At the end of August, there are only two moods, contrary to the internet-canon four. There is the one that's "while the world was still a giant slush pit, I planned out every single weekend so I could make the most of The Summer, even though time is an illusion, so I could be doing this the entire year." And then there is the "I didn't have a single hot dog or lobster roll this whole time, because all I did was sit in the dark listening to How to Be a Human Being, but it was chill anyhow."
But nothing spurs one's appetite for charred/lightly buttered meats and getting into arguments with strangers because your beach blanket accidentally touched theirs like the unofficial conclusion of the fun season, which arrives Monday. Don't care? As you were then. Panicking? Here, have a paper bag—but maybe also a cheeky styling trick that could top things off on a high note.
If you've been on Instagram at all recently, you'll have noticed that, this year, swimsuit bottoms have traveled so far up the hip that front wedgies have become a menace and waxes that leave the sides bare a necessity.
Camel toe and having hot wax come into contact with your sensitive bits aside, this is a look—a quite nice one, in fact, that elongates the legs and is chic and sexy in a '90s-Super kind of way. And it is even funner when you factor in the ease of it: If you're sufficiently groomed (or not—though the aesthetic might be better one way), you can accomplish this now, with a tug up of the waistband you'd normally wear straight across. (Think T-shape to Y-shape.)
In fact, some bottoms were built to help a girl do both. Jade Swim, purveyor of suits that ought to be voted Most Likely to Get You Pregnant, lays it all out in the description for its mega-flattering "Most Wanted" brief: "Tanning bottom, sits low on hip or high on waist." But with enough Lycra, or, better yet, side ties, all things are possible—even a summer's end that draws everything to a neat, no-regrets close.
BUY IT: 1. H&M top, $20; hm.com. H&M bottoms, $13; hm.com. 2. Hunza G, $150; net-a-porter.com. 3. Jade Swim top, $90; jadeswim.com. Jade Swim bottoms, $90; jadeswim.com. 4. Triangl, $99; triangl.com.
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