MIAMI, FL - NOVEMBER 13: Bella Hadid is seen at the beach on November 13, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (P...

Fashion

How It Girls Are Styling Their Bikinis This Summer

The uniform usually involves a Frankies Bikinis swimsuit.

by Kevin LeBlanc

It’s the time of year when you can’t make it three posts down on your Instagram feed without seeing a micro-influencer posting a photo dump from some oft-unnamed beach locale, where they’re spending days on end sipping cocktails, tanning on boats, and yes, wearing tiny bikinis. We can’t blame them: Piping-hot temperatures in the city also make us want to escape for a week to an Italian beach town, where the dress code is, as always, swimsuits first, clothes second.

If you’re running low on styling inspo for your next beach trip or pool party, we’ve rounded up 12 looks from our favorite cool girls and fashion icons to pin to your mood boards. The overarching theme this summer is swimwear that is a mere suggestion of a bikini, with mini triangles and strappy bottoms that will ensure maximum bronzing and almost zero embarrassing tan lines. The It Girl beachfront uniform also includes black sunglasses, a neutral for the summer, and lots of gold jewelry. Keep reading to see how the style set is soaking up the sun with bikini ’fits for days.

Emily Ratajkowski

Ratajkowski took to the streets of the West Village for her swim brand, Inamorata Woman, wearing an itty bitty sun-patterned bikini with white crew socks and red Vans. She made the case for pairing swimsuits with street-ready footwear to take you from Washington Square Park to Riis Beach with ease.

Sydney Sweeney

The Anyone But You star chose an underwire bra bikini — similar to this Faithfull the Brand top — and wore it with black sunglasses (start counting the pairs now), khaki drawstring pants, and a Celine baseball cap for a low-key, windproof boat look.

Kylie Jenner

Make like the multi-brand entrepreneur this summer and wear two swimsuits at the same time— in her case, her and her besties wore custom Oséree ’kinis that were already two-in-one.

Paloma Elsesser

The model whose Instagram constantly serves as fashion inspiration took a birthday trip to Palm Heights in the Cayman Islands and showed us how to perfect a tropical bikini look, posing in a tan sheer skirt and oversize black sunglasses that make her Hunza G red strappy bikini top pop.

Elsa Hosk

The Helsa designer sported a micro bikini from her collaboration with swim brand Heavy Manners and kept the rest of her ’fit pink AF, with saturated pink overalls worn low on the waist and a pink Polo hat.

Devon Lee Carlson

One of our favorite It Girls took to a Greek beach wearing a mini blue bikini from Matilda Djerf’s collab with Frankies Bikinis, and she styled it with a bro-ish Pirelli hat, crochet bag, Gucci sunnies, and red scrunchie for a sporty-chic, tomboy look.

Imaan Hammam

The supermodel posted from an anonymous body of water wearing a metallic green swimsuit from Melissa Simone, and streamlined the accessories, with a delicate body chain and textured gold hoops, keeping the overall effect minimal.

Gigi Hadid

The mom of two has “been summering” and blessed us with a photo dump from what looks like the Hamptons wearing a gingham bikini top from — you guessed it — Frankies Bikinis. She styled it with a very Montauk-approved trucker hat, cut-off denim shorts, and lots of gold charm jewelry.

Lori Harvey

Lori Harvey started a swimwear brand, Yevrah Swim, to keep us endlessly inspired for summers to come. Her yacht snaps show the young multi-hyphenate rocking her own Ibiza Wrap Bikini Top and Santorini Minimal Bikini Bottom. The product names alone are making us check last-minute flights to Greece, but for now, take cues from Harvey and keep the accessories basic: Sleek, logoless sunglasses and small gold earrings will do.

Alix Earle

The unofficial ambassador of beaches and bikinis, Alix Earle, snapped a pic in Saint-Tropez in a Monday Swimwear bikini, and kept her face covered with a Miu Miu woven bucket hat, opting for sun safety in style.

Kendall Jenner

The supermodel and tequila connoisseur posted a photo dump from a yacht in Mallorca in a teeny triangle bikini that perhaps was from her sister Kylie’s KHY swimwear launch. She topped it off with a very Grace Kelly-esque silk scarf around her head and sleek black sunglasses.

Amelia Gray

Dave Benett/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

The model of the moment wore a red bikini in Cannes this May that she kept low-key with the addition of white Balenciaga track pants and black sunnies. Shop a very similar swimsuit here.