UK based publisher Orca who spins out SurfGirl Magazine each month has announced its winner of the Kikidoll Bikini that was custom-made for them to use in a summer contest. Ta-da–drumroll!

THE KIKIDOLL SWIMWEAR COMPETITION
The winner of the pink medium sized SurfGirl Bikini worth £145 by Kikidoll is Becki McKinley with the correct answer Honolulu!

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• And the Winner Is…Kikidoll Bikini Give-Away Contest in SurfGirl Magazine (kikidollbeach.com)

From the gorgeous mermaidgirl Tala Michelle, who pens her own blog Bathing News,a dreamy underwater concoction of swimwear fashion:

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kiki’s inspirashe!

one of my fave designers kiki of kikidoll swimwear sent me some of her oldies but goodies inspirashe following my vintage bikini pics, and i just looooved it! take a lookie at just a little peak at what makes the kikidoll tick (edie sedgwick, romy schneider, jennifer o’neil, francoise hardy, jane fonda, of course bardot although not featured)! designers…feel free to send your inspirashe of any kind over this way to share on bathing news we’d looooove to seeeee! xoxo to the doll kiki who’s got some amazing things involving birds and tropicals comin soon…ooohwiiii i can’t wait any longer!

From where this beach girl hangs, it does not look like any end is in sight for summer. Mind you that’s true in the tropics!

But, everywhere else other than on a paradisical beach, it seems that September beckons, and the dog days are winding down and into a back to school- back to work frenzy, and forward to Fall.

Labor Day–the traditional day to not work–is full of sales and even more closings. Close out the beach house, close out the pools, close out the holiday, last day at the seaside.

But is it really the end?

Indian Summer is not far away–that time of the early autumn when summer comes back for a drive-by–a last lingering glance at the love affair that was a full-on summer crush. Heat and humidity and sunshine roll in like a jilted lover taking over your life for a week or so. Then, poof–it’s gone, and what remains is often a frosty reproach!

Just like 5PM, though, remember it’s always summer somewhere!

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• The Dog Days Of Summer (pinkbananaworld.com)

Image via Wikipedia

April turned it’s nose up over the weekend and May popped out like a Springy jack-in-the-box.  Banish winter and its slashings of wet, May is here in all its Springtime allure and abundance and promise of  gorgeousness.

The light is clearer, the air is fresher and, of course, the sneak peeks of summer are everywhere, but none so where as much as on the fingernail sliver of sand and sea off the southern French coast stretching from St. Tropez to Monaco, its crown jewel in the center, Cannes, glistening  like the Hope diamond in a tiara, beckoning and brightening all things lush and beachy.

In May, on the 11th,  the Film Festival in Cannes hosts the globe’s bronzed and the beautiful, the veterans and the vedettes, and the tone of the coming international summer beach scene is set in Cannes.

It was in Cannes that the world’s first-ever worn bikini was unveiled.

It was in Cannes that the doyenne of the forme feminine–Brigitte Bardot– was first ‘created’ as God’s gift to Men.

It was in Cannes that ‘going topless’ on the beach began (and continues!)

It was in Cannes that playboys and supermodels cavorted and films and deals were made, and contracts broken, and a few hearts along the way, too!

Holding court at La Croissette, would-bes, wannabees and It Girls have held center stage for over half a century, 64 years to be exact. In Bardot’s era the sweetly demure gingham checked demi-balconette push up bra bikini made schoolgirls blush and grown men worship a teenaged real-life Lolita goddess. Capri trousers, mid-riff peasant tops and hippie sandals still abound several generations later, and of course, that same style Bardot-esque bikini, re-worked is omnipresent!

Related articles

• Seeing stars at Cannes Film Festival (inside-digital.blog.lonelyplanet.com)
• The stars of Cannes (guardian.co.uk)

Image via Wikipedia

It is not your imagination that Granny’s trusty G-Hook is being employed with multi-colored Crayon colored cotton threads into this season’s surprise trending item–all things crochet–for beach and leisure wear.

No longer just the purvue of table-top doilies or those kitschy dolls camoflauging the toilet paper roll, crochet has earned its fashion chops and come of age.

Channelling the 70′s and Boho Hippie vintage ponchos, capes, shawls, and pull-overs, the knotting fascination has even produced form-fitting and wearable bikinis!

Yes, crochet is swimmable!  Thanks to the combo of some poly in the cotton, crochet can get wet, though, mind you, it is not an endurance fiber with the 4-way muscle of spandex, and certainly will not withstand the rigors of windsurfing, wake boarding or heavy shredding.

But with some strategically placed lining and careful tying and adjusting, crochet as beach wear is a total runaway hit and must-have for summer 2011.  And, fab for posing!

Tight weaves are the norm for bikinis and even beading, shells and feathers find their way into the mix.  Add a chunkier, open weave poncho or skirt in bright dayglo colors, and even Janis Joplin and Jimmi Hendrix would be jealous!

Relaxing and fun, crochet has become the go-to stress buster on the beach. It is not uncommon among the surf crowd to see both genders busily hooking and knotting a bracelet, beanie or bikini into shape.

So, get started on those ‘Granny squares’ and see if you can fashion a wearable, beachable, swimmable piece for this summer!

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• Knitting mayhem, pole dancing crochet bikinis, and other stuff (timesunion.com)
• What to Wear This Weekend: Crochet (blogs.smarter.com)

Spring is springing up and the sun is shining on the beaches.

Banish the sweaters and treggings, and get out those teeny tiny eeny meany mine-y string bikinis.

Better yet, grab a copy of  Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011 in advance of the first beach outing, and in some 20o pages, you can drool over the array of swimwear that is coming to a boutique near you soon. The 2011 collections of the world’s most coveted bikinis and suits are gorgeously photographed on what might be the most perfect 17 female forms on the planet.

Kikidoll has 4– count ‘em– 4 bikinis of her new 2011 collection in this SI Swim issue!

The mag and Kikidoll’s Aqua Coral String Bikini both helped to launch the rookie of the year, Kate Upton, with her abundantly ample charm, into the spotlight. Kate appears on the cover as ‘Kate the Great’ and none would disagree!

Five year veteran of SI Swim, Julie Henderson wore two of Kikidoll’s bikinis in the issue, both on location in Fiji. Julie said in her video interview that she liked shooting those scenes with the grass skirt the best of all her looks. Here she is in Kikidoll’s Hibiscus Kapa String Bikini–and grass skirt!

After all her twirling around and hula lessons, Julie looks more comtemplative at sunset stretching out her nearly 6 foot native Texan frame against a curvy palm in Kikidoll’s Coral and Tiki Halter Balconette Bikini.

And on Kikidoll’s home turf, SI Swim photographed its final location shoot in Hawaii nei.

They had intended to only film video there, but apparently with its neon theme, the paradisical setting, the uber-models themselves and the photographer, Bjorn Iooss, son of SI Swim vet Walter Iooss,  he fortuitously decided to take a few still snaps.  Good thing he did–one ended up on the cover with cat-eyed Irina Shayk!

And here is Alyssa Miller in Maui, another bombshell rookie with the looks of a 1940′s starlet, wearing Kikidoll’s Neon Shock Cutaway 1-piece.

Like the Geico ad, you’d have to had been living under a rock not to have seen, heard or known about the eponymous launch of  the much twitted and long-awaited mag, such was the clatter (er, twitter) on the boards, on the TV, on building-sized posters, subway ads, iPad and iPhone apps–well, there’s even a 3D Sony Playstation video. Of course! We are all living in the social network!

From one splendorous tropical beach to another–with sites such as Singapore, Fiji, Maui, Boracay and the British Virgin Islands–and themes of corals and oranges, seaglass blues and greens, Oriental koi pond gardens, earthy animal and botanical prints and acid candy colored neons, the fashion shorthand for beach attire for this coming season is: 1) tinier the better, 2) bold colors matter, 3) strings rule, and 4) embellishment is a must.  Oh, and tanned and toned–essential accoutrements.

And now, some 30 days away ( April 5)  from now, Surfing Magazine launches its laid-back, insoucciant version of the best swimwear available in its stand-alone Swim issue. More au naturel but nonetheless glamorous in its trademarked kicked-back way, Surfing took its beach beauties to the Dominican Republic for its shoot this year.  Channeling an Austin Powers palette of bold 60′s psychedelic prints in neons and pop art tones of oranges, yellow and tans, the mag never veers far away from its board-based roots, featuring real bikinis that real surfergirls can really surf in. Like, really!

With its edgy video teaser by Victor Pakpour and sneak peeks photos coupled with beachy crochet giveaways in the lead-up, Surfing is bringing up the rear–literally–from SI Swim‘s buzz on beach bikinis.

Word out is hitched up, ruched up and hiked up bikini bottoms are the be all, END all for this summer!

Really!

Related articles

• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition: The Battle of the Bikini Brands (foxnews.com)
• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011: Meet New Swimsuit Model Kate Upton (bleacherreport.com)

Julie Henderson in Kikidoll Coral and Tiki Balconette in Fiji

Kate Upton in Kikidoll Aqua Coral Branch Bikini with star fish

Kate Upton in Kikidoll Aqua Coral Branch Bikini in Boracay

Julie Henderson in Kikidoll Kapa Bikini with grass skirt

Julie Henderson in Kikidoll Kapa Bikini

Julie Henderson in Kikidoll Kapa String Bikini in Fiji

Julie Henderson in Kikidoll Kapa Bikini and hula skirt

Alyssa Miller in Kikidoll Neon Shock Cutaway Swimsuit

Alyssa Miller in Kikidoll Neon Shock Cutaway Swimsuit in Hawaii

Kikidoll featured 4 Hawaiian bikinis from her ‘Honolulu Honi’ collection 2011 on 3 of the world’s most gorgeous supermodels in sublime locations of Fiji, Philippines and of course Hawaii nei for the much-lauded and long-anticipated ‘Academy Awards of Swimwear,’ Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011 issue launched 3 days ago amid speculation as to who would grace its cover.

Flanked by 9 other perfect #10 models, exotic Russian beauty Irina Shayk was told live on the David Letterman Late Show on Valentine’s Eve complete with the customary unveiling of a skyscraper-sized version of the cover in still-wintry New York.

Tens of thousands of miles away in those paradisiacal tropical climes, the 17 models and uber-devoted SI editors, headed up by veteran Diane Smith, with Senior Editor MJ Day and Associate Editor Darcie Baum had spent the better part of the last 8 months filming and snapping for the multi-media editions of the magazine. One journey required 40 hours of travel and the body painting of the 5 rookies took hours and hours–some 24 for one brave girl- under the brush and lens of the world’s most talented team. SI’s artistic eye crafted a storyboard that depicted faraway islands, tropical aquamarine seas with colorways of peachy skin corals, hot house oranges, sea foam greens and deep-water blues.

Julie Henderson, a long tall Texan and veteran of SI Swim for five years, is wearing coral and pink ‘Hibiscus Kapa’, a Polynesian tribal print in a classic string style. While on Fiji she was playful with the woven grass skirts of the islands effecting her own swirling hula.  On the same shoot she wore Kikidoll’s Coral and Tiki Gods print Halter Balconette on a deserted wind-swept beach under a curvy palm tree and a setting Pacific sun.

Kate Upton, at 18 the youngest model in this line-up and a rookie for SI, as a Florida girl was right at home in Kikidoll’s angel skin coral and crystal beaded Aqua and White Coral Branch print Bikini on the beaches of Boracay, Philippines. Nonchalantly, she plucked two willing starfish to stand-in for the string bikini top. Voted ‘Rookie of the Year’  creamy dreamy gorgeous Kate already stars in Guess ads and models Beach Bunny lounge wear, too.

Another rookie with serious eyebrows and raven haired looks that recall drama icons of the 40′s, Alyssa Miller looks every bit slated to bloom under SI’s guidance. She wears Kikidoll’s Neon Shock Cutaway Swimsuit with mesh halter showing  curves in all the right places. Alyssa was filmed in Hawaii, homeland of Kikidoll.

All Kikidoll suits seen in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011 can be seen in its magazine, web edition and videos/apps, and are available for pre-order on www.kikidoll.com

Related articles

• A Few Minutes With SI Swimsuit Issue Rookie Alyssa Miller (withleather.uproxx.com)
• Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011: Meet New Swimsuit Model Kate Upton (bleacherreport.com)
• Julie Henderson: Rolling Around In The Sand Feels Like Being A Sugar Donut (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)

Here comes a Hawaiian beachgirl secret.  Oil.  Enough said.

If you have not discovered or stockpiled an arsenal of these Polynesian oils, then get going!

Kukui nut oil, coconut oil and monoi (coconut oil and tiare (jasmine)-you just gotta have them all.

Use them in the shower, in the bath, on dry skin, on your hands and feet, and in your hair. Kind and gentle to the most delicate of skins, even babies soak the stuff up.

Known for their healing and soothing powers as well as super-hydrating quality, sunburn, skin irriations, scrapes and even pesky acne are no match for their effects.

Monoi  Tiare Tahiti make a ‘cosmetic oil consisting of pure coconut oil and the fragrance of tiare, the Tahitian Gardenia. The product is a refinement of an ancient Polynesian beauty secret and has been manufactured commercially since 1942. Centuries ago the people of Polynesia discovered that pure coconut oil is an essential secret for beautiful skin and hair. Coconut oil is a natural replacement for your body’s skin and hair oils. The coconut oil used in Monoi Tiare Tahiti is so highly refined that it is quickly absorbed by your skin. ‘

Oils of Aloha make the best kukui–with or without a scent. A little dose will go a long way so go easy on the squeeze. Even Kikidoll’s pupster gets some on his paws or when he tangles with a sea urchin.

Keep your skin moisturized, your hair conditioned and your cuticles at bay. Slather any or a combo of these oils on while still damp from swimming or bathing and you will never see flakey skin again.

Add to those oils the divine fragrances of gardenia, pikake or plumeria and paradise is just a sensory moment away.

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• Kukui Nut Oil as a Remedy for Acne (beauty.suite101.com)
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Back in late summer, to kick off her Cruise line, Kikidoll launched 21 Hawaiian-printed string bikinis from her new 2011 collection inside sea-going bottles.   Ergo, Bikini in a Bottle.

Using ancient tidal current maps, these beachy emmissaries were sent on their way into the big blue Pacific. Landfall was expected anywhere from 60 to 90 days–um, so right about now.

Assuming the giant squid can’t unseal the corks, and that mergirls don’t wear strings (fins in the way!) , Kikidoll expects some, if not all, of these to find their way onto beaches globally.

So button up your overcoats if you are north, pull on a tank if you are south, and get out there on your local beach for a stroll. Take an empty trash bag with you and pick up the flotsam and jetsam you see along your search; pocket an empty shell or two.  Breathe in deep that mystical combination of seasalt and ozone.

And find a bikini–it’s yours, if you do!

Send us back photos and we will add them to the corkboard.

Happy hunting.