ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290051
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN ADAMS
Here's an epiphany: Swimsuits for women in which they can actually swim.
And comb the beach, feel comfortable and look great, too.
This year's suit is gracefully designed with real people in mind. The boy-cut leg has elicited sighs of relief worldwide. There is attractive fabric and plenty of it. (When the waves crash around you, these suits will not - unlike the strung-together eyepatches of years past - get wrapped around your neck or swept out to sea.)
There's the movie-star's maillot, touched with glamorous details: elegant flowers, golden appliques, sexy mesh, flirty skirts.
There's the charming hipster bikini, in plaids and checks and stripes and dots. It may have a belt, it may have a halter top, it may even make you skip.
There's the sleek, classic tank - as sophisticated and flattering as ever - for both the athlete and the aesthete.
And color, color everywhere.
If wires, pads, and assorted flying buttresses are your idea of torture, you'll find styles that are soft, wearable and natural. As Italian bathing-suit designer Delfina Marsaglia told Vogue, ``Going to the beach, you don't want to feel like you're going to the disco.''
Even so, dancing may result.
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. & 2. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff Jennifer (topby CNBphoto) wears Cole's skirted suit from Hecht's. Her beach towel is
from Montgomery Ward. Sanghee (above, left) and Jennifer show what
black netting can do in suits by Aquasize and Jantzen, respectively,
from Hecht's. Their sunglasses are from Kmart. color
3. Muyeria, Sanghee and Jennifer wear sherbet-color boucl tank suits
by Blackflips from Goody's. color
4. & 5.Sanghee (top photo) wears a floral suit and cover-up designed
by Rachel Pappo for Diva, available at Panache. Showing off Mystic
Bay's two-pieces (above) are Sanghee in a gingham suit from Goody's
and Jennifer in a plaid from Hecht's. color