Could this £2,000 crystal-studded swimsuit give you the boost you need on the beach this summer?

It's officially British summertime and for millions of women that means the inevitable countdown to baring it all on the beach.

Struggling into a skimpy bikini after a winter of comfort food and covering up is rarely a moment women look forward to.

But what if said swimsuit were a jewel-toned, crystal-studded number worth a staggering £2,000? At Selfridges, women looking to make a serious impact at the seaside can do just that.

The store is launching a lavish swimming costumes by label Pistol Panties, hand-embroidered with 5,000 Swarovski crystals in tones of ruby, sapphire, emerald and gold.

The swimsuit - which rings in at an eye-watering £100 per square centimetre - has been dubbed the 'bling-kini', and is likely to attract only those for whom a stick of celery is considered a square meal - and for whom £2,000 is a drop in the ocean.

The barely-there swimsuit is tailored in a very on trend cut-out shape, with a bikini top attached to diminutive bottoms by a gold crystal-studded strip.

It is being launched, say the store, to celebrate a 33 per cent hike in swimwear sales - figures which appear to be bucking the current shopping trends elsewhere on the high street.

Despite consumers making cutbacks though, Selfridges is expecting rabid interest from fashion fans for the bikini, and has already set up a waiting list in advance.

'Swimwear is summer's ultimate style statement,' says Selfridges' swimwear buyer Helen Attwood.

'With all the right ingredients and adequate holding-in, pushing-up power a bikini can become a women's best friend.'

Whether or not the skimpy £2,000 bikini can steal the crown from the hide-it-all sarong as women's best friend is yet to be seen, after all, there's only so much two triangles of fabric can do for a woman's body issues, whatever the cost.

One thing is for sure though: assuming you can still afford to go on holiday after you've bought the sparkly swimsuit, fellow beach-goers will be so dazzled by the glittering garment they won't even think to look at your thighs.

Battle of the blondes: Playboy stars Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson slip into swimsuits in Las Vegas

Wouldn't Hugh Hefner be proud.

Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson, who both made their names in the Playboy reality series Girls Next Door, both slipped into swimsuits for separate promotional appearances in Las Vegas yesterday.

Clearly both schooled in the tricky business of poolside posing, they showed off matching moves as they each lounged in front of the camera.

Madison was flying the flag on July 4 in a red string bikini at a pool party at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

The 30-year-old now stars in her own E! series Holly's World, which followed her move to Vegas to appear in the stage production, Peep Show.

The blonde, who was 84-year-old Hefner's 'Number 1' girl for a time, is also on the look out for love.

'I'm single right now but I would like to find a husband,' says Madison, who has also been linked to rocker Benji Madden and illusionist Criss Angel in recent times.

'The Catch 22, though, is that the kind of guys who want to be on my show are not the type of guys I want.'

Meanwhile, her former co-star Kendra was in Sin City over the holiday weekend to promote the Moorea Beach Club at Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

The 25-year-old, who gave birth to son Hank last December, showed off her post-baby body in a striped cut-out one-piece number.

The 25-year-old has made no secret of her struggle to lose her baby weight, but says she is determined to get back into shape for her husband.

‘It's all because of Hank [basketball star Hank Baskett]. He's the one I am doing it for,' she says.

'It's not even for me being on the cover of magazines or on a TV show. I want my body back for Hank!’

The star, who was embroiled in a sex tape scandal earlier this year, also appears in her own spin-off show, Kendra.

The former co-star's keep in touch though, with Holly recently revealling: 'We see each other a lot.'