1. Set aside a whole day – you may need to try on 20 different cossies before you find one you love.

2. Start shopping after exercising or a healthy breakfast – not after a cheeseburger and a chocolate thick shake.

3. Look your best: scrub, shave and self-tan.

4. If you need a second opinion, take along a friend who can offer you honest advice.

5. Brace yourself for unflattering lights. Remember: you do not look the same outside in natural light as you do under harsh fluorescent lights in a shop.

6. Don’t feel bad if you need to go a size or two from your regular clothing size. Swimsuits often do not stretch well lengthwise.

7. Mix and match separates, and play with prints, colours and shapes until you find the effect you most like, that best suits you.

8. The big decision is whether you want to slink or swim. There are 2 rough groups of cossies out there – one functional, the other purely for fun, fashion and flirting.

9. Don’t forget to check your backview too.

10. When you find your dream suit, buy it – even if it costs a bit more than you intended to spend. If it makes you feel like the belle of the beach, its worth it, right?

Wonder what men like to see you in at the beach? We did our own poll and it seems that while guys want us to take it off, we’d rather they saved their trunks for the pool.

Guys on Girls

Bikini 58.6%
One piece 10%
Tankini 31.4%

Girls on Guys

Trunks 5%
Boxer Shorts 22%
Board Shorts 73%

We ask past and present water babes what they like to see at the beach.

Lesley Kwok, National Swimmer

“Not too much: short shorts with a bikini top, no t-shirts please.”

Daniel Liew, National Swimmer

“A two-piece, like a string bikini is always nice… the less the better!”

Gerard Yeo, National triathelete

“A two-piece tankini. It’s far sexier than a bikini which many girls cannot carry off. If she has a good figure, she’d look great in a tankini. I may be conservative, but I feel her overall look’s more important than flashing skin.”

Marcus Ng, National waterpolo player

“Girls make the beach beautiful. When I go to the beach, what I want to see is plenty of skin and thong, not just jeans and shirts.”

Leon Boey, former national waterpolo player

“Board shorts and a bikini top. It looks sporty and she can tan her tum.”