My friends and I showing off our bikinis at the pool.
Any Hawaii girl’s instagram is most likely filled with pictures of the beach, hiking views, and especially bikini pictures. Girls from Hawaii love their bikinis. They are our prized possessions. We spend hundreds of dollars on minimal coverage and the tiniest pieces of material, and we’re always buying new ones because we can never have enough bikinis! Hawaii has such a unique bikini market because you won’t find these styles or designs anywhere else in the world. Although the brazilian-cut bottoms aren’t unique to Hawaii, our flower designs and surf-oriented styles are.
Hawaii’s premiere bikini brands
San Lorenzo Bikinis is one of the most prominent bikini companies in the islands. Every girl wants to model for San Lorenzo and every girl wants to own a San Lorenzo bikini. However, San Lorenzo has very expensive items and their bikinis run on a very small size scale. Their styles are unique and almost every girl can identify them just from a picture. San Lorenzo also has unique designs that don’t resemble the traditional halter bikini top. They have tops that look like bras and tops that tie in cool designs from the back. I haven’t found a mainland company with styles like these. San Lorenzo isn’t the only bikini company for Hawaii, there’s numerous small boutiques started by locals that have become very successful through Instagram. Benoa Swim, Lumahai Swimwear and Nalu Swimwear are all examples of successful bikini businesses.
China Walls is a popular place to show off your cheeky bikinis.
Bikini lifestyle
In addition to Hawaii’s unique bikini market, the bikini lifestyle in Hawaii is unlike any other. Girls wear bikinis under their clothes to school because they’re going to the beach after. We wear bikinis while grocery shopping after coming home from the beach. When I go home for breaks, my favorite thing to do is not wear shoes to the grocery store and wear my bikini around everywhere. It’s socially acceptable not to wear a shirt or shoes and still get service, especially in the summer time. If you visit the north shore on a weekend you’ll see girls walking around with flowers in their ears and skimpy little bikinis, picking up Haleiwa fruit bowls on the way to the beach. It’s a whole different world.
Mainland’s bikini market
The mainland’s bikini market is dominated by Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret loves bandeau tops and halter push-up tops. I know, I used to work there. Girls love these designs, and I don’t know why. They’re ugly and fake. They also consist of bright patterns and stripes, so many stripes. I don’t know why mainland girls are obsessed with stripes. They’re so ugly, and they don’t compliment a girl’s figure, at all. Another popular mainland collection would be the Triangl swimwear. These also consist of bright colors and limited designs. I’m not a fan of these ones either. Due to the fact that a majority of mainland girls have bikinis from these two places, everyone looks the same and there’s little to no variety.
My best friend and I at Tahoe.
Hawaii has such a unique bikini market and the closest thing you’ll get to it would be the bikini market in Australia. Other than that, you won’t find it anywhere else. Bikinis are a cornerstone of the relaxed beach lifestyle.
