This post brought to you by Express. All opinions are 100% mine.

Photographer & Stylist: Kathryn Finney

Model: Suzanna Schmaucher

Location: Wall Street, New York City

What: Express recently launched their Spring 2011 Swim Collection. To celebrate the line,  I channeled my inner Patrick Demarchelier and Suzanna got in touch with her inner Gisele for our very own New York style photoshoot in Express women’s swimwear.

What I Love About the Line: First and foremost the price is awesome.. under $20 bucks a piece for a quality bikini (with removable padded tops) with designer details like flirty ruffles, sexy self-tie sides, glam beaded embellishments and polished metal hardware, is, well, an awesome deal.  I also like the fact that real women can wear these sexy swimsuits. Suzanna is a very real size 10 and looks pretty hot in the swimsuits (whose bottoms fit a little larger to provide more moderate backside coverage).

One of the most popular swimwear related questions I get at TBF is can you still rock a swimsuit or bikini top, if you’re not a pool dweller. This answer is “yes”.  The Express swimsuits can be easily paired with one of this summer’s hottest trends, short-shorts, for the perfect hanging around the pool outfit. I chose to pair the black shiny string bikini top with a pair of short sequin shorts ($49.50 at Express) and a tailored black blazer for the perfect outfit to wear to a Hampton’s Pool Party (hint: our office address is at the bottom, just in case Puffy reads this and wants to invite us to one of his Hampton Parties).   This is also a good look for someone who wants to wear a bikini, but aren’t comfortable showing their hips.

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