9:07 AM
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When it comes to selecting a bathing suit, I'm not sure just how many times I've either been told to avoid certain colours or witnessed one of friends gripe about how she wished she could pull off white, yellow, tan, coral or green. Before going over options, let's be real. I am of Lebanese, English and Québecoise descent. I am wicked pale and I've never tanned to more than a light golden but, thanks to my Lebanese heritage, in certain light, I appear to be tinged with a hint of... green. This has made me shy away from yellow for years. Most of us have a colour or two that make us look sickly but I find too many people are terrified of wearing a yellow or white swimsuit.
THE WHITE SUIT:
Let me first dispel a ridiculous notion by hereby declaring that pale women can wear white swimsuits. That said, know that the paler you are, the more washed out the suit will make you appear. As with most suits, the cut is very important but how you style a white suit will make a huge difference. My recommendation is to buy a vintage-inspired suit, top it with a vintage headscarf or floppy sun hat; oversize sunglasses; a wide, plastic bracelet and/or chunky, plastic ring; waterproof mascara, a light dusting of bronzer and a matte red lip or coral gloss. This works for any skin tone and hair colour. Embody Marilyn and work it.
Here are two white suits that can help you accomplish this:
The Bathing Beauty two-piece in white from Modcloth. $89.
For those of who may prefer a replica of the infamous Marilyn suit, I found one on Etsy for $215.19 CAD.
THE YELLOW SUIT
I'm not going to lie: Yellow is by far the toughest colour for a pale woman to pull off, no matter what her nationality is. Would I wear a yellow swimsuit? Maybe. Once more, the way to pull this colour off is by going retro, whether it be elegant and classic or cutesy and fun.
If you want a fantastic example of how a yellow swimsuit can be elegantly styled, check out this listing. This photo alone is enough to convince me to make myself something similar!
Prints can also soften the effect of yellow against alabaster. Add white polka-dots to a suit and you've got an entirely different feel.
The Seasons of The Sun swimsuit from Modcloth is an example of this. Top: $49.99 USD. Bottom: $39.99 USD.
On Etsy, I found this great little two-piece for $75.32 CAD.
Wearing yellow when you are pale and blonde is even more difficult, as brown hair warms up the overall effect and red hair compliments yellow (the brighter the red, the better!). Remember to accessorize with reds or blues to cut through all the yellow!
TATTOOS
All of this can apply to women with tattoos but I feel that, the more you have, the more you can pull off the above colours without worrying too much about styling. When the expanse of your skin is adorned with black and/or coloured ink, it is impossible to look as washed out.
ETC...
In the next few posts, we'll look at swimsuits for the grown-up punk, statement pieces, beach body care, beach make-up, summer hairstyles and summer hair care.
