Thought You Didn’t Need Swimwear This Summer? The Backyard Bikini Is Officially A Thing In Lockdown

To avoid climbing the walls or talking to yourself in the mirror, many have discovered the delights of gardening during lockdown. The balcony/patio/front step has been swept and, most importantly, anything that could resemble a sun-lounger has been stripped of cobwebs. Now that’s all done, the next thing to sort is your backyard bikini.

To celebrities, this means wearing something that looks like silly string and posing in front of a pool, a manicured lawn or a palm tree. (Extra points go to Lizzo’s banana leaf bikini that comes as a matching set with gloves and a face mask and Dua Lipa’s three-tone triangle top and bottoms that colour-coordinate with her blanket.) To you and me, however, the backyard bikini is simply something that you don’t mind wearing in front of your neighbours when you’re catching rays on your lunch break.

First things first, don’t be embarrassed. With summer holidays very much on ice, it’s time to turn your garden, or the park if you don’t have green space of your own, into your very own resort. Tiffany Hsu, fashion director at My Theresa, has been sunbathing on her balcony. ‘I don’t really care about the neighbours,’ she says. ‘We’re all in the same boat and trying to make the most of our outside space!’ She favours bikinis with tiny straps to minimise tan lines, picking Reina Olga, Ossere and Tropic of C as her go-to brands.

Poppy Sexton-Wainwright, co-founder of resortwear brand Asceno, has also been upping her dose of Vitamin D. ‘I have been so thankful to the British weather for giving us sun,’ she says. Her bikini top of choice is a printed bandeau or a simple triangle with skinny straps, while her accessories include black Birkenstock sandals and a white linen shirt to, ‘throw on when a cloud comes’.

SHOP: Bikinis To Wear In Your Backyard (Or To Sunbathe In The Park)