Booty Short Bikinis

Booty Short Bikinis

What Is a Boy Short Bikini Bottom?

Booty short, boy short and boyshort bikini all describe the same bottom: a short with a straight leg that finishes at or just below the crease of the seat, where a brief would curve up over the hip instead. The name on a listing varies from one brand to the next; the cut underneath it does not.

The straight leg is the whole point. Because the hem runs horizontally around the top of the thigh, there is no high-cut edge to ride up, and the seat is covered in full. That makes the style one of the few bikini bottoms that behaves the same way standing, sitting, bending and swimming.

Rise is where versions differ. A low rise boy short sits on the hip and shows the midriff like any bikini; a high waisted version reaches toward the navel and changes the silhouette completely. Product photographs taken from the side are the quickest way to see which one a listing actually is.

Boy Short, Cheeky or Brazilian

The three are usually compared by how much of the seat they cover, and it helps to picture them as points along one line.

• Boy short. Full seat coverage, a straight leg and no rise over the hip bone.
• Cheeky. Covers roughly half the seat, with the leg angled up so the lower curve shows. Cheeky bikinis show the cut.
• Brazilian. Narrower again, with a scooped back that covers less than a cheeky and more than a thong.

Whether a regular bikini or a Brazilian is better comes down to what the day involves. A Brazilian suits lying still; a standard brief suits swimming; a boy short suits anything that involves movement. Anyone searching for a big booty bikini that stays in place tends to land on the boy short for exactly that reason — the fabric follows the curve without cutting across it.

How revealing a Brazilian feels depends on the rise as much as the back. Worn with a mid or high waist it reads as sporty; worn low on the hip it reads as minimal. The boy short sits outside that question altogether, which is why it is the usual answer for anyone who wants to stop thinking about the back view.

Which Bikini Bottom Is Most Flattering?

The honest answer is the one that sits flat without digging in, because a band pressing into skin is what reads as unflattering, far more than the amount of fabric. On a boy short, check two edges: the waistband and the leg hem. A waistband that rolls, or a hem that grips the thigh, means the size or the rise is wrong.

Proportion comes next. A straight hem draws a horizontal line wherever it sits, so a hem at the fullest part of the thigh draws the eye there, while one finishing slightly higher or lower moves it. Shorter legs are generally helped by a shorter hem and a higher rise, which lengthens the line from waist to knee.

A French cut bikini bottom is the counterpoint worth knowing: a high-cut leg that rises well above the hip bone to lengthen the leg. It sits at the opposite end of the line from a boy short, and plenty of people keep one of each — the French cut for lying out, the boy short for the water.

Tops That Pair With Shorts

A boy short bottom balances best against a top with some structure. A bralette or sports-style crop matches its athletic line; a halter adds shape at the shoulder to offset the straight hem; a tiny string triangle can look underbuilt above so much fabric below.

Buying a bikini top and shorts together as a bikini shorts set keeps the print and color matched, which matters more with this style than most, since the bottom is a larger block of fabric and any mismatch shows. A separate bikini with shorts bottom works too, as long as the two fabrics share a similar weight and sheen.

For more leg coverage than a boy short gives, swimwear shorts and 2 piece bikini shorts run longer and looser, closer to a board short — a different garment with its own fit. And if a single bikini top and shorts swimsuit is easier to manage than two pieces, look for a longer top over the same straight hem.