The Towelkini Is The Beach Towel-Swimsuit Hybrid That No One Asked For

What the Snuggie was to 2009 the Towelkini is to 2019. It's one of those so-ridiculous-you-need-it pieces that's both clothing and lounge accessory, and it's coming to you just in time for summer. What is a Towelkini? Prepare to raise an eyebrow in total perplexity, because the beach towel and the bikini are now one. Well, sort of. This is one of those inventions that doesn't make a lot of sense but that you love anyways, so proceed with the understanding that an eye roll is imminent.

Designed by artist Aria McManus, the Towelkini is essentially a towel with leg holes and a head hole in it — dare I say, it's very DIY! It lets you lay on the beach with your torso covered and your limbs exposed, whether you prefer to sun bathe on your back or belly. As described on Special Special, the website where it's sold, the Towelkini "melds the two essentials for all things beach, no need to carry a cumbersome towel and an easy to lose swimsuit – here they come as one, materialized as ideal. One size fits all." Is a towel really that cumbersome? Is not having to carry one worth the strange tan lines you'll get while rocking a Towelkini? Evidently, the answer to both questions is Yes for a lot of people, because the Towelkini is selling out.

Available in gold and pink for $199, the Towelkini will add a bright pop of summer-appropriate color to any beach or pool day you've got coming up. Its edges and appendage holes are lined with thick white bands, while the main portion of the garment is crafted from that classic fuzzy terry cloth you know and love. While I can certainly understand how lounging in a Towelkini could be comfortable (lounging in anything soft and oversized is comfortable), its use as a swimsuit is technically impossible, unless you're headed to a nude beach.

Scroll through the Instagram post above and you'll see that the Towelkini only fully covers one side of the wearer's body — if you wear it as pictured, your butt and part of your back will be bare. This means that you'll still need to wear an actual swimsuit underneath the Towelkini unless you plan on mooning the entire beach, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of the item — am I missing something?

I guess Special Special does also write the following of the Towelkini on their website: "Keep the baes at bay, have all your haters throw in the towel when they lay eyes on you in this. Put the OW in towel, make them wish they were the sun of your beach. Follow suit, make this the one piece you get laid on the beach in." What I'm getting from all of that is basically that the Towelkini is a total thirst trap, albeit a very strange one. Taking this into account, the cheeky design makes a lot more sense — but I think I'll stick with my Snuggie.