Hailey Bieber has given me a lot to think about. As she often does! The coffee-based-makeup pioneer and her bestie, Kendall Jenner (bikinifluencer nonpareil), continue to incorporate bikinis into their everyday Instagram wardrobe, which prompts a question: At what point is a bikini just a piece of clothing, unrelated to the act of swimming?
I’m really asking! We all know about the concept of athleisure, a.k.a. workout clothes that could be worn during exercise but are also accepted as part of your casual wardrobe, fine for running both miles and errands. Is there a bikiniquivalent? A garment meant for…posing, perhaps for a little bit of poolside or outdoor lounging/tanning, but totally separate from what someone might actually wear in the actual water?
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“A bit of the summer energy so far,” Bieber wrote in the caption of her latest Instagram post.
To her credit, Hailey Bieber appears in slide two to be posing by, perhaps, an outdoor shower or sauna of some kind? I can see why a bikini—in this case a light teal number—would be the best option there. In slide four, she ties a psychedelic button-down over an orange crochet two-piece, posing on the beach with her left hand prominently positioned, showing off her massive diamond ring.
She looks cool, and this just does not read to me as a swimming outfit but an outfit outfit. An eye-catching, revealing set employed to expose maximum flesh to sell her skin care line. It’s smart, actually.
Wait, JK, found a pic of her actually getting wet, I take it all back!
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Sharks, do you see profit in a dry-clean-only line of bikinis for special summer occasions that don’t involve bathing in any capacity? Except sunbathing? Let’s talk about it.