The Best Advice Ever For Surviving “Bikini Season”

Summer is upon us! ‘Tis the season for gelato, romantic strolls on steamy asphalt, and jaunts to the country! Even those of us stranded in the midland aim for the lakes, and every woman, everywhere, knows the subtext here: It’s bikini season. 

If you read magazines, watch TV, or browse the Internet, you’ve probably come across some urgent call to action in the form of a headline. “Start your diet!” “Find a bikini for your body type!” “Get bikini-ready!” The pressure to look “perfect” for summer is unreal, and uncalled for. Instead of enjoying that gelato, you’re supposed to embrace a hasty, unpleasant diet. Instead of romantic strolls, you’re supposed to do a billion humid morning jogs—all so that your bathing suit fits right. Women have been torturing themselves for the sake of “bikini season” for too long, and for once, there exists a viable alternative to all that summer sculpting: This chart, courtesy of Upworthy, offers a new approach to bikini season, and it’s one we can really get behind.

You can read more about this ode to self-love here, and just remember to take its contents to heart! Summer is a season of enjoyment, and for those of us lucky enough to go on vacation, who wants the attached neuroses of what-do-I-wear-on-the-beach? You’ll look fabulous in whatever you wear. Now, frolic!