By Briony Bennett

How do you imagine yourself on honeymoon? Smooth, sun-warmed limbs and a contented smile on your face as you stretch out on the sand next to your new husband. Enjoying the smell of sea salt and summer fruit, and the silky lycra encasing your body.

Lycra does have a distinctive smell. It brings to mind the carefree days of summer last year, the year before, and the one before that… when else does lycra come out, but for the holidays?

Swimsuit shopping is alleged to be the bane of modern woman’s existence. I heard this urban myth expounded time and again while working in Auckland’s swimsuit store, Blue Dude, over the last three summers, and found it to be untrue. There is a good swimsuit to suit every woman’s body. You can be made to look and feel as lovely as you really are.

Maybe you’re looking for a size 12, larger-cup suit, with a halter, in aquamarine blue with medium-sized frangipani flowers. Something this specific is unlikely to be in store, or even in existence. The swimsuit industry isn’t as diverse as we’d like it to be. It’s dominated by three major companies, in the southern hemisphere. So, given this, relax and allow the store assistants to work their magic and find you that elegant, beautiful swimsuit you didn’t know existed that really suits you. New stock is starting to appear now (November), but you need to hurry if yours is a summer wedding as suits fly out the door in the period leading up to Christmas.

This year’s styles

wedding café has put together some of our favourite one-piece suits from Blue Dude. One-pieces are resurfacing as the style of choice, for women young and old. And why not? They’re classic, sleek, comfortable, and easier and more practical to wear than a bikini. They’re also easier to fit and look great, and remain a sexy, feminine way to hit the beach in style. Fashion maybe about pushing boundaries, but swimsuits aren’t.

We’ll be publishing one a day over the next six days.

The first suit pictured is by Jets and is a fern-green one-piece that isn’t quite. It has a bikini-style top and cut-out back. It features lots of ruching across the bust and tummy so is very flattering, especially as scooping out at the sides emphasises feminine curves. Green suits most skin tones too.