Bikini

JERUSALEM -- As if Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin did not have enough to worry about, with peace talks, Palestinians and prison strikes.Now there's a piety crisis.Members of his coalition have been caught recently doing unpious things, and religious critics are expressing outrage. The flap has shades of a British royalty scandal, complete with photos in a tabloid paper of a prominent public figure on the beach in a bikini.The figure was that of Yael Dayan, 53, the daughter of Israeli war hero Moshe Dayan and member of the Knesset in Mr. Rabin's Labor party.

What's inflatable, not a toy, but could be fun on the beach?An inflatable swimsuit, of course.In early September, Cole of California will introduce Top Secret swimwear, which includes an inflatable bikini top, a new "breath of air" on the ever-present quest toward breast enhancement.Priced at $72, the suit operates similarly to air-pump sneakers. A small rubber "bladder" sits between two padded wedges on the side of the breast."Pump it a little to turn heads. Pump it a lot to cause a frenzy," scream the promotional brochures.

What's inflatable, not a toy, but could be fun on the beach?An inflatable swimsuit, of course.In early September, Cole of California will introduce Top Secret swimwear, which includes an inflatable bikini top with a pump-you-up system, a new "breath of air" on the ever-present quest toward breast enhancement.Priced at $72, the suit operates similarly to air-pump sneakers. A small rubber "bladder" sits between two padded wedges on the side of the breast."Pump it a little to turn heads. Pump it a lot to cause a frenzy," scream the promotional campaign brochures.

Ocean City -- A year ago, Rhonda Schaffer, running low on cash at the beach, talked her boyfriend into letting her enter a bikini contest.To her surprise, Ms. Schaffer placed second, winning $150. Figuring it was worth a second try, she entered another contest.She won again. First place. $500.And so began what has become a part-time career for Ms. Schaffer, who owns a consignment shop in Fells Point -- opened, she says, with money she won from contests last summer.Like several other young women, the 22-year-old Ms. Schaffer has become a regular on the bikini circuit in Ocean City and Baltimore (including Hammerjacks and Christopher's)

Ocean City A year ago, Rhonda Schaffer, running low on cash at the beach, talked her boyfriend into letting her enter a bikini contest.To her surprise, Ms. Schaffer placed second, winning $150. Figuring it was worth a second try, she entered another contest.She won again. First place. $500.And so began what has become a part-time career for Ms. Schaffer, who owns a consignment shop in Fells Point -- opened, she says, with money she won from contests last summer.Like several other young women, the 22-year-old Ms. Schaffer has become a regular on the bikini circuit in Ocean City and Baltimore (including Hammerjacks and Christopher's)

Swimsuit trauma. Surely every woman has experienced that horrible, sinking feeling when some cute little bikini or maillot suddenly became a magnifying glass for figure flaws. Even if she'd successfully struggled to lose that last 10 pounds, high-cut leg lines or too-skimpy two-pieces meant that when she looked in the dressing room mirror, she was confronted with lumps and bulges she never knew she had."It had gotten to the point where you almost had to have what they call a 'hardbody' to wear a suit," says June Wylie, publicity director for the popular swimwear manufacturer Catalina.

The mostly male crowd at Samantha's Nite Club jockeyed for position near the dance floor, each guy trying to determine the best vantage point for viewing Tuesday's main attraction, the bikini contest. Eric Reynolds and Mark Nugent, Baltimoreans working in Ocean City this summer, staked out front-row seats along the railing that rings the club's dance floor."We just wanted to do something different tonight," said Mr. Nugent, 21, who said this was the first bikini contest he'd attended.According to Don Marino, manager of Samantha's, beautiful women in skimpy swimsuits bring customers like Mr. Nugent and Mr. Reynolds to nightclubs.

It is difficult to recall exactly what one wanted as a four-year-old.More than likely, I wanted whatever my 7-year-old brother had. That might have included a bow and arrow, a football, but most likely one of those Indian heads made out of a coconut.If I'd had a big sister instead, I assume I'd have wanted whatever she had. The very things I later acquired a Barbie doll, a Bride Doll, a Palomino you know, one of those plastic horse models that lined the shelves of girls who never got a real pony.