When summer strikes, the first thought on everyone’s mind is to pick the hottest swimwear and hit the beach.

Unless you are in the.00000001% of the population with the perfect body, shopping for a new swimsuit is no walk in the park. You not only have to buy something trendy, but one that also fits your body just right.

While almost everyone has a hard time, the pressure is acute for the trans, queer and non-binary community, whose swimwear options are minimal.

Things are getting better, though. Albeit slowly.

While people who don’t fit the traditional gender binary have been around for a long time, swimwear designers have often ignored them because they don’t view the market as large enough to be profitable.

Luckily, things are now looking up as a good number of independent designers have stepped up to the plate with gender-inclusive designs.

More than ever, there is a growing catalog of gender-inclusive swimwear options that you can frolic around in. You have plenty to experiment with from swimwear with bold patterns, funky colors, and even smaller bikini bottoms.

To look good, you need to buy the right outfit.

As much as many brands have stepped in, and there are plenty of non-binary swimwear outfits, such as gay swimwear from Kaftko, it doesn’t mean that you should pick any outfit you come across. Instead, you need to take your time and weigh your options before taking the plunge.

What are some of the things you should consider when buying your swimwear?

The impression you want to make

What are you looking to achieve with your swimsuit? Are you looking to impress someone? Don’t worry too much about the look; wear whatever feels comfortable and works for you.

If you want to give a professional vibe, go for conservative (but not an exaggerated) length. Go for a conventional style (such as trunks or square cuts). When it comes to colors, go for solid or dark colors. Restrained stripes are also a great choice.

Do you want to look sexy? Go for eye-catching colors and patterns. You can easily go overboard and look like a crown with colors, so pace yourself. Great choices include: plaids, stripes, bright solids, and a little edgy floral patterns.

Your body

It’s the 21st century, and you can wear whatever you want, but a little self-consciousness doesn’t hurt. You must be more conscious of your body type and choose an appropriate outfit.

If you are a little soft around the middle, go for an outfit that will even things out. This means you should avoid anything with a tight, strongly elasticized waist opening, as it will dig into your belly.

Unless you have tonned thighs and buttocks, don’t go for a tight thong or swimming brief, as you will expose a lot of jiggle.

A well-toned and fit body is everyone’s dream, but it can lead to you being too sexualized. If this isn’t what you are looking for and don’t want to draw everyone’s attention, go for longer, form-fitting styles such as skin suits or jammers.

How active you will be

How intense will your activities be while on the beach? You should be cautious about this. If you will be doing a lot of leg movement, avoid swimwear with a lot of loose fabric, as when wet, the loose fabric will easily chafe you.

Will you spend a lot of time in the water swimming? To reduce drag, you need an outfit with a tighter fit.

If you will be exposed to the sun for extended periods, go for an outfit that will cover both the upper and lower body.

Quality swimwear doesn’t come cheap. Here is what to do if you can’t afford one.

As much as you would want to strut around the beach in your new swimwear, you might not be able to afford it. If you are strapped for cash, you shouldn’t worry, as you can always improvise.

For example, if you prefer masculine styles, go for board shorts. You can also improvise a little with athletic gear.

If you are on the feminine side of the spectrum, you are disadvantaged, as you have limited options to play around with. Excellent choices include mesh athletic gear that doubles as a swimsuit. If you want more coverage, wear board shorts.

While improvising is an excellent option when you are in a tight financial position, it can be tricky for amateurs or those that don’t have a DIY hand. 

To save the situation, it would be good for the industry to step up and come up with beautiful and affordable outfits.

Brands, it’s time to take on the mantle.

In as much as there are outfits for gays and other members of the queer community, the penetration hasn’t trickled down to most mainstream retail stores where anyone can easily access the outfits.

You can feel the gap when you visit these stores and can’t find swimwear that you can comfortably wear.

Due to the gap that is still in the market, it would be a wise move for more brands to step in and feed the demand.

With nearly 150,000 American teens identifying as transgender and millennials being the gayest generation, there is a hungry market for different brands to take advantage of.

As the swimwear brands design the clothes, they must be highly innovative and inclusive of everyone’s tastes and preferences.

Besides boldly colored gay men’s swim trunks, swanky speedos, swim shorts, and camo-styled stud swimwear, the brands need to also design clothes for straight people that don’t feel comfortable in strictly binary bathing suits.

The brands need to ensure that everyone has the freedom to comfortably go to the beach and easily find the swimwear they want.

Even with the decent penetration level, you still have to spend hours on the internet to find proper non-binary bathing suits. Swimwear brands must come in droves and make this a thing of the past.

It shouldn’t be hard to find a decent non-binary bathing suit.

For centuries, people have adored the sparkle of diamonds. The fire and brilliance that many admire came from extreme pressure and high temperature deep in the ground. These diamonds were rare, but over time new methods were invented making it possible to grow diamonds in laboratories. Growing diamond crystals in a controlled environment is now possible. This gives people the opportunity to enjoy all of the brilliance that natural diamonds have to offer, minus the ethical and environmental concerns surrounding them.

So, what is a lab-grown diamond? These diamonds are just like the ones you might find in nature, except they’re created in a laboratory. A diamond that was created in a lab will be exactly the same as one that was mined. The only difference is that instead of being created deep under the earth’s surface by nature, it’s grown in a process called chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This process allows for the creation of diamonds that are equally as beautiful as ones found in nature.

Lab-grown diamonds have many benefits for people who aren’t ready to spend the money on a diamond naturally mined out of the earth. Lab-grown diamonds can cost 20% to 50% less than natural diamonds. If you’re not sure whether this is the right time to invest in a diamond, or if you want to buy a piece for someone special without breaking the bank, lab-grown diamonds are an option for you.

Lab-grown diamonds come from companies that specialize in creating beautiful jewels and gemstones. They use these stones to create jewelry pieces at more affordable prices than those found on most retail shelves today. 

Advantages of Lab-Grown Diamonds

If you’re looking for an affordable alternative to traditional diamonds, lab-grown ones could be the answer. They have many of the same qualities as mined diamonds, but at a much lower price point and with an eco-friendly bonus.

Lab diamonds are created in a lab under extreme pressure and temperature, just like mined diamonds. The only difference is that they’re not taken from the Earth’s crust—they’re grown over the course of several months in a solution infused with various minerals. They start as a tiny seed and gradually grow into a 1-carat stone that’s almost identical to one that would come out of the ground. By using less energy and fewer fossil fuels to mine, lab-grown diamonds are the perfect eco-friendly alternative. 

In addition to being more environmentally friendly, lab-grown diamonds are significantly less expensive than mined ones. This can be attributed to their lack of impurities: since they’re grown in labs (not extracted from the ground), there’s no need to remove all of the inclusions and make sure that they meet certain requirements for color and clarity.

Ethically, lab-grown diamonds remove the manual labour that is required, and oftentimes intolerable working conditions traditionally associated with mining. Buying a lab-grown diamond can help any ethical considerations you may have when purchasing jewelry. 

Will I Be Able To Tell The Difference Between a Lab Grown and Natural Diamond?

Lab diamonds have some distinctive properties that make them unique, but only under specific conditions: under high magnification, they will appear more transparent. The reason is that lab diamonds are made from smaller pieces of carbon than natural diamonds; natural stones are comprised of larger carbon crystals that scatter light in a prism-like pattern. Lab-grown diamonds will also appear to have a different cut and color than natural ones, but all these differences are barely noticeable to the naked eye.

A lab-grown diamond also won’t have any visible inclusions (those black spots you see on most colorful diamonds). Because of their size, the carbon crystals used for synthetic diamonds don’t have room for any imperfections like inclusions. One of the main differences with lab diamonds is that they’re so pure and flawless that they sometimes need additional treatment to make them look more like natural stones. The good news: this treatment is purely cosmetic—the process adds tiny amounts of nitrogen or boron to give it a few small inclusions to make it look like a traditional diamond.

Lab-grown diamonds are as unique as natural ones because they’re not cut to standard sizes or grades like some man-made gemstones are. When you buy a lab-grown diamond, you’re able to choose exactly what you want it to be: do you want lots of color? Do you want it cut with extra facets? All of this is possible when buying lab-grown diamonds.

In the end, we think there’s plenty of evidence to support the argument that quality lab-grown diamonds are a valid alternative to traditionally mined diamonds. They offer a way of reducing environmental impact and supporting more ethical mining practices. Every individual has their own values and at least one trait that is important to them when it comes to purchasing an engagement ring or other diamond jewelry. Our hope is that by discovering alternative diamonds, consumers can make an informed decision about how their jewels are sourced. Good luck in your search for a perfect stone!