Summer is right around the corner, thank God! But, with summer comes sand, sunsets, and best of all, swimsuits.

For most of us girls here in Hawaiʻi, bikinis are essential to life, and if you’re like me, you have more bikinis than you do regular clothes. My parents are constantly bugging me about it.

But, when it’s summer almost 24/7 here, you have to have enough suits to last the year, and when the end of the school year rolls around, it gives teens like me an excuse to go shopping for some new summer suits.

Since the days until summer are dwindling down, I have started my summer swimsuit searching. There are so many amazing stores on Maui for bikinis including stores like San Lorenzo Bikinis, Pakaloha Bikinis and Maui Girl Swimwear, not to mention stores like Forever21, PacSun and American Eagle with their swimwear sales.

But when looking for the best bikini for you, keep a few things in mind:

1. Know your body shape and work your best features. For example, if you’re smaller on top, get a bikini with an underwire; it adds a little extra umph! Or, if you’re rather busty, buy something with more coverage. You don’t want your *ahem* parts falling out.

2. To add to number 1, try EVERYTHING on. You wouldn’t want to get to the beach in a suit that’s too big or too small. #embarrassing

3. Just like clothes, some colors don’t look good with your skin tone. So when walking through the store, don’t even bother with those. If you’re light skinned, emeralds and baby blues look great, however, if you’re darker skinned, you look good in reds and light neutrals.

Some of my favorite pieces from Maui stores include the Hipster Bottoms at San Lorenzo Bikinis for $95, LA Hearts Knot Front Cutout Bandeau Top at PacSun for $24.95 and the Kanaha Top for $45 at Pakaloha Bikinis.

If you’re an online shopaholic, as am I, you should already know your favorite brands and your size for those brands. My favorite place to online shop is Hollister, so I know exactly what my sizes are for all of their products.

I absolutely LOVE the Lace Swim Top in pink for $17.95 (I already have the navy one), the Solid Swim Top in coral for$14.97 and the Solid Cheeky Swim Bottoms for $11.97 in navy.

But Hollister isn’t the only store with amazing online deals!

Forever21, PacSun, and pretty much every other store you shop at has summer sales. So get online or in the car and get ready for a major pre-summer shopping spree.

Just like you, your inner fashionista is ready for some summer sun! Get shopping and prepare for the best summer in the cutest suits, and I’ll see you in the fall with the great tans you’ll be getting in those new outfits!