Bikini Shop Coming to Wisconsin Ave.

A new shop that specializes in bikini swimsuits is coming to Wisconsin Ave. The shop, Frankies Bikinis, is set to open at 1240 Wisconsin.

Here is their website if you want to give yourself some body-image issues. They’ve got everything from extremely skimpy swimsuits to extremely skimpy swimsuits that look more like lingerie. What range!

I guess I should’t be too surprised, what with them being pretty upfront about being a bikini shop. Fun fact: nobody is really sure why exactly swimsuits like this are called ‘bikinis’ in the first place. Obviously they’re named after the Bikini Atoll where they (the U.S. Government, not Frankies Bikinis) tested the atom bomb.

But beyond that it’s all speculation as to whether they (the ‘they’ is this case being the French designers that first came up with the style) wanted to evoke the power of 23 kilotons of dynamite or just the vague idea that island girls are just skipping around with barely any clothes on. Neither lacks for a bit of awkwardness by modern sensibilities, but luckily no one thinks about that too much.

The shop was started by a mother-daughter team in Malibu: Mimi and Francesa Aiello. Hence ‘Frankie.’ Although come to think of it, the store is “Frankies” not “Frankie’s”. That makes me wonder where is the other Frankie(s) and what did they do with him, her, or them?

No word on this other Frankie(s) or when the store is going to open.