I am gearing up for a trip to the beach next week and I've gotten to thinking about how to survive the ocean. As I've said before I hate the ocean, but this time I'll be there with some friends from university so I'm going to buck up and give the beach a second try. While in the process of doing that, I've started contemplating my beach essentials. 1. Retro-inspired swimsuits like this one from ModCloth, the 'Bathing Beauty' two-piece in black. I own this swimsuit, as well as the 'Beach Blanket Bingo' one-piece in black with white polka-dots and its two-piece version in red.2. A wide-brimmed floppy straw hat to keep your eyes and skin shaded from those damaging sun rays.3. A speaker to play music - I am partial to the Yuen'to Balloon USB portable speaker because it reminds me of a clown's nose. Also the sound is incredible.
4. A good book, like Françoise Sagan's Bonjour Tristesse, which I currently have stashed away in my bag.
5. Cute straw beach bags like this one from Tory Burch.
6. A good sunscreen - I love this Kiehl's Super Fluid formula because it doesn't pill like a lot of other sunblocks out there. And with an SPF of +50 I feel confident that I'm getting good protection.
7. A couple of pairs of oversized sunglasses - the bigger, the better I say! So these sunnies by House of Harlow 1960 more than fit the bill.

Do you have any summertime beach essentials? 
Title: "Girls on the Beach" (Beach Boys)