swim and relax."

The actress has just been labeled the hottest bikini babe in Bollywood.

"Have I?" she laughs. "I don't mind being called a bikini babe. I guess I looked right in a bikini in Dhoom 2. I know and so do my fans that I can pull off anything, from a suit-clad Corporate to a bikini in Dhoom 2. Looking hot is a good thing, I guess."

Bipasha is pretty miffed by her 'flying visit' to the French resort.

"The worst blow was I missed meeting Jude Law. John met him at a party hosted by Nike for another football film at the festival. I couldn't attend. Damn!"

Back home she has another Hollywood icon singling her out for praise on Koffee With Karan.

Richard Gere has described her on the talk- show as bright hot and desirable.

Bipasha laughs pleasurably. "I'm not just flattered. I'm flattened! If someone as sinfully goodlooking and amazingly cute as Richard Gere thinks that way about me., I don't mind missing Jude Law. Strangely I haven't met Richard Gere that much.

Though I've made it clear to Parmeshwar Godrej that I'm constantly available for any AIDS-related work on the field, I generally shy away from the charity dinners that Richard generally attends. Such dos are a don't for me. I'm not a social butterfly at all."

But she did resent not getting more time at Cannes. "The ambience is very likeable not just for movie buffs but anyone who wants to shop or simply stroll by the riverside. I got to do none of that.

In fact I was supposed to start shooting for Abbas-Mustan's Race early morning after landing late the previous evening. Fortunately for me they were gracious enough to postpone the morning shift by a few hours.

Thank God for such considerate souls. I don't know what I'd have done otherwise," sighs the busy actress who has had to cancel her holiday to Goa because of her schedules.

"Goa will just have to wait until I've a little breathing space. Right now with so much traveling I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I've another Goal to achieve at the moment," she puns about her next release where she plays a Pakistani medico.

"What preparations did I make to play a Pakistani girl? Nothing! Aren't working -women all over the world the same in dress, attitude and gender relations? I kept my makeup to the minimum, just dabbed some kajal in my eyes and picked up my medi-bag to take care of the injured souls on the field."

If she had one wish right now what would she like? "I wish I was one of the footballers in Goal instead of sitting on the bench. And if you give me one more wish, I wish I had met Jude Law at Cannes."

Malignant Mole Bikini

2007-05-25T19:54:00.001-07:00

Anymore you can’t even mention tanning without someone jumping down your throat and preaching about all the hazards of the sun. I think secretly the whole thing was cooked up by geeks who hate to go outside (it’s a conspiracy). Well this Malignant Mole Bikini is just another way to take a stand about the issue.

I’m pretty sure this is the creepiest bikini I have ever seen, but it does make a valid point about sun damage. It was created by Fiona Carswell and it only reacts when exposed to UV light. Which means as long as you wear it inside, no funky brown moles for you.

Unfortunately it’s not quite high tech enough to know that you put on sun block. Even if you are smart about being in the sun, it makes you feel a bit guilty anyway. I just hope she doesn’t create a herpes condom or crabs underwear, I’m pretty sure that is the only thing that could possibly rival this bikini.

Bikini scandal nets Keira Knightley $7000

2007-05-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Actress Keira Knightley has won more than seven thousand dollars in damages over a British newspaper article claiming she was excessively thin.

The 'Daily Mail' ran a story with a picture of Keira in a bikini, with the headline: 'If Pictures Like This One Carried a Health Warning, My Darling Daughter Might Have Lived'.

Keira had argued that this could be interpreted as meaning she bore some responsibility for the tragic death of a 19 year old girl with anorexia.

Keira said she was embarrassed by the 'deeply offensive' suggestions, and argued to the court that she needs to weight train for action films, and she is an acceptable weight for her age, gender and height.

Kelly Brook in a Bikini

2007-05-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

Curvy KELLY BROOK shore makes a splash at a sizzling shoot in Miami. The Kent cutie posed in a selection of bikinis.

‘My bikinis are the USP of my film’

2007-05-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

Celina Jaitley in a sizzling hot interview, as she talks about the steamy kisses and her steamier bikinis in ‘Jawani Diwani’

You have worn a bikini in your debut film, ‘Janasheen’. How is it different now?
I feel me wearing a bikini in ‘Jawani Diwani’ has more to do with the theme of the film, than my debut film. I play this Christian girl who is always close to the beach.

We have worked a lot on the designs of the bikini and have kind of revolutionised bikini wearing in Bollywood. We have worked out certain colours like magenta, green, black and red which were never used on screen before for a bikini. We have also designed certain double layered bikinis. I can say my bikinis are the USP of the film.

You are not very modest, are you?
I have realised that being modest never helps. So I have to talk about it.

What about the steamy kisses in the film?
The film talks about the sexual chemistry between a man and a woman. So there are bound to be plenty of steamy scenes. I still remember for my first shot, I drank 25 glasses of water because I was really nervous. I watched at least six Hollywood films to know how to get my moves right. But in the end, they have come out really well. I didn’t want to look vulgar and they haven’t.

Are the kisses deeper than a normal Bollywood kiss?
Oh, much deeper than that (laughs coyly).

Tanissha invited a lot of wrath for her clothes in ‘Neal and Nikki’. Do you expect that kind of a reaction?

We are an evolving society. I am so glad that kisses are allowed on screen because that is a brilliant thing to do. Whenever there is attraction between a man and a woman, the best way to display it is through a kiss. It is happening all around us. We cannot deny it. There is going to be a lot of shock value. But I don’t really care. I am doing my job perfectly well.

Bikini Babes of Bollywood

2007-05-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

It is hard to say exactly when heroines started appearing in bikini in Bollywood, and who was the first gal to strike a pose wearing skimpy clothes. In the 70’s actress Sharmila Tagore appeared in a bikini (which made her into an overnight sex symbol) followed by Dimple Kapadia, who was called as the bikini idol by the media at that time. Since then almost all Bollywood leading ladies have been seen in bikini or swimsuit for once or more. And though many starlet have tried taking the bikini route to fame, only a select few have made an impression. Here they are:

Riya Sen

Riya Sen, daughter of actress Moon Moon Sen, one of the hottest ladies of the 70’s and famous for bikini shots, followed her mummy’s footsteps and sometimes even crossed her. As a model, Riya has her own identity. In films, she is still at struggling stage.

Celina Jaitley

“Indian audiences are not matured enough,�? complained Celina. Here people focus more on heroines’ revealing shots. Acting skills are always secondary to judge one’s class and how good she is. Knowing acting is not one her strengths, it’s no surprise she poses in bikini without any inhibition

Lara Dutta

Wearing bikini is no more taboo in Bollywood showbiz. Beauty queen Lara Dutta has no problem capitalizing on bikini shots to find her foothold in the Hindi film industry.

Mallika Sherawat

Whatever she does, it makes you sit erect. Whatever she wears, it titillates you. Her intention is clear to make your attention pin-pointed on her sensual parts. She is sultry Mallika Sherawat, who always says it script demands.

Neha Dhupia

Here is Neha Dhupia, one of the current hotties of Bollywood, letting the waterfalls to hit her bare-dare bod with seductive glow in her face.

Koena Mitra

She is Bengali bombshell Koena Mitra. Koena started her career with modelling, debuted in films as the item girl in Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Road’, and has now said ‘no’ to any more item number. In fact she has a problem with the term itself. But thankfully, Koena didn’t stop posing in bikini, public demand counts after all!

New Lara Croft model: Same boobalicious video heroine

2007-04-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

One of the places where women are rampantly portrayed as objects, hoes, sluts, and bimbos is video games. I worked in the video game industry for a few years, and was constantly appauld by the way video game designers constantly "Hoed up" the female characters. In almost every video game, you will find a shower scene, bikini bounce, and outfits that would make Paris Hilton look virtuous. It surprises me that more women's groups and crusaders are not all over the video industry like rap on P. Diddy.

Lara Croft is one of the very few lead characters in mainstream video gaming, and we all know her now because of Angelina Jolie. Lara kills bad guys, goes on exciting adventures, and is a fiercely powerful female force. However, the emphasis on her bodacious looks is always clear.

Lara's got bountiful size D boobs, which is just not practical when you're swinging from vines in the jungle, she looks like a goddess born out of perfection, and you almost NEVER see her fully clothed. Even when everyone else is in a scuba suit, Lara will be in a bikini. And, the real life models, like newly crowned "Lara" Karima Adebibe (more pics), are of course Amazonian, skinny, big-hootered, and have perfect highlights & skin, just like every proper fantasy woman should be even if she is saving the world from bad guys.

Pregnant beer babes in Bikinis

2007-04-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Brazilian beer company, Nova Schin, introduced a non-alcoholic beer, and their management actually approved of an ad campaign featuring pregnant women, dressed in bikinis and daisy dukes. More pics here.

Supposedly, all these ads are photoshopped pregnancies because 1.you'd have to seriously have no shame whatsoever to pose for this if you were really pregnant, and 2. how do you go about casting for pregnant hotties for a beer ad without looking like complete scum.

In the season opener of CSI:NY, one of the "suspects" in the death of a businessman was a pregnant stripper. I am kidding you not. On stage with her pole was the bump-and-grind belly. Below is the video clip.

Another mention, here's a pic of a family sports car ad with a pregnant mom in a couture one-piece swim suit and heels looking like a hood ornament.

This stuff honestly makes me want to vomit, and then go and pummel some ass-anine executive who actually gave a thumbs up on this stuff. Yes, I'm all for showing that pregnant women can still be sexy during their pregnancy but this ABSOLUTELY not the way to do it. This stuff is highly exploitive. For CSI:NY, they didn't have to show us the pregnant stripper actually on stage. They could have just visited her backstage in the dressing room. We would have gotten the point.

Am I the only one who is nauseated by seeing pregnant beer babes and strippers?

Children Used to Market Adult Bikinis: Disturbing

2007-04-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Disturbing...

For Los Angeles Fashion Week, swimsuit designer Ashley Paige had a model in a bikini who looked about 10 years old. She was the only child in the group, and appeared with adult models who were in bikinis themselves. Most obviously, this did not go over well.

The Hollywood-based Ashley Paige says of her designs: "I think the women who like my stuff...exude sexuality."

This was not a showcase of clothes for kids. This is a little girl prancing around a runway with flashing bulbs in a string bikini along side adult women exuding sexuality. What on earth was Ms. Paige thinking?

The source of this post is the Daily Mail from the UK, and what is interesting to me is the 28 comments from the readers on this particular article. While most agreed that the bikini clad girl was tasteless, there was a notable amount of comments that essentially said, "What's the big deal? Little girls wear bikinis on the beach all the time."

The bigger issue is why can't kids just be kids as long as they can. There is something very inappropriate about girls in 3rd/4th grade in bikinis on runways. Why are we stripping little girls of their innocence so young when they will have decades to wear makeup, high heels, and skimpy clothes? This is exactly how beauty and body isues start.

Oprah: Kirstie Alley beyond the bikini

2007-04-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

So everyone knows that Kirstie Alley pranced on Oprah's stage yesterday to keep her promise of showing off her slimmer body in a bikini. Kirstie lost 75 pounds from a high of 220. The video broke out online early in the day before the Oprah episode aired here in the Bay Area. I wanted to see the show before I made any comment on the video, and I'm glad I did.

Kirstieoprah_1 In the video clip, all you saw was the first 30 seconds or so of Kirstie's unveiling. Many of the comments on the other blogs/sites where the video was posted early were mostly positive, but there were a good deal that were negative. The message behind the bikini prance was much deeper than to say, "Hey don't I look hot now." It was about giving some courage and relief to other women about their bodies because we are so obssessed about tying our value and esteem to the way we look.

If we don't fit a mold or are not perfect, many of us feel we have no right to be so bold as to celebrate our selves as the beautiful women we all are. Kirstie is no Giselle but she is also not 220 pounds anymore. Dropping 75 pounds is a big accomplishment, and more importantly Kirstie is using her experience to help encourage others.

Kirstie made this appearance on Oprah not as a publicity stunt but as a way to show other women, "Hey you are good enough!" From the Oprah website show summary:

"At age 55, Kirstie now feels comfortable in her own skin. "I don't think women ever feel like we're good enough," she says. "We don't feel like we're thin enough or pretty enough or smart enough or work hard enough … We all are good enough and we look good enough and we are not our bodies, you know?"

Bravo! Following Kirstie's story there were follow ups on other guests including a 22 year-old young lady who lost 170 pounds and looked so amazingly happy, two girls who survived the Rwandan genocide and were reunited with their parents almost a decade later, and another woman who worked at Starbucks and somehow supported 10 children and her own mother. With Oprah's help she has a new house, and college money for each one of the kids. Bono's Product (RED) endeavor has already raised $15 million. Buy (RED) this holiday.

The whole Oprah episode was incredibly uplifting, and I'm very glad I stay tuned to watch the whole thing. It's awesome to watch something on TV and walk away feeling good.

Walking downtown in a bikini in the middle of cold & flu season

2007-04-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

This is a Japanese ad for Jet Star, a Qantas airline brand. Now, the idea of going to Maui when it's Winter sounds like a really delicious idea, but I don't know many women, well any actually, who would be caught dead walking around downtown in a bikini when it's 30 degrees or even 90 degrees. Me thinks, the by standers are not looking in awe but in "WTF?" Silly marketers.

Will posing in an online "Hottie Girl" contest hurt a college girl's future?

2007-04-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

If you're a college Coed and are thinking about entering a "Hottie Girl" type online contest for the potential to win cash prizes to pay off your student loans, you might want to think twice. In the SFGate, there is a story asking if photos of online beauty contests can hurt a college woman's future.

For example, the site College Humor has this popular hottie contest called, "America's Hottest College Girl 2007" where girls are matched up against each other each day, and the voting public gets to vote who climbs the ladder until we get a winner. For each girl there are even profile details where they ask things like, "What are the beat and worst pick up lines? and Have you ever made a guy cry?" Yeah, it's deep stuff.

Most, not all, of the girls are dressed in a bikini, swimsuit, or some kind of tightly clingy ensemble showing loads of skin. No nudity is allowed but you can pose in your best Maxim or FHM pose which mind you is locker pinup material. Because this contest is online, these pictures will stay around forevah!

Will the fact that you entered or participated in a hottie or beauty contest hurt your future? I say it depends on what kind of contest it is, what kind of pictures you are posing in, and what do you want to do in your future? If you want to be a Paris Hilton or Jenna Jameson when you grow up, that is one thing, but if you want to be a in a future position that requires the utmost level of respectability and honor like being a Chief Justice, school teacher, or even a potential Miss USA, then I would seriously, seriously sit down and think about what kind of risk you're willing to bear for the sake of having some fun and popularity in some skin baring hottness tournament.

* Are you going to be proud of being in this contest and having your parents, future husband and children see you nearly naked posing seductively for millions of oogling hormonal males?

* Picture yourself 10 years from now, jockeying for a Vice-President or Partner position at the Firm, and they throw on the desk the pictures of you in that wet t-shirt contest you entered when you were a college sophomore. Will you be prepared to handle the jokes and the taunting from co-workers who are trying to bring you down because people get really mean when competing at work?

* Think of two people you highly respect and regard, and picture yourself telling them about this contest you want to enter and show them the pictures you want to submit. Will they support your decision or not?

The lessons in being young is doing stupid crazy things we think we can. But now, we live in a digital age where pictures, videos, and voice recordings can live on forever, and are accessible to anyone once it hits the Internet. I'm not saying you can't go do wild and crazy things. Just take a moment to think. If you think that you don't care, really, you just might later on.

The Tits of Destiny: Wrestling and Bikinis

2007-04-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

Wrestling companies have often promoted their top stars based on, of all things, a body part. It's not really that difficult to see why; the sport involves man-to-man combat and requires a wealth of knowledge about the human body (theoretically). Plenty of performers have made a few bucks over the years capitalizing on their bodies to get over. Would could ever forget such menacing extremities as Lex Luger's bionic forearm, which took Lex's tendency to string eight clotheslines together and put it to good use? How about the Hulkster's big leg, which still stands as the most ridiculous finisher to ever end WrestleMania (even in competition with that one chair shot Vince gave the Rock in 2000) but was still legit to the crowd because of the move's booking. And of course there's the People's Elbow, which looks like it hurts about as much as a somewhat forceful shove but still helped Rocky mega-over and spawned the Worm and the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. To be certain, the anatomy is ripe for picking in the wrestling world, but one fixture (well, fixtures) has shaped more individual careers than the lot of them. You guessed it, boobs!

At the time of this writing, Melina Perez holds the WWE Women's Championship, a title she won after about a handful of TV wrestling matches. Her opponent this past month at WM23, as we all know, was Ashley Massaro, the second winner of the Raw Diva Search. Ashley's run at the title (un-coinciding with her Playboy debut) was granted after only a handful of matches and exactly no big-time angles not directly involving Trish Stratus. This represents a common trend of "the breast is mightier than the hammerlock" mindset in WWE and in wrestling as a whole.

Now of course, the title hasn't always been held and defended by non-wrestlers. Mickie James, a well regarded performer by all kinds of fans, is scheduled to fight Melina for the championship this month at Backlash in fact. But WWE clearly sees its top female draws as the ones who can give them the kind of outside coverage a Playboy spread brings. If they can do some wrestling moves while they're at it, awesome. And one event, at the height of the Attitude era, kicked this thought process into high gear. It was the PPV production of Fully Loaded 1998 in Fresno, and it featured the all-time greatest mark out moment for thirteen-year-old boys everywhere. It's star: the one and only Sable…and her huge ta-ta's.

For the majority of the ‘90s, women in wrestling were cast in largely traditional roles. They were either valets for male superstars or wrestlers in their own right. Female stars like Sherri Martel, the Fabulous Moolah, Miss Elizabeth and Madusa were known to fans all over, either for their superior skills in the ring, their uncanny ability to draw the right kind of heat, or both. Sure these women were beautiful, but the reason they connected with the fans was because of their ferocity or their grace or their sheer will to win.

But along with most everything else in the business, the onset of "Attitude" changed all of that. Granted the ball was already rolling with people like Sunny and the Nitro Girls running around, but 1998 tore the door wide open for the female angles we've come to expect. The increased focus on the adult male demographic (who generally condone women removing their clothes) quickened the pace of change in how women were being presented on TV. Sable symbolized this change far more than any other woman did during this time.

After debuting as one of HHH's ladies in waiting at WMXII, the WWF paired Sable with real-life husband "Wildman" Marc Mero. After Mero was sidelined with an injury, Sable's increased exposure led to a sudden burst in popularity. When her husband returned as "Marvelous" Marc Mero later in the year, he was jealous of his valet and became a marvelous asshole. This turned into a very engaging feud between the two and made Sable into one of the hottest acts in wrestling.

Mero, in kayfabe response to Sable's rising status in the fans' eyes, did what any of us would do: went black. In June, the WWT brought in Jacqueline as an actual female foil and paired her with Mero. Their war, which started solely because of how hot Sable was, culminated not with a regular old wrestling match. Such a move just wasn't…attitudinal…enough. No, this confrontation required a booking tool that would become the showcase for the company's women: a bikini contest. Inspiring, I know.

To comment on the action at Fully Loaded would be foolish, since the entire segment consisted of one woman taking off a shirt to massive boos and one taking off a shirt to massive cheers. What is worth mentioning are the bikinis themselves, which defied laws of physics simply by staying on. Jackie stripped down first (to the surprise of no one) and revealed a red number that JUST BARELY covered her gargantuan jubblies. Unfortunately since Jackie was A) the heel, and B) unattractive, she and Mero were shat upon by the crowd. It was a good thing they weren't there to see Jackie.

When it finally came time for Sable to throw her tit in the hat, she removed the shirt and introduced the world to two hand prints painted ever-so-subtly right where logic would dictate they be painted. All she had on besides those was a simple bikini bottom. She was disqualified from the contest, most likely under the "can you swim in it" paradigm of bikini design, and Jackie was awarded the win. Now, regardless of whether or not that really qualifies as a bikini, it shocked the wrestling world and received a good deal of mainstream attention. Not to mention it gave teenage fans like me (at the time) a reason to repeatedly hit the pause button for years to come. That is, if you can block out a hormone-overloaded King from your screen as he becomes a man all over again right beside her.

Where have women's roles in wrestling gone from there? Well from an overall standpoint, it's hard to say. The Sable/Jackie feud did serve as a catalyst for the return of the women's title after four years of being defunct. This brought women's wrestling back to national television, which has to be considered a good thing. But taking the title out of it, think about how many female wrestlers have been made famous this decade as opposed to the "pretty" ones. With the sport's target audience, it's just easier to get a girl over on looks than on talent. Now put the title back into it, and think about how it's been booked since returning. Other than Trish/Lita, Trish/Victoria, Molly/Victoria, and Trish/Mickie, and can't remember a single women's feud that brought the goods in both the wrestling and booking departments…in almost ten years! Hell, Sable wasn't even a real wrestler but was booked at the top of the division anyway.

Before Fully Loaded, we didn't have a very good idea of Vince vision for the ladies of the company. The bikini contest between Sable and Jacqueline provided a template for that vision. Since then we've witnessed such masterpieces as the Lingerie Pillow Fight, the Paddle On a Pole match, and the coining of that ever-so-defining word: Diva. WWE even tried to recreate the Sable moment in the buildup to WM23 by having Ashley sport the same kind of "suit", just with Playboy bunnies instead of hands. Classier maybe, but as Vanilla Ice said, "It's not the same."

The ripple effect caused by events like Fully Loaded has created this strange code of behavior and acceptability involving the Divas. We've gotten to a point where it's okay for Lawler to act like a sixteen-year-old and shout "puppies" more often that he says the words "move", "hold" or "wrestling" combined. It's okay for fans to mercilessly boo the one girl who refuses to take off her clothes for millions of people's entertainment in what's basically a glorified livestock show. And it's okay for Vince McMahon to act out deep sexual fantasies on his television show with girls younger than his daughter, as if he were some roided up Cassa fucking Nova!

Now one can say that I'm being a tad hypocritical here; I've been using the same rhetoric and slang terms that everyone says makes women feel inferior throughout this entire column. But actions speak louder than words, and I would MUCH rather book someone like Mickie James to go for the title at WM than someone whose attributes can be removed effortlessly with a strong enough laser. When finding someone to blame for the unfortunate state of women's wrestling, feel free to look at Vince or the King or the bookers or the huge population of horny young guys in American. As for me, I'm placing the blame firmly on the shoulders of whoever the hell got to paint those hands in Fresno…lucky bastard.

It's simple: make the women's wrestling championship about the wrestling. Leave the boob-focus in the past, where it belongs.

Defining Summer fashion

2007-04-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

WHAT defines summer fashion? Bikinis? Boardshorts? Sleeveless? Tube tops? Pastel colors? Sandals? Slip ons? Sundress? Hawaiian shirts? Whatever your choice is, just remember that summer fashion is all about comfort.

All of the above-mentioned summer-fashion symbols were donned by the various weekend warriors last April 21, when Iloilo's ultimate party place, Flow, threw its "Wet and Wild Summer" party.

It was nice to see the majority of the Ilonggo nocturnal creatures and habitués of Flow cooperating with the theme for the night as they came garbed in the summer fashion pieces of their respective choice.

A few daring Ilonggas came in their bikini tops, though some of those souls brought smiles of ridicule---rather than smiles of admiration---to the faces of men. I couldn't help being amused with comments I heard from the men as some of those ladies wearing bikini tops passed. "Wala na gid guro inugbakal drinks pre (Maybe, they have no money to buy drinks)," quipped one guy to a friend since Flow offered free drinks to women in such a getup. How mean---but funny.

The party turned out to be a really wild one, as usual, as Ilonggos unleashed their body heat with their moves and grooves. Plus, the presence of water guns provided by Flow made the event more riveting, and wet of course, as the nocturnal creatures tried to douse the temperature by shooting water at each other. How childlike, but undeniably fun.

Speaking of bikinis, I'd like to offer these tips to women who dare to wear this most popular summer fashion symbol for ladies. Maybe other party places or private parties may request you to come in bikini tops, full bikini gear or summer-wear this season. To avert harsh comments from the men, please try to observe these three suggestions.

1. Don't dare to be daring when you are uncomfortable. People might think you are being pimped or forced into prostitution.

2. In the April 9 issue of Wonder V Mandays, most of my respondents defined sexy in terms of attitude. You don't need to have those super sized bulges and evident curves to be considered as one. However ladies, don't be overconfident when wearing those bikinis with your chin up, especially when you have nothing to be proud of in terms of the physical. Men will definitely think you are nothing more than a trying hard.

3. Cover those flawed parts of your skin with foundation or concealer that matches your skin tone. Most party places are dark, I know. But you know, some men are so particular about good skin quality. Better yet, if you have blemishes or stretch marks, opt for other summer fashion outfits. Floral or sundresses are great. Don't be so engrossed in the idea that it's all attitude. The physical still matters, believe me.

Solar powered bikini to charge iPods!

2007-04-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

London, Apr 23: A New York University student's curiosity to explore new ways of producing energy has resulted in a solar- powered bikini that can charge iPods.

Designer Andrew Schneider made the apparel by covering a black cloth with a line of panels and the piece, which can also be worn in water, has got the charger on the hip area.

But, the designer has asked users to keep in mind that though the garment can be worn in water, the apparel has to be dry before connecting it with an iPod.

"It can be worn in water but you'd have to let it dry completely before you plugged your iPod in," the Sun quoted the designer, as saying.

Schenider is now thinking of designing a pair of male beach shorts that can charge a beer cooler.

Swimming to liberty

2007-04-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

The summer heat is upon us and many of you may have started swimming, the only sensible way to stay fit in this season.

And almost all of us women take the swimsuit/bikini that we wear to swim in for granted. But not so long ago women in “liberal” Europe had to wear clothes that covered their modesty and which were hazardous in water.

A new book out in the UK called The Swimsuit by Sarah Kennedy chronicles the way the swimsuit changed as women fought for their rights to what we wear, and take for granted, today.

Says Kennedy, “The bathing suit is a perfect barometer. No item of clothing has evolved as dramatically as the swimsuit.” What women in Europe and America in the 1800s and early 1900s wanted was a piece of clothing that did not hinder their enjoyment of swimming, and not clothes which looked like gowns with crinoline with hems weighed down so that the garment would not float up.

In the 1850s, as part of the rational dress movement promoted by Amelia Bloomer, an American, loose trousers worn under a shorter skirt were introduced. Initially this did not catch the fancy but later, after being popularised as bloomers, they were also used for swimming.

Actually the Greeks, according to evidence on mosaic walls, wore the modern equivalent of the bikini as far back as 300 BC. But Europe in the 1800s and early 1900s was cruel to its women.

Says Kennedy, “In Europe and America, women could be arrested for revealing too many inches of calf. Wardens patrolled beaches to ensure that local laws were being adhered to.”

The swimsuit has in recent times been pilloried as a garment that over-sexualises women’s bodies, note the instance of the effort by some adherents of Islam to create a swimsuit that covers women all over (also called burqini).

It represents what women fought for so hard and won; the right to decide what to wear, an important step in the feminist movement. In 1907, Australian sportswoman Annette Kellerman was arrested in Boston for indecent exposure: her crime was that she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit with no skirt or pants to cover her modesty.

It may be hard to believe in a world where spaghetti straps are normal, everyday wear that the bikini was first designed (some use the word invented) in 1946. But even after that it took Hollywood’s glamour to make it an acceptable garment to swim in.

Are swimsuits and bikinis, in light of all these facts, garments of liberation or costumes that have exposed women’s bodies to the point of exploitation? Did the women who fought so hard to be able to wear an appropriate garment for swimming ever envisage that one day that same fight would be turned on its head, to be able to wear a more conservative garment?

The answer lies, much like it did during the debate over the burqa, in whether the choice is being made by the woman. Women are at the receiving end of fashion’s fickle nature and even losing their ability to choose what they wear.

In some ways having to stick to any stereotype denotes a lack of choice. And that would be sad, for after having come a long way, women and fashion would take a big step backwards if any one style in swimwear is inflicted on us.

More power to both the bikini and the new Islamic swim suit. For in choice lies true fashion and empowerment.

How the Stars Get Bikini Ready

2007-04-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Brazilian trainer and author of The Brazilian Bikini Body Program, Regina Joseph, gives us the scoop.

Drew practices Pilates! Forget dieting! Drew Barrymore prefers to burn calories with a workout that includes Pilates, one of the most popular pastimes in Brazil. For a complete cardio session, fitness pro Joseph details a combo of core Pilates moves and capoeira (a Brazilian martial art that includes cartwheels, kicks and flips) in her book.

Cam eats early in the day! An always active Cameron Diaz gets going with a protein-packed breakfast of eggs and meat. "The beginning and middle of the day are when you need a big burst of energy," says Joseph. "In Brazil, evening meals are smaller and lighter." That leaves plenty of room for desert!

Denise's smart snack! "I need foods that energize me," says Denise Richards, who revs up on the Amazon-grown acai berry (now available in stores like Whole Foods Market. Says Joseph, "An Acai smoothie provides enough fiber and protein to last until lunch."

Kristen never feels hungry! "I stopped dieting because it made me binge," Kristen Cavallari tells Life & Style. The reality show alum solved her dieting dilemma by opting for smaller, more frequent meals (she snacks on almonds) to curb her cravings. Explains Joseph, "Meals and snacks spaced throughout the day help keep blood sugar up."

Gisele fills up on fruit! Brazilian-born Gisele Bundchen can thank her homeland for her supermodel bod. The Victoria's secret stunner says her fav foods are tropical fruits from her country - which she considers to be the "best place to live."

Goodbye bikini bar

2007-04-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Former strip club will be replaced with a pharmacy

LONGMONT — A former strip club that was in a long-running legal battle with city leaders has shut down and will be replaced by something far more prosaic: a pharmacy.

Walgreens is close to securing final city planning and development approval for a new, 13,285-square-foot store at the northeast corner of Main Street and 23rd Avenue.

“There’s just a few details they need to wrap up,” said city planner Brien Schumacher.

If the store gets its approvals, as expected, construction would likely begin in early June, Schumacher said.

Store developers said they look forward to leveling the site and replacing the hot-pink building and retaining walls with a store that better fits the area. The project is worth about $4.5 million. Walgreens will own both the store and the land beneath it.

“We’d like to get it open by the first of November,” said Dillon Tidwell, a principal with developer Hunt Douglas.

The store will have a small second story for storage and a one-lane pharmacy drive-through, Tidwell said.

News of the club’s permanent demise brought an ecstatic “woo hoo!” from nearby resident Debbie McBride, who said she and her husband would not have bought their house had they known it was going to be next to a strip club.

“Awesome. That’s very exciting,” McBride said. “My husband does not drive by. He actually takes the next street down. He won’t drive by it.”

Because the site is zoned and has been used for commercial purposes in the past, Walgreens was not required to hold a public hearing on its plans, although comments were solicited from neighbors.

Bella’s, a “gentlemen’s club,” repeatedly battled the city’s efforts to force it to close or relocate. A court decision in August permitted Bella’s to stay open on Main Street but under the restrictions of a special city licensing law. The club closed and reopened last fall as a bikini bar featuring “scantily clad women for your viewing pleasure.”

The club’s lawyer charged that the city had essentially run it out of town with multiple legal challenges and changes to licensing requirements. City officials said they thought a strip club had no place on Main Street.

Last year, the police department cited the strip club for letting dancers give lap dances.

In November 2000, the club’s owner described his new business as a sports bar to city officials and neighboring residents when applying for his liquor license. No mention was made to residents or city officials of bikini dancing and strip shows. The club opened in December 2000, featuring topless dancing.

The building started out as the Long Far Inn, a Chinese restaurant. A change to Whiskey ’n Rye followed before the establishment became Bella’s.

The city’s only other adult-oriented business recently completed a major overhaul. Mile Hi Adult Emporium was given permission by the city to spruce up both the inside and outside of the store with the stipulation that it not expand. The renovation created a second storefront at 1407 Main St., and a lingerie store called Naughty But Nice opened there.

Under city law, any new adult-oriented business would be limited to setting up shop in an industrial area and barred from Main Street or residential areas.

Wet bikini shots left Disturbia star disturbed

2007-04-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Former teenage model 'felt a little violated for a second' after seeing final version of thriller

Sarah Roemer started modelling professionally when she was 15, so she's used to being stared at -- especially by men.

But sometimes, it can get to her. During the filming of the new thriller, Disturbia, she spent a lot of time in and out of a swimming pool in a bikini. And in one memorable shot she answers the front door dripping wet. By the time this sequence came along, she had decided that members of the film crew were getting too attentive to her physical charms.

"It was a really bizarre experience watching them watching me and talking about me," she recalls.

"They kept wetting me down. They kept spraying me. I remember the crew guys each had an earpiece and they had their hands over their mouths talking to each other and looking at me ... and I was like, 'Can you stop? I'm trying to do a scene here!' "

It was only after seeing the finished film that she realized fully how voyeuristic these scenes were.

"I was a little taken aback. I had no idea how much was going on in the scene. I didn't realize how much fun they were having with it. I felt a little violated for a second."

But only for a second. Roemer, 22, admits that if some guy was secretly watching her, the way she reacted would probably depend on who that guy was.

If it was "some old crazy creep next door" she wouldn't be happy. On the other hand, if it was some "cute guy" it might be different.

In the case of Disturbia, the cute guy is Shia LaBeouf. He's playing Kale, a moody teenager who's under house arrest for slugging a teacher and who has started whiling away his endless hours by spying on his neighbours -- including her character, Ashley, the beautiful girl who's moved in next door.

"Shia's character is very cute and charming," she says. "I think most girls would be happy with that."

Besides, spying and voyeurism are what drive the suspenseful plot of Disturbia. Kale sees something sinister about the conduct of another neighbour, played by David Morse, and eventually comes to the conclusion that the reclusive Mr. Turner may be a serial killer. Ashley becomes Kale's ally in helping him discover the truth.

"The movie is really fun," Roemer says. "You really feel that you are part of their spy team. I did when I watched it, and there are so many laughs and you're having a really good time. It's a good ride and then when it gets intense; it's really scary."

Equally important, the film makes sure audiences come to know the characters "and I think that makes the end even scarier."

Mind you, it also got scary working with Morse, who decided to stay in character even when he wasn't doing a scene.

"He was very creepy. He did his job really well. There were a lot of rumours going around the set and makeup trailer. People were whispering, 'Is he really like this or is he just playing his character?"

But she also saw the other side of Morse during filming.

"I remember one time he knocked on my trailer when we were starting to do stunts and he brought arnica which is good for bruises and wounds. He didn't really say much. He just handed it over, and said, 'this helps,' and walked away.

"And I thought, 'Oh, he likes me. He was trying to help me.' But I absolutely loved working with him. Every scene I did with him was absolutely incredible. He just has this presence and it's very intimidating. That scene I did with him in the car just gives me the chills."

Roemer seems to be working the horror-thriller genre these days, but she isn't complaining. She made her debut last autumn in Grudge 2, playing a student who falls prey to a curse. She recently completed Asylum, portraying another student who this time must cope with the revelation that her dorm was once a notorious asylum. She had a ball on the film thanks to director David Ellis, who kept telling cast members to lighten up. "David Ellis is absolutely amazing. We had nothing but laughs on the set."

Sandra Bullock has been learning the tango in preparation for a new, as yet untitled, movie -- and she admits she was hopeless at the beginning.

"Go take a tango class and you'll want to go home and kill yourself because you are so inept. It is just frustrating -- but beautiful when it all comes together. Now, I have a tremendous appreciation for it."

Itsy Bitty, Teeny Weeny Solar-Powered Bikini

2007-04-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's curious that people are still squeamish about the cost of going solar (seriously people, it pays for itself!), but when it comes to tiny swimsuits with solar panels, we're all in.

The awkward-looking solar bikini created by Andrew Schneider (seen at right) hit the gadget world earlier this year and received all kinds of praise for its ability to charge your gadgets while you soak up some rays. Now, swimming champion Gemma Mengual was photographed walking down the runway in a solar powered one-piece by Triumph, leading me to believe we will be seeing more of these bad boys.

I won't deny the chicness of solar power, but I will deny any requests to wear a swimsuit with any extra gadget holsters, mini solar panels or wires. I can charge my phone or iPod on my solar powered portable charger without getting hot, sweaty and looking painfully uncomfortable. Thank you very much.

New, 'sexier' one-piece replaces boring bikini?

2007-04-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

The bikini is a tyrant.

Its long rule over women's swimwear, however, may be coming to a close.

A new, sexier take on the traditional one-piece makes its debut just in time for the fast-approaching summer season. Chic and sassy skin-baring cuts take bold steps where forgettable two-piece experiments such as the "tankini" stumbled.

Darby Schmidt, a 2005 graduate from Alpharetta and an employee of Heery's Clothes Closet (195 College Ave.), was surprised by the positive response women had toward the one-piece styles the store offers.

"A lot more girls are trying it on and aren't afraid to give it a chance," Schmidt said.

This comeback has been years in the making. The one-piece has re-emerged in recent seasons but not to an enthusiastic reception.

Heery's offers two different one-piece styles, both from Cosabella Mare's line. Options include solid colors and prints with prices ($96-$118) varying accordingly. They all, however, are "very skimpy," according to Heery's store buyer Carol White.

To counter the bikini dogma, designers have distinguished their particular take on the formerly frumpy one-piece in a variety of ways. No longer will it be typecast strictly for bathers uncomfortable with skin-baring silhouettes.

This will come as a relief to those intrigued by the concept of the one-piece but concerned about risking an association with matronly or infantile swimwear.

Fortson's Clothiers employee and fashion merchandising major Maggie Cassity, a junior from Athens, expressed a conditional interest in the one-piece's re-emergence.

"I would love to find a cute one-piece," she said. "Hopefully those nasty ones with the skirts are staying in the closet."

Fortson's (154 E. Clayton St.) expects a shipment of bathing suits within the month, Cassity said, but she is not sure whether any will be one-pieces.

The sea change in the perception of the one-piece - from faux pas to cutting-edge trend - is the result of designers' ingenuity.

Bold patterns, prints and colors, along with outright sexy cuts and fits, are among the Spring 2007 bikini's fresh traits.

Suits range from high fashion's highest altitudes, with Chanel's classic-cut tweed model, to Target's affordable $24.99 back-baring design by Xhilaration.

Further validating the movement is American Apparel, a staple of hip minimalist stylings. Among its offerings are both risqué and pared-down models, all in the $30-$45 range.

These and many other options promise variety and flattering styles for open-minded swimwear shoppers this summer.

Parents Slam Bikinis aimed at making Children into Sex Objects

2007-04-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Skimpy bikinis aimed at girls as young as four are being sold by leading retailers.

Tiny briefs and bra-style tops are available at respected names such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Bhs and the leading supermarkets.

Many parents are deeply disturbed by the sale of such outfits, similar to those designed for adults.

It is seen as part of a wider problem of the sexualisation of young children.

A snapshot survey by the Daily Mail found John Lewis was selling a tiny £25 pink bikini with orange and brown flowers and frills for girls aged 4-5.

This was among a number of similar swimsuits with tiny triangles of fabric to represent an adult bikini.

The costumes at Marks & Spencer include a blue bikini in an adult design with a very skimpy top and briefs.

The £9 swimsuit is apparently for girls as young as four. Asda's range includes a £5 pink bikini with a starting age range of 4-5, while Tesco costumes include a £3 'Beach babe' bikini in red and green for girls aged 5-6.

Mother-of-two Anna Heywood, from Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, was shocked to see what was on offer in the city centre when she went to buy a swimsuit for daughter, Lily, seven.

"I could not believe what I was seeing," she said. "These were bikinis with tiny triangles and straps which left nothing to the imagination. They were clearly copies of swimwear that is aimed at teenagers or older women.

"I started at John Lewis because I thought I could rely on them. First I looked at the O'Neill range and found nothing suitable. But even John Lewis's own range was as bad.

"They had skimpy tops for four and five-year -olds. I asked why this was the case. I was told that they 'needed to cater for everyone'.

"I am no prude and, indeed until recently my children used to run around on the beach with little or nothing on.

"What I object to is the overt sexualisation of very young children by people who should know better."

Mrs Heywood, 32, an environmental consultant, said she met similar problems at Monsoon and Bhs.

"All I wanted was a simple bikini with some kind of band around the chest. It was just to give Lily something fun to wear on holiday that was different to her school swimsuit."

The director of the charity Kidscape, Michelle Elliott, said: "We should let kids be kids. We don't need to give them miniature adult swimsuits.

"We should give them swimsuits they can run around in, not things with tiny little straps that get in the way.

"Personally, I would rather see them running around without anything on than something that would sexualise them."

Tesco said: "Our swimsuits - including the bikinis - are generally more generous in cover than those of our competitors, and come in the bright, fun colours that have been popular among kids for decades.

"We reject any suggestion that they are indecent or provocative."

John Lewis summed up the other stores' views with a statement saying: "We take the responsibility we have as a retailer to parents and children seriously and are very mindful that all garments must be appropriate for the age group they are intended for.

"Our swimwear assortment for girls responds to what our customers would like to buy and offers them choice through a variety of ranges."

UK parents slam 'bikini for tiny tots'

New Delhi: Skimpy bikinis for girls as young as four, sold by leading retailers across UK has got the parents worried, says The Daily Mail. Tiny briefs and bra-style tops for adolescent girls by famous brands are flooding London’s upmarket stores.

While the parents are deeply disturbed by the sale of such outfits, they see it a part of a wider problem—of the sexualisation of young children.

A survey by The Daily Mail found a number of swimsuits for tiny tots designed with tiny triangles of fabric represent an adult bikini. One of the walk-ins at a London store, mother-of-two Anna Heywood said she was shocked to see what was on offer as a swimsuit for her seven-year-old daughter.

"I could not believe what I was seeing. These were bikinis with tiny triangles and straps were clearly copies of swimwear that is aimed at teenagers or older women,” she told the news daily.

"What I object to is the overt sexualisation of very young children by people who should know better," she added.

However the manufacturers say they are only catering to the popular demand. "Our swimsuits - including the bikinis - are generally more generous in cover than those of our competitors, and come in the bright, fun colours that have been popular among kids for decades. We reject any suggestion that they are indecent or provocative," a manufacturer was quoted by Daily Mail.

Forget Teeny Weeny Bikinis This Summer!

2007-04-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

It's official, British women's boobs are growing to new proportions. Tica London, the city's most central swimwear boutique, has seen a rapid growth of sales in larger sizes over the past 12 months. And to cater for demand, directors Jenny Powles and Emma McLaughlin are in talks with their Brazilian suppliers to find out if they can manufacture larger sizes.

“We have quite literally been selling out of our larger D-Cup and DD-Cup bikini sizes nearly as soon as we've un-packed our deliveries” says Emma McLaughlin. “We’re constantly asked for larger bikini tops but with small bottoms – something we fortunately don't have too much of a problem with owing to the fact that our South American styles are often a little slimmer on the hips”.

Jenny Powles adds “We can't work out if British women are actually larger than their traditionally curvaceous South American counterparts or if this phenomenon is due to the increase in plastic surgery procedures or just because British women quite simply like to be a bit more covered up”.

Tica London already offers 'export' sizes of the famously small Brazilian bikinis to cater for the European market. “Our size small bikini is actually equivalent to a large in Brazil” says Emma “European women are a little more shy than the South Americans and tend to prefer a little more coverage from their bathing suits”.

Whatever the reason, it's all good news for British men who will be getting quite an eye-full with all this hot weather!

Panama City Bikini Roller Derby

2007-04-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

It's been more than a few months since the parking lot around RollerTime skate rink on Arcadia Circle has been jammed with cars; since the buzz of anticipation inside was as intense as the "Saw" movies and the thump of females hitting the hardwood could be heard clearly in line at the concession stand.

It's been awhile since some of Huntsville's finest ladies have gone flying into the fan-lined oval at RollerTime, the cross-dressing cheerleaders have whipped the rowdy spectators into a frenzy, and the shoving and nudging of roller derby was rocking in Huntsville.

But Sunday night, clad in striped stockings and helmets, the Dixie Derby Girls will resurface for a bout against the Panama City Roller Derby.

Pitted as the "Bikini Beatdown," the Huntsville crew will roll out a dozen of the most malicious mamas in town for the throwdown.

Don't miss the debauchery following the final whistle when the party shifts from RollerTime to Crossroads, 115 Clinton Ave.

Event details

What: Dixie Derby Girls vs. Panama City Roller Derby

When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: RollerTime Skate Rink, 707 Arcadia Circle

How much: $10, includes The Group Hug halftime concert and admission to afterparty at Crossroads

H&M's Kylie Minogue Bikini Range

2007-04-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

Kylie Minogue has been unveiled as the new face and body of high-street retailer H&M's summer swimwear range.

Described as "relaxed meets disco", the new line features some very-Kylie silver bikinis and is said to be inspired by the Australian singer's own unique beach-life style.

"You only have to look at Kylie's fantastic personal style to see how stylish she is, and she is such a sweet person," said H&M's head of design Margareta van den Bosch.

"She was very enthusiastic in communicating what she personally likes to wear on the beach and showed us visual references like her own favourite 60s vintage bathing suit, which inspired the halter neck costume."

Fifteen styles are included in the new H&M loves Kylie line, which will debut in stores in mid-May.

While prices start at €9.90 (£6.70) for bikini bottoms and rise to €29.90 (£20.40) for the dresses, ten per cent of all proceeds will be donated to WaterAid, a charity seeking to provide the world's poorest communities with reliable freshwater supplies.

H&M will be hoping the Kylie factor works in their favour after a recent fashion tie-up with Madonna resulted in clothes not flying off the shelves as expected.

Miss Earth 2007 - Bikini Contest

2007-04-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

Although it may be hard to focus on the message when the mode of propagation is a beauty pageant, the purpose of the Miss Earth competition is to promote and be actively involved in the preservation and protection of Mother Earth. Begun in 2001 by pagaent company Carousel Productions Inc., the Miss Earth competition began in the Phillipines and now includes competitors from over 80 countries.

Above: Candidates of Miss Philippines Earth 2007 hold slogans during a press presentation, Wednesday, April 11, 2007.

Bikini Wax Bars coming to your local city

2007-04-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

"Bikini Wax Bars" are apparently going to be the hottest thing in beauty treatment in location spots around the country.

The High Street organisation Superdrug will be making a variety of waxing styles available in the next few months.

A pilot project in the capital showed there was a market for both sexes for the removal of hair from "sensitive" places on the body.

What's more, a survey discovered that one in three ladies consider waxing to be absolutely necessary. More females in their mid - 50s confess to demanding a "Hollywood" style (formerly known as a "Brazilian") (completely bare) than individuals in the 19-21 age group.

One in ten blokes also disclosed they had their bottoms waxed too!

Baywatch Bikini Party Enrages Muslims in Indonesia

2007-04-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

Jakarta, 12 April (AKI) - Muslim groups near Yogyakarta in Central Java are up in arms at a local night club which has organised a Baywatch Bikini Party, inspired by the American television serial based on Californian surf life savers featuring women in skimpy bathing costumes and bare-chested men. "Parties like this must be rejected because they do not help to build the national character, on the contrary they damage it," Warijan, president of the Islamic students association, ‘Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam’, told local daily Java Pos.

The party is scheduled for next Saturday at Caesar Café, in Sleman district, whose owner Ambarukmo Fajar, said the girls attending will be "dressed in a relatively conservative manner with red mini-skirts and white tops".

Warijan added that Yogyakarta was gradually losing its status as a cultural centre of Indonesia and becoming instead "a city of sin." "Parents will be afraid to send their children to study here," he said. Yogyakarta is known as a center of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry and puppet shows. It is also famous as a center for Indonesian higher education.

Yogyakarta also mainly attracts tourists interested in art and culture, with key attractions nearby such as the Prambanan complex of Hindu temples and the world famous Borobudur Buddhist temple, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

"It is not the Baywatch one sees on television.The name was chosen for marketing purposes," said Caesar Café's owner Ambarukmo Fajar.

"We will recreate only the atmosphere of Baywatch and nothing will happen that could damage the culture of the traditions of Yogyakarta," he explained. "What is more, to do something openly sinful here would amount to suicide," he added.

The Baywatch initiative has been criticised by various other Muslim groups who have called for a boycott of the Caesar Cafe.

Miss Hawaii Bikini Contest

2007-04-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

April 14, 2007.

TEMPERATURES soared this week at the English heats of Miss Hawaiian Tropic - the world's biggest bikini babe contest.

Tanned and toned babes posed in skimpy swimwear hoping to pick up the coveted crown.

Dozens of English roses turned out for the event at Chelsea's swanky club The Collection over the past two nights.

Judges marked them on their bikini bods and also evening dress and lingerie.

The winner - who is yet to be revealed - will go to Las Vegas next month to compete at the international beauty pageant's grand finals.

It will see hot girls from around the globe going head-to-head for the top prize - and become the face of the sun-oil company.

Getting Fit: Bikini Body Countdown

2007-04-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

STRENGTH: SCULPT FROM HEAD TO TOE

How it works Do this all-over sculpting plan, designed by trainer and Shape contributing editor Lisa Wheeler, two or three times a week. You'll need a stability ball and a small 5- to 10-pound weighted ball. Warm up with at least five minutes of easy cardio (add more, if you'd like, to increase the calorie burn), then do one set of each move in order. Follow each exercise with the designated cardio "burst." Go through the moves two or three times total. Add up to 30 seconds of rest between circuits if needed.

BIKINI BODY CARDIO PLAN

How it works Five or six times a week, do one of these routines (or choose from one of the cardio workouts from previous months). Pick any activity you like. This month, the weight workout can function as a cardio routine too, so if you're strapped for time one day, just do the weight workout. Take a day off each week to recover.

Calorie maximizerDo an hour of moderate-intensity cardio, whether it's a hike, a brisk walk, your favorite indoor cycling class or kickboxing. Once a week, try to go on a long (two hours or more) hike or walk.

Gradual intervals
0-5 minutes Warm up at an easy pace (you can easily chat)
5-10 Maintain a moderate pace (you're breathing more heavily than normal but are still able to maintain a conversation).
10-12 Increase the incline and or resistance over the 2-minute period until the last 30 to 45 seconds are very hard (you can't say more than a word or two between breaths).
12-14 Recover at an easy to moderate intensity.
14-30 Repeat minutes 10-14 four times.
30-35 Gradually slow your pace to an easy intensity to cool down.

Funny Bikinis 03

2007-04-11T12:03:00.002-07:00

Funny Bikinis 02

2007-04-11T12:03:00.001-07:00

Funny Bikinis 01

2007-04-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Got the Bikini Blues? It's Not Too Late to Drop a Size Before Summer

2007-04-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

The signs of spring are all around, which means summer and bikini season aren't far off. Don't fret: you still have time to drop a size and start on the road to a healthier and fitter you, says Lifestyle Architect David Berger, founder of the Number One Me™ lifestyle and personal fitness system (www.numberoneme.com).

"Stop finding excuses why you can't exercise or why you can't control your eating and do something about it," Berger says. "You can do it. Convert your negative energy into positive thinking. Commit to a daily exercise program and you will look and feel healthier right from the start. And the greatest benefit is that your self-confidence will grow as your waist line shrinks."

The first step is to get out of the chair, and away from the television, computer and refrigerator. The warmer spring days are perfect for long daily walks, which is a great way to get started on the road to a fitter you, Berger says. You might then graduate to a more formal and disciplined exercise and nutrition program, such as Berger's Number One Me program.

"We can provide the guidance, but people need to make a personal commitment if they want to achieve their fitness goals, particularly with summer looming," Berger says. "But people who make that commitment, eat well and work hard can drop at least one clothing size in the next few months."

Berger is offering a variety of free exercise downloads from his NumberOneMe site for people who want to get started on an exercise routine today. The exercises are geared for various fitness levels.

Beginning exercises https://www.numberoneme.com/images/Beginner.wmv
Intermediate exercisers https://www.numberoneme.com/images/Intermediate.wmv
Expert exercisers https://www.numberoneme.com/images/Advanced.wmv

Psychiatric evaluation for bikini-clad fireman

2007-04-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

A volunteer firefighter from Waynesville, Ohio, faces charges after a parent complained about seeing him wearing a blond wig and a string bikini in a city park.

Steven S. Cole, 46, told police he was en route to a gay bar in Dayton "to perform as a woman for a $10,000 prize," the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

He pleaded not guilty Thursday in Mason Municipal Court on misdemeanour charges of drunken driving, having an open container, public indecency and disorderly conduct, Mason police told Gay.com.

The court ordered Cole to undergo psychiatric evaluation and banned him from public parks in the area.

His attorney, Charlie Rittgers, said Cole is married with three children and has no criminal history.

"There are a lot of people who are cross-dressers that are not a danger to anybody in society," TV station WCPO quoted Rittgers as saying.

"What's strange and what's caught the attention of the media is that he was dressed the way he was dressed, which was a little bit strange for Heritage Park in Mason, Ohio."

Cole was arrested Tuesday after a local father enjoying the balmy weather at the park with his family spotted what he termed "this freak show" and called police.

"I was a little taken by surprise by what I'd seen there," Troy Harphant, 35, told the Enquirer. "It was out of place with what should have been going on over there, that's for sure."

Harphant claims he saw the bikini-clad person fondling or exposing himself. The person hopped into a parked pickup with red emergency lights on top; he followed the truck out of the park and called police on his cell phone. He realized the person's gender as he got closer.

"There's a man out here dressed up in a wig and women's two-piece bikini freaking people out in the park," he told a 911 dispatcher. "It's inappropriate and I'd like somebody to come check this guy out. The guy is actually trying to leave the park now."

Mason police Officer Scott Miller pulled the truck over. His report states: "I observed Cole to be wearing a very skimpy woman's . . . bikini . . . and a pair of pink Speedo flip-flop sandals."

A pair of tan water balloons provided the embonpoint.

Police said they found an open 40-ounce bottle of beer in Cole's truck and that his blood-alcohol test registered 0.174, more than twice Ohio's legal limit.

Officials in Wayne Township, where Cole has been a volunteer firefighter since August 2000, said he would be placed on administrative leave while the case continues.

Firefighter In Bikini Gets Arrested

2007-04-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

A volunteer firefighter from Ohio has been charged with drunk driving as well as public indecency and disorderly conduct for wearing a bikini to a bar.

The man, Steven Cole, is 46-years-old and a volunteer firefighter. he was on his way to a bar to perform as a woman in a contest. The contest was reportedly paying out $12,500 to the winner. he was dressed in a tight little string bikini and a woman’s wig. He also had water balloons to fill up his chest area for the delight, or sickness, of those seeing him.

He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.174 when arrested and had no comment on the matter.

He pleaded guilty to all counts as his lawyer stated that he is “obviously humiliated and embarrassed.” I would love to see the reception he gets when he goes back to the firehouse.

Motorbikers all in a lather after bikini-clad bike wash

2007-04-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

Cumbrian women literally stopped traffic when they decided to raise some Easter cash for local charities.

The brave group ditched their clothes and took to the city streets to wash as many motorbikes as they could – in their bikinis.

The sponsored bikini bike wash was organised by local bikers Steve Vernon and Amanda Kay as part of their annual Easter egg run to raise money for the Eden Valley Hospice’s Jigsaw Appeal and the Cumberland Infirmary’s Willow B Renal Ward.

More than 80 bikers turned up to have their bikes washed, each donating an Easter egg for the charities.

Amanda was one of the bikini babes at the bike wash outside the St Nicholas Arms pub on London Road. She was joined by friends Pat Simpson, Sharon Wiggan and Jenny Baty, and their sexy stunt seemed to capture the imagination as the group raised £1,300 for their chosen charities.

Amanda said: “We are up for most things and it was a good laugh.

“The only concern was the weather but it was quite warm so we were fine and the money we raised made it all worth while.”

Meanwhile there was an unexpected Easter heatwave in Cumbria with temperatures reaching 15C, and the warm weather is expected to continue this week.

Courtney Love Wears Bikini After Losing Weight

2007-03-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, CA (BANG) - Over the past few months, Courtney Love has kicked her life into shape in more ways than one.

Courtney has lost an incredible 45 pounds in just four months.

The former Hole singer showed off her new svelte figure in a tiny string bikini when she took a dip in the pool at Hawaiian vacation resort Kea Lani this week.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: "She starting losing weight in December when she began drinking diet shakes and sticking to a strict healthy eating regime. She has cut out carbs and is eating fish, steamed vegetables and doing lots of yoga.

"She's feeling like a different person. Her goal is to lose 55 pounds altogether."

Last week, the 42-year-old rocker was seen passionately kissing Bruce Willis while he celebrated his 52nd birthday at Sunset Boulevard's Roxy nightclub, in Los Angeles.

A source said: "They were full-on making out!"

However, Courtney's representative insists the kiss was nothing more than a friendly embrace.

He said: "Courtney was just giving Bruce a quick hello and then they went their separate ways."

Courtney Love's stunning bikini body following yoga and diet regimen

March, 29 (ANI): Planning to lose some weight? Then take tips from American rock musician Courtney Love who has shed lots of weight in the past few months.

The former ‘Hole’ front-woman bowled over fellow tourists at Maui’s Kea Lani Resort, as she looked amazingly slender when she donned a small string bikini to take a swim.

A source revealed that this change began after the 42-year-old started taking Isopure diet shakes last December and followed a strict diet routine.

The singer’s diet has no carbs, but just fish and steamed veggies and is ‘doing lots of yoga’. Love’s diet has certainly paid off, for she’s managed to lose 45 pounds in four months.

Golden Globe-nominated Love feels that her life has really changed a lot after losing weight and she wants to reduce 10 more pounds.

"She's feeling like a different person," US Weekly quoted a source, as saying.

Courtney Love has lost an amazing 45 pounds in just four months, and has celebrated the achievement by being snapped wearing a skimpy bikini in Hawaii.

Speaking to Us Magazine, a source said: "She started losing weight in December when she began drinking diet shakes and sticking to a strict healthy eating regime. She's feeling like a different person. Her goal is to lose 55 pounds altogether"

Courtney's diet regime reportedly included losing the carbs and lots of fish and steamed vegetables.

Love also caused a storm recently by snogging Bruce Willis during his 52nd birthday party in LA last week.

"They were full-on making out!" a witness exclaimed, though apparently that was just Courtney's way of saying a "quick hello".

Could Survivor thrive in bikini-less North?

2007-03-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

EDMONTON - Survivor: Baffin Island, Canada?

Producer Mark Burnett is leaning towards bringing his highly-rated show to cold Canada, says host Jeff Probst, though several factors still give him pause.

"Mark is leaning towards, truly considering, a colder climate, especially if the show goes on further, because it is hard to find locations," Probst says.

The production crew has had long discussions about Canada, he says. "We see a lot of positives that would be new and different, and then there's some negatives because physically you tend to shut down when you get cold, you don't do as much. You're going to be wearing parkas and hats and boots and you're not going to be in bikinis, and challenges become a little different. So there's pros and cons."

Probst admits things haven't worked out so well so far on this season's Survivor: Fiji, which has seen one starving tribe routinely trounced by the other, pampered tribe.

If the producers could go back, they would have had the tribes battle for the luxurious camp weekly, a plan that was considered but dropped because it was thought the constant switching might be too confusing for both contestants and viewers.

But the well-fed tribe has had far more energy so it utterly whipped the impoverished tribe in all the challenges, which has so far made the show predictable.

"This one I'd call an idea that didn't work out so well," Probst says.

Now that the tribes are mixed up, things will get better, he adds: "The show begins to pick up a lot of steam."

There will be more fireworks from this year's villain, Lisi Linares, he promises. On the last Thursday's episode, after the emotional Linares was sent to the privation of Exile Island, she freaked out and talked aloud about walking off the show. On air, Probst strongly questioned her decision-making, but inside he was gleeful.

"Believe me, when I was sitting out there I was thinking, 'Oh thank you, Lisi, thank you. This is gold.' "

Mossimo Bikini Summit

2007-03-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

We didn’t hear about Mossimo Bikini Summit last summer. Or was it a hush-hush event, not even the most avid bodywatchers in this part of the planet heard anything about it.

This summer, though, Mossimo is determined to revive the Mossimo Bikini Summit. After all, this is the competition that paved the way for the likes of Brent Javier, Carlo Maceda, Einar Ingebrigtsen, Jordan Herrera, Martin Jickain, Denice Montecillo and April Tanjueco to hog the limelight and build a career from thereon in modeling and show business.

Despite the raised eyebrows this competition induces among those who seem bent on taking a condescending look at men and women showing off their physical assets, there are really hundreds who wish they could be like Javier, Maceda, Herrera, and Jickain who are now enjoying the fruits of their unfettered love to be skimpily clothed for the most part of their lives.

So those who wish to follow in their footsteps—as well as those of last year’s winners Jerome Ortiz and Joyce So—should better get ready for the 2007 Mossimo Bikini Summit: Take It Underground.

Yes, the most anticipated modeling event in the country is back—but with a twist. As in previous years, there will be boys, babes and bikinis aplenty. But in addition to all that, the summit will also promote the “street” lifestyle.

What is the “street” lifestyle? “It is a lifestyle befitting Mossimo’s status as one of the world’s leading street and urban clothing companies,” explains Alan Tecson of The Village Advertising and Promotions, the production outfit behind this year’s competition. “In fact, this year’s summit will incorporate key elements of the ‘street’ lifestyle.’”

When asked to elaborate, Tecson had only this to say: “One of those key elements involves reggaeton music—a style of music vital to the ‘street’ lifestyle. This year, Mossimo will take the summit to the streets of Metro Manila via a reggaeton-themed party.”

Yes, you heard it here first: The culminating activity of this year’s biggest and sexiest summer event will be an underground reggaeton-themed party.

For the uninitiated, reggaeton is a widely popular blend of hip-hop, dancehall, reggae and techno that is fast becoming the sound of today’s dance floor. In fact, one of today’s best-loved party anthems, Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” is a reggaeton song.

Jeff Paulino, also of The Village Advertising and Promotions, defines it as follows: “Reggaeton is the anthem of the hip, the young and the rebellious. It is a reflection of one’s desire to be free—to fit in and stand out at the same time. Reggaeton represents the ‘street’ lifestyle, a fun, fast-paced life of struggle and survival.”

The Mossimo Bikini Summit has always been known for setting the hottest trends in fashion and music.

In 2005, they brought different style of music—namely classical, pop, hiphop and rock—together in a pageant-concert at the Araneta Coliseum. Last year, the summit satisfied the Filipino’s need for speed with an Asian Formula 3-themed event held at the NBC Tent at the Fort Bonifacio Global City. Those events were exciting in their own right, but this year’s reggaeton theme will surely blow past summits out of the water.

Presented by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, the 2007 Mossimo Bikini Summit: Take It Underground is designed to emulate the “street” lifestyle—one that consists fast cars, high-tech gadgets and the best in street and urban fashion courtesy of Mossimo.

It will be held at an as-yet undisclosed location in Metro Manila on April 21.

Hot copy, still

Don’t write off Imelda Romualdez Marcos yet. She is still a hot copy. Well, among foreign journalists, at least, she is.

In the April issue of W, the bible of true blue fashionistas, the former Philippine First Lady merited a front cover teaser (Kirsten Dunst is W’s cover girl for April) with the blurb: “Forever Imelda: Inside Her Strange, Strange World.”

W staff writer James Reginato does a not-so-interestingly written re-hash of what the rest of the world knows already—the aging matriarch’s unmitigated penchant for the ostentatious.

A Filipino friend living in California e-mailed this reaction to the article.

“At 77, Imelda continues to be gossip fodder. Apparently, there are still those who remain gaga over her rags-to-riches story, which is primarily an American fascination. The hometown-boy-who-does-good saga is really more of an American dream. In more feudal-like societies, like the Philippines, it is where you come from that matters. As the ‘altas’ of old are wont to ask, ‘Hijo de quien?’

“While there is mention of Mrs. Marcos’ recent foray into the faux jewelry business, that segment of the article opens with: ‘Then it’s time for the jewels, and things get even weirder. Imelda, it turns out, is now hawking her own line of costume jewelry—which she proudly describes as ‘recycled junk’...

“Her wares are described as an unusual combination of cast-off gems and junk. Imelda herself admits that her jewelry is made to disintegrate so the wearer gets a chance to re-cycle.

“Reginato concludes that Mrs. Marcos may be deemed weird but to her, what matters is that she still can hog the spotlight.”

Nadia to Congress

She has been out of show business (officially) for the last three decades (if I remember right), but Nadia Montenegro has never been really out of the showbiz circles, having maintained good relationship with those she came to know and worked with in the limited time she was in the business.

When she chose to live a life with then Caloocan Mayor Macario “Boy” Asistio, she quit the business and became a dutiful wife to the mayor and a beautiful mom to their equally beautiful kids.

Now, the kids are all grown-up and Nadia is ready to play a new role in her life. She is running for Congress representing the first district of Caloocan.

Nadia’s awakening came when she started mingling with her husband’s former constituents. She listened to their problems, complaints about the current administration’s lack of concern for their well-being.

Over lunch at Annabel’s not too long ago, Nadia intimated to us that every time she’d meet the destitutes in the city of her husband, she would be enveloped with sadness.

“I don’t know why, but I get emotional listening to the people’s stories about their sufferings, their lack of material things, their struggles to cope with day-to-day problems. I told myself that if I don’t even raise my hand to do something to help these people, I won’t be able to tell my grandchildren later in life that I did anything meaningful at all.”

And so, with the blessings of Boy Asistio, Nadia launches her bid for a seat in Congress this coming elections. Already, the former teen star has been pitching for support from fellow showbiz personalities. And she might just get that come campaign time. After all, Nadia is a child of the movies, her fellow actors will come to prop her up.

Ryanair's bikini babes

2007-03-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

Ryanair, Europe's No.1 low fares airline, today (Sunday 25 March) celebrates the start of European summer time with a fare offer of £9.99* on all routes from the UK to destinations across Europe. Our two Ryanair blonde stunners are ready to hit the hot beaches of Europe (though maybe they're a little under-dressed for March) and are encouraging people to stop hibernating and book a flight to the sun.

They've got their bikinis, their cocktails and their beach towels, and they're all set to find the sun this summer with Europe's largest low fares airline.

Ryanair's UK Marketing Executive Elaine Duff said: "It's time to throw away the winter coats and scarves and feel the sun on your face. Summer's coming and Ryanair has 455 fantastic low fare routes across 25 countries, all fabulous destinations offering summer sun at the lowest fares in Europe.

"Choose from the usual magical tourist hotspots in Spain such as Vitoria, Santander and Santiago or Italy's Ancona or Alghero, or even Marseille or Toulon in France, or maybe this summer consider something different - in Hungary, Slovenia or Latvia. They're off the beaten track, untouristed, and cheap as chips!

"Right now, fares start from £9.99* one-way, inclusive of tax, so get that summer break booked now on ryanair.com.

"At fares this low, we advise you to book them fast because once they're gone, they're gone."

Picture shows Ryanair lovelies Llana and Ashleigh soaking up the sun at London Stansted Airport today.

Try on that Bikini this Month

2007-03-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

March is a very important month for us ladies because this is the month we typically face our worst fears by trying on our bathing suits that have not seen the light of day for months.

fter the suit try on, the reality sinks in and most of us turn to the first fad diet we can find. Problem is that fad diets could take off the pounds quick but they won't keep the pounds off for a duration of time. Remember: Summer is 3 months long.

Change it up: We tend to measure success by the numbers on the scale. It's better to think about the shape and strength of your body. Lifting weights and exercising will help you burn calories and develop muscle tone. You may not see a rapid change on the scale by doing this, but the important thing is that you'll look and feel slimmer.
On the other hand, quick weight-loss diets let you drop pounds quickly, but often at the expense of body tone and body strength. Set your goals toward change — change of habits (take the stairs instead of elevator) and change in what, how and why you eat (hungry? Snack on fruit, not pretzels), and stick to those changes. The pounds will come off as a result, and you'll look great.
There are other great tips so
Know yourself: What do you need to do to keep yourself motivated? Is it essential to have noteworthy weight loss right off the bat, or is slow and steady just as good? Is losing weight a private affair or do you do better with a group of fellow dieters? Are there certain triggers to your eating, such as the time of day, watching TV, stress or being with certain friends?
The more you're aware of your reasons for falling into bad eating habits, the better equipped you’ll be to clear the hurdles between you and success.
Remember, the tortoise won the race: The “lose weight fast” approach may be all right for a couple weeks, says registered dietitian Cathy Nonas, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “But these diets seriously lack staying power and for some people can be physically harmful." For example, skipping meals or cutting too many calories may rob your body of needed nutrients or send it into starvation mode, which could lead to loss of muscle mass and an unhealthy look.
If you're looking for steady, yet painless weight loss that you can maintain, try cutting just 50 calories from each meal. Granted, you won't be losing weight as quickly as you might like, but the pounds will melt away slowly and steadily. Squeeze in regular exercise, and you'll be able to slip into that swimsuit even faster.

No matter what you do to get yourself going, Nonas emphasizes the importance of “next steps,” or transitioning from weight loss to weight maintenance. Those steps should move you closer to habits that can last a lifetime.
Be accountable to someone: Support from family and friends is linked to long-term weight-loss success. Dieters who have someone interested in their progress and willing to take on that shepherding role are often more apt to stay the course. Try signing up for an exercise class with a friend or making plans to walk your dogs together so you can act as support and encouragement for each other.
Starting a diet plan now gives you enough time to shape up before swimsuit season hits its full stride. Whether you start small or start big, remember: Those who fast won’t last.

TOP TEN BIKINI HINTS

2007-03-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

1. If you are more milk-bottle than mahogany, wear bold colours on the beach as they suit paler skin tones.

2. To create more curves, wear funky, multicoloured stripes.

3. Black is brilliant for flattering a less than perfect figure.

4. White is tops for showing off a perfect tan but only with a perfect body.

5. Nautical red, white and blues suit everyone, whatever your skin tone.

6. Earthy tones, such as rich browns and khaki greens, make the most of your bronzed body.

7. To shrink a big bottom, wear plain bikini bottoms with a patterned top.

8. Tie-side styles suit bigger bottoms and make legs look longer.

9. Avoid wearing flip-flops and opt instead for wedges or mules to give you better posture and height.

10. Halter-neck styles give great support to bigger busts.

So what better incentive do you need to shed those stones scored by sitting on the sofa stuffing yourself with sweets?

Simple Rules for getting Bikini Fit

2007-03-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

My simple rules for getting bikini-fit: sure, top model Daniela Pestova is a natural beauty—but she works hard to stay bikini-ready year-round.

Though Daniela Pestova has been modeling swimsuits for more than 15 years--2006 marks her fifth Shape cover--don't think for a second that she lives on bottled water and salad. "If I don't eat, I'm exhausted," says the 35-year-old mother of two. "I'd much rather eat healthy and be healthy." Here, Daniela's tricks for looking fit and having energy to burn.

MAKE WORKOUTS COUNT

"I hate to admit it, but when I first started modeling I didn't like to exercise," Daniela says, "but now that I have kids and a demanding career, working out actually helps me to relax." She goes to the gym three times a week while Yanick, 9, and Ella, 4, are at school. She does 40-50 minutes of cardio on the bike, the elliptical trainer or occasionally the treadmill. After stretching, she does resistance training to stay toned. Since she's been a Shape reader for more than eight years, she says many of her moves--be they leg-toning squats or sexy arm-baring biceps curls--have come straight from our pages! "I change up my toning routine often, but I usually start with my abs," Daniela says. (Go to Shape.com/getfit to find moves like Daniela's favorites.) "Then I rest and do the whole thing again!" she says.

Twice a week she exercises at home using Gaiam Pilates DVDs (gaiam.com) and resistance bands. "Though the workouts aren't particularly advanced or exhausting," she says, "they force me to relax and concentrate on stretching and alignment--and leave me feeling invigorated."

EAT FOR ENERGY AND ENJOYMENT

Daniela often steers away from her native Czech cuisine, which is heavy on meats (like sausages), starches and creamy sauces. "I'm not a vegetarian," she says, "but I love lots of tofu and veggies." She drinks a cup of black tea every morning and follows it with yogurt ("It has healthy bacteria that helps balance my digestive system"). Lunch often includes a big bowl of homemade vegetable or chicken soup, and midafternoon-snack favorites are crunchy veggies like carrots and cucumbers. Evening meals are lighter, but always contain protein like eggs, cheese or chicken.

You won't find many junk foods in Daniela's diet: "If I'm working out I don't like to put lots of unhealthy food in my body," she says. Which isn't to say she doesn't like to indulge: "My occasional treats are a glass of red wine or a big chunk of dark chocolate," Daniela says.

FIND TIME TO TAKE IT EASY

Like so many working mothers, Daniela is always looking for simple ways to relax. "These days it feels like I'm either at work or working at home!" she says. When she can grab some private time, she looks forward to her workouts, a hot bath or a long bike ride. It sometimes means letting go of the idea she can (or has to) do it all. "Something has to give and maybe my house won't always be in tiptop shape," she says, "but if I can steal away for half an hour, I can find balance, and that's so much more important than housework."

RELATED ARTICLE: 'A few of my favorite things'

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs ($10; at drugstores) "I bring this with me when I'm modeling swimsuits--it makes my legs look flawless and doesn't stain clothes."

adidas by Stella McCartney hoodie ($100; shopadidas.com) "It's cool-looking and totally functional. I wear it out with jeans--and to the gym."

L'Occitane Green Tea Eau de Toilette ($40; loccitane.com) "This scent is fresh and just a little exotic."

Lancome Juicy Tubes lip gloss in First Class, Copper Cabana, Exotic Kiss and Tropical Tryst ($16.50 each; lancome.com) "This evens out lip color with just a hint of shine; I wear one of these every day."

RELATED ARTICLE: MY SHOOT PLAYLIST

Modeling bikinis takes loads of confidence. Here, Daniela's strike-a-pose soundtrack:

* U2 "Two Hearts Beat as One"

* Pavol Habera & Team "While I'm With You"

* The Rolling Stones "Emotional Rescue"

* The Chemical Brothers "Galvanize"

* Interpol "C'mere"

RELATED ARTICLE: How I keep slim on the road

Daniela's career demands constant travel, so exercise has to be flexible and portable. "I try to stay in hotels that have gyms," Daniela says. "If that's not an option, I take long walks." Her biggest challenge? Coming "home" to her routine after weeks away. "Motivating myself can be so frustrating," she says. "But as soon as I walk in the gym door," she says, "I remember again why I'm there: for me!"

"I began loving exercise when it stopped being something I had to do--
and started to become something that I wanted to do for myself."

Bikini 1946 to Present

2007-03-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

An itsy-bitsy history of the teeny weeny bikini 1946-2003: from the voluptuous screen stars of yesteryear to today's toned and buff surfer girls, a retrospective of our bodies and the bikini - Essential Guide to Summer

It's hard to imagine you can attribute so much meaning to so little fabric, but it's true -- the bikini has spent the last 57 years showing off the female body in all its glory, from the hourglass figures of the '50s to the athletic abs of the '90s and beyond. "Since the beginning, the bikini has represented freedom, fun and a sense of liberation," says New York City-based swimsuit designer Malia Mills.

That sense of fun was just what French engineer Louis Reard decided his countrymen needed after the grim years of World War II. In 1946 he had the simple but scandalous idea of splitting the swimsuit in two. Needing a name as explosive as his creation, Reard borrowed "bikini" from the Pacific atoll where the United States was testing early atomic bombs. The bikini wasn't immediately embraced -- in fact, Reard had to hire a nude dancer to debut it, since no reputable French fashion model would.

Scandalous though it was, the sexy suit slowly infiltrated American beaches and pool parties, and by the late '50s and '60s the soft, curvy figures of Marilyn Monroe, Gina Lollobrigida and Brigitte Bardot were the idealized bikini bodies. In 1964 the bikini made its first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated; that same year, mod designer Rudi Gernreich took the two-piece concept one step further with his topless "monokini." A minor hit in Europe, the R-rated suit never made a big splash on American shores.

By the '70s, American women were catching up with the Europeans' more daring attitudes. At the same time, swimsuit designers were discovering Lycra, a stretch fiber that allowed them to stitch tinier pieces of fabric, yet still provide support. The result: The string bikini -- with more string than fabric -- was born. The daring young women of Rio de Janeiro and St-Tropez went even further -- forgoing all rear-view coverage to show off their assets in the "Tanga" (what we Americans know as the thong).

From Curves to Crunches

The fitness boom of the '80s led to one of the biggest leaps in the evolution of the bikini, Mills observes: "The leg line became superhigh, the front was superlow, and the straps were superthin. That was the era of aerobics and Jane Fonda, and women really wanted to show off their bodies."

But as skin-cancer awareness grew and a sleeker, simpler aesthetic defined fashion in the '90s, the skimpy bikini practically dropped off the radar. By that time, the voluptuous figure that looked so good in tiny triangles was out; athletic, toned bodies became the ideal, as epitomized by surf star Malia Jones, who appeared on Shape's June 1997 cover wearing a halter-top two-piece built for rough water.

Today, bikinis are back with vengeance: Just witness Halle Berry's bikini moment in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day, an homage to her Bond Girl predecessor, Ursula Andress, in 1962's Dr. No. This time around, though, there's no one ideal "bikini figure." Mills says that women of all shapes are discovering that two pieces just fit better, no matter their body shape. "We find that very few women come into our stores and say, '1 can't wear a two-piece,'" says Mills, who sells tops and bottoms separately to provide the perfect fit. "Women today are very liberated in how they feel about their bodies and comfortable with who they are, and they want to show it!"

Weird Bikini

2007-03-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Fifties Swimwear Will Heat Up Summer 2007

2007-03-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

One piece swimsuits will be big this season according to the catwalks of London and New York Fashion Weeks.

Designers including Missoni and Chanel featured glamourous full body swimming costumes in their Spring/Summer collections and the high streets are set to follow their lead.

Vogue says: 'Spaghetti straps reveal summer skin and high-waisted bottoms are cruise-casual'

One piece swimsuits are great for exposing only the most flattering areas and showing off a great tan whilst still looking glamorous and stylish.

Chanel's latest collection featured simple high-leg white swimsuits teamed with gold accessories for St Tropez glamour. High leg cuts are great for making the legs look longer.
Click here to find out more!

Missoni went for a more ethnic look with with high-waisted designs contrasting a number of colours and patterns. A mix of designs and colours around the middle disguises curvy hips.

Topshop has already lanuched its new ranges for the Summer season. Their Holiday collection includes a number of one piece swimsuits in monochrome and floral prints.

This covered-up look is made sexy with a plunging neck line or revealing back view. This style is great for anyone body conscious pear-shapes because the dark tones and snug fit around the hips will create smooth lines.

The range also features a number of smock tops and jersey playsuits that can be worn over a bikini between sun bathing sessions to give the fifties look without tell-tale tan lines.

H&M will pay tribute to Kylie Minogue with their Austrailian summer themed swimwear range, launched in May.

The 'H&M loves Kylie' line is part of their main swimwear range and contains fifteen 'bohemian-chic' styles.

H&M’s head of design Margareta van den Bosch says: 'When we think Australia and glamour we think Kylie, who is such a stylish person.'

10 percent of all money spent on this beachwear line will be donated to WaterAid. The international charity WaterAid is dedicated to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people.

Bikinis in Winter???

2007-03-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

Right: A model presents a bikini collection during a fashion show at a ski resort in Lebanon. This has been the warmest winter since records began.

Many have spent the winter complaining about a lack of snow and marvelling at the warm temperatures. With good reason. Turns out, this was the warmest winter on record.
The unusually warm winter which is now coming to an end caused headlines in Germany, with ski resorts suffering from lack of snow and animals unable to hibernate. Now it turns out that this winter was the warmest on record, according to the American government agency that tracks weather.

The combined global land and surface ocean temperature in the months from December until February was at its highest since records began in 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported Thursday. The report comes just weeks after the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which brought climate change to the top of the political agenda, and is likely to be seen as further evidence for global warming.

Record temperatures in January helped push up the combined winter temperature, the agency reported. "Contributing factors were the long-term trend toward warmer temperatures as well as a moderate El Niño in the Pacific," Jay Lawrimore from the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center told the news agency Reuters. The climatic phenomenon known as El Niño is a periodic warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean.

The researchers cautioned against over-interpreting the new report. "We don't say this winter is evidence of the influence of greenhouse gases," Lawrimore said. However he added that research by his and other institutes as part of the IPCC supported the conclusion that "the warming trend is due in part to rises in greenhouse gas emissions."

he combined temperature for the December to February period was 0.72 degrees Celsius (1.3 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century mean, the agency reported. The report also said that global temperatures have increased by about 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.11 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, but that the rate of increase has been three times larger since 1976.

The second warmest winter on record was in 2004, and the third warmest winter was in 1998. The 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1995.