Bit nippy out! Would you wear this BOOB bikini in the name of feminism?
IF YOU'RE tempted to join the Free The Nipple movement but you're too shy to go topless, this crazy nipple emblazoned bikini top could be the perfect compromise
A new string bikini designed to look like a natural pair of boobs means you can maintain your modesty while daring to "bare" this summer.
The bizarre swimwear, designed by Chicago-based feminists Robyn Graves and Michelle Lytle, is a skin-coloured bikini with nipple details and gives a very convincing illusion of toplessness.
TaTa Tops, which comes in an array of skin tones, costs $28 per top, with $5 of each sale put towards a breast cancer research foundation.
Breasts are excess breast tissue growing into varying sized balls
The designers have said that they created the swimwear range in the hopes that it would desexualize the nipple.
On their website Robyn and Michelle said: "The only excitement that comes from seeing breasts is that you are conditioned to think they are something special, something to be protected and kept hidden.
"In reality they are excess breast tissue growing into varying sized balls that you have to buy expensive support for and that throw you off balance when you run."
Michelle added in an interview with Salon that, by making the wearer look like she is baring her nipples, the TaTa Top exposes people to the idea of toplessness, thereby lessening the shock factor.
"I think that the important thing about this product is that, if people look around and see this everywhere, then who cares if you can legitimately be topless? Because you're already seeing it," she said.
Though they are not directly affiliated, the TaTa Top was in part inspired by the Free The Nipple movement launched by filmmaker Lina Esco and made popular by Bruce Willis' daughter Scout.
In May Scout paraded through New York City, where female toplessness is legal, in just a skirt, posting pictures of herself to Twitter with the hashtag #FreeTheNipple.