piece, which blended the freedom of a bikini with the more modest coverage of a one-piece bathing suit, quickly captured nearly a third of the swimwear market. Her biggest hit, the tankini, came in 1998 when her label introduced the innovation. This two-piece suit with a top half that covered more of the torso than a standard bikini top was first devised by Cole for herself as a young girl. Aimed at closing a gap in the swimwear market, the popularity of tankini largely came from Cole's tapping into women's anxieties about swimwear. In the six seasons following its introduction, tankinis diversified in style and range, adding other big name designers like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Nautica, and Calvin Klein. In 2005, a controversy broke out when Buddhists complained against swimwear manufacturer Ondade Mar and lingerie giant Victoria's Secret started marketing tankinis featuring Buddhist iconography. In the same year, Nike's breast cancer awareness swimwear collection featured four different cuts of tankini. Usage Tankinis are suggested as an option for women who had gone through mastectomy, i.e. removal of one or both breasts by surgery, modest bust sizes, and long-torsos. For women who don't have washboard abs, Betts commented, "If you don't feel comfortable wearing a bikini, the tankini's an option that's sort of in between." In Think & Date Like a Man, fashion writer April Masini suggests wearing a tankini for women with smaller breasts and less-than-toned abdomens as the most flattering choice of beachwear, with the right amount of coverage along with the feeling of a two-piece suit. A not-too-close-fitting tankini, ensembled with a sarong, has been suggested for gymnophobia or the fear of nudity. Tankinis, sometimes divided in front exposing the navel, exist for pregnant women. Variants Gucci's crystal-studded tankini, on the May 1998 covers of both Harper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitan was as expensive as US$2,425, while bargain tankinis were available at less than US$10. Variations of the tankini, dubbed by Cole as the "ini sisters." made mostly of spandex-and-cotton or Lycra-and-nylon, has been added by designers and retailers, chiefly Cole of California and Mervyns, to maximize the tankini sales. Fashion experts also suggest tankini-style wedding dresses for brides of a certain body-types, i.e. athletic long legs. Camkini A camkini is a tankini with spaghetti straps of a camisole top instead of tank-shaped straps over a bikini bottom. Ebony Fashion Fair's traveling fashion show in 2000 presented camikinis