Love Bomb: Paolita

Paolita modelled by Miranda Barrie and Jess Abidde. Photo by Anna Swiczeniuk, MUA by Cheyenne Raymond.

As the winter drags on and it seems to get colder rather than warmer, I find myself constantly thinking about warm beaches and palm trees. Unfortunately the closest I am to such climates is our office heater, grateful as I am for it! Luckily, all I have to do is look at Paolita’s colourful swimwear to be transported to more exotic locales.

Founded in London in 2010, Paolita are relatively new, but this hasn’t stopped their snowballing popularity as their designs are snapped up worldwide! Their collection features beautiful mix and match bikinis, delicious swimsuits and lace hoodies, perfect for staying glamorous around the pool. The designs focus  on making women feel comfortable yet sexy when at their most exposed, using shapes to complement the figure.

Paolita is vibrant and exotic, just like the founder, Anna Paola. Using Spanish and French fabrics, Anna weaves her cultural and historical passions into each garment, resulting in swimwear with a unique vintage undertone.

Carmen Miranda Violet swimsuit

Arriving in the Paolita shop soon is this gorgeous vintage-inspired swimsuit. The coloured stripes give this a distinctly nautical feel and the shape is so perfect I could imagine it even being worn far, far away from the beach as outerwear!

B Queenie Bikini 

Another really beautiful nautical set, as you can see, I quite like nautical inspired swimwear!

Paolita are giving away 3 luscious prizes, which you can be in with the chance of winning by emailing lovebomb@paolita.co.uk with your first and last name AND liking their facebook. The first prize is the chance to come to their London boutique and pick out an item from the new, not-yet-for-sale collection (don't worry, they can also ship worldwide)! The second and third prizes are a lace hoodie in blush or baby blue!

Sizzling swimwear: How to stay on trend this Summer

If you really think about it, Summer is just around the corner. No really, we are already in January, we got the hardest part over with and now we just have to gradually peel off our layers and cardigans for the next few months. Magazine’s have already started telling you what to cut out in order to get that “Beach Body” (we like you just as you are, thank you very much) and new swimwear is all the rage.

So what kind of prints and colours will you find gracing the shelves this summer?

Swimwear often mirrors current trends in fashion and lingerie, so it’s no wonder that bikini waists are high and prints are inspired by retro classics to coincide with the vintage trend. Embracing curves is one major theme of retro inspired swimwear; details such as cinched waists and fuller cupped tops are being mixed with modern pieces.

Ruffles, too, have found themselves adorning bikinis across the catwalks in another body-shaping trend. Frills and ruffles can add volume where you may be slightly lacking, perfect for balancing out the figure and sticking two fingers up to that diet book.

It’s all about getting you in the mood for a laze around on the beach or by the pool, so bright colours are a constant never-changing trend in swimwear. Designers cannot be as experimental with swimwear as they can lingerie or clothing; therefore the unique detail is often in the print!

And boy, are prints looking bold thanks to digital printing. The wonders of technology are allowing designers to update their printing methods, giving more freedom of detail and colour.

If there is one thing that causes swimwear to sell like hotcakes, it’s the promise of warm sands and tropical climates, so it’s no wonder that designers are channelling this straight into their prints. Sumptuous colours, exotic plants and parrots are everywhere, and we just love it. Our Digital Print Hummingbird bikini rides this trend without being cliché, using bright blues, purples, oranges and greens to inject that exotic look.

Walking hand-in-hand (preferably in the shade of palm trees) with the tropical trend are bold prints, inspired by various cultures and their traditional techniques, particularly those of tribal Africa and Native America. Digital printing is again a catalyst for this trend, but we also see designers using more traditional methods such as embroidery and crochet. We, too, were inspired by far-off lands for our Future Tribal Embroidery bikini, which contrasts a black bandeau bra and side-tie briefs with neon-bright ethnic embroidery.