It’s trendy to rock a retro one-piece swimsuit that vibes 1950s pin-up girl; winding back half a century in womenswear that covers up your bod is real cute. Like a burka.

Skip being a coy kitty cat, be a tigress instead.  Michael Kors tiger-striped halter-top two-piece is clever design that jumps through its gold hoops and slick lacing, keeping the bathing suit cheeky chic instead of just obvious S-E-X that an animal print and half-nakedness might otherwise lead to.

The boss bikini was $450, and it’s now $315 at Vivre.  Yep, “was,” as in past tense, as in, “Swimwear that covers more than what a freakum dress would was chic. Before your mom was born.”

Quit being hot and bothered about the iPhone, and just be hot — check your girl named Kristopher’s fav on-sale swimwear.

I’d say I put this list of boss bathing suits together to dish you some summer fun at a good value, but— 

I really just wanted to compose a collage of hot chicks half-dressed.

 

Lounging, lying on the beach barely covered in triple triangles—

You’re already more than half way there.

So go 100% nude with Dior’s La D de Dior bikini.  You’ll vibe like you’re in a Beyonce-worthy b’day suit, only more boss—ruching at the bust and waist creates key curves, and the light shimmers of the metallic fabric make it so public sunlight highlights your not-so-private parts; you’ll look softly stark, set off by hard, gold D-rings between your chest, at your waist.

Best part?  Being less than half-dressed is more than half-off:  from $370, La D de Dior bikini is $149 at eLUXURY.

Looks like I found another costume to go Starbucksing in. 

In case you need something mind-blowing for that July 4 barbecue, the JG4B Wind Horse bikini (oh, hell yeah!) situates a windswept rearing stallion on a background of red, white, and blue lightning directly on your region, and basically makes you look like a sexy, beautifully designed stock car.

Can you get more American than that?

$240 at net-a-porter.com. 

Though I think Dov Charney is boss for his overpaying fair wages for workers— It’s as genius money-making and marketing as is his reverse of underpaying un-pro posers.

—I’ve never been an American Apparel fan.

Maybe it’s AA’s weak seams and unflattering cuts, maybe Dov needs to trade his sewers a few more massages for more designs like this bathing suit .

A solid neon with an upside down A-neckline, it’s perfect under a gray mini with leopard platforms, which is perfect for me— I don’t do the beach. 

A softly psychedellic Pucci bikini is the Rolls Royce of swim gear—a Pucci bikini’s lemons and sherberts and tans string together pricey sunshine and fine-ground sand with a pillates-perfected body, a Pucci bikini—

Gets pimped for $270. Which works, as swimming in a Pucci bikini would be like rolling up to Ralphs in a Rolls; a Pucci bikini is really too rich to get splashed in beyond letting waves lap at your toes, it’s too much a modern museum piece to ruin wearing with wet hair and an un-fixed face.

Which is fine by me.

The last time I saw the beach was from the window of a hipster Chinese food dive in Venice; I don’t do surf and sand—

Or anywhere there’s not a power plug for my MacBook, or where I have to reconsider my pin-thin stilettos.

The greener side introduces us to Ron See and his remarkable invention.  “My whole family and I have been living off-grid since 1997,” he says.  “We use solar panels and a battery bank for most of our power supply, propane cook stove and hot water and a diesel generator for back up. I also have 2 windmills for battery charging that we are working towards installing. I run a small metal recycling and hauling business in Hartstown, PA. I have personally cleaned up over 2000 tons of scrap steel, and other metals from farm dumps old fence rows and businesses in the past 13 years.” Inspired by a contest in a Pennsylvania resort town that dared people to make and race flotation devices from old bottles, See decided to craft, patent, and sell his own raft.

Miguel of The Greener Side loves this contraption.  “You don’t need to purse your lips or buy a pump to blow it up. Instead, insert a bunch of 2-liter bottles to keep the $50 raft afloat.” See claims it is more durable than regular rafts.  He even says it’s “puppy-proof.”

Triathletes looking for more direction in their swim training might want to take a cue from Flo at Step Away From the Cake. The Hawaii-based blogger recently picked up Gail Bernhard and Nick Hansen’s Workouts in a Binder: Swim Workouts for Triathletes, a guide to improving endurance, force, speed, and form. Most lovely of all, the book comes in waterproof binder (perfect for poolside use).

Flo’s currently improving her stroke in training for the 8th Annual Na Wahine Sprint Triathlon on September 17 (that’s a 500-meter swim, 12-mile ride, and 5K run). Whoo-hoo!

Artemis Rich is not your typical mom – not by a long shot. She says she “runs with scissors, swims with sharks, plays with fire, and I’m raising the next generation. Any questions?” And she’s not kidding – she actually is a fire dancer and a skin diver and a most remarkable mom. You can follow her adventures in A Hole in the Head, including the products she’s picked to pursue her passions, like this O’Neil Psycho Zen Zip wetsuit. There’s plenty more to see and say on her site – including pictures of real, live fire-dancing! Now that’s a cool mom…

In a recent post at Decaf Please (“Caffeine free adventures of a triathlete on the Canadian prairies”), triathlete and expectant mom Jennifer P chronicles her adventures in finding a bra “as big as my bike helmet” and becoming a stronger swimmer. Here, a few of her top swim tips (since you’ve really got to check out the way-funny bra portion of her post for yourself):

-Scull, scull, scull! Develop a feel for the water through lots of sculling drills.

-Kick drills are a waste of time for triathletes.

-Don’t worry about stroke count - some of the best open water swimmers have really high stroke counts.

Never mind the “OMG I am such a loser” header on TriSaraTops’ post about her newly and fortuitously acquired XTerra Ventilator wetsuit. Self-proclaimed as the world’s fastest, most flexible wetsuit, XTerra is a supersmart choice for any triathlete looking to get a major speed boost in the race’s swim portion.

Training for a triathlon? Peep Tri-Geek Kahuna’s list of race-day essentials at TriGeek Dreams, posted for last weekend’s Camp Pendleton Olympic Triathlon in Camp Pendleton, California. A few must-haves:

-Body Glide

-Cytomax

-PowerBar

After running last Sunday’s Clark Lake Triathlon (in Clark Lake, Michigan), Elizabeth at Run With Me shares some lessons learned. A few of her top tips for budding triathletes:

-Avoid running directly into someone’s feet going around buoy’s. Slow down around the curves if someone is in your way. You won’t gain any speed, especially if you get kicked in the face and have to put your goggles back on.

-Don’t run through sprinklers as tempting as it may be. 4 pound sopping wet shoes are not conducive to running 13 miles.

-Get tinted goggles. (Clear goggles didn’t cut it when the sun was in direct line of sight, good luck finding buoy’s or anything else when you are blinded by the sun!)