Why did a pair of bikini bottoms cause outrage online?

And yet, less than two weeks into 2019, there is already a worrying "must-have" winging its way into our wardrobes. 

Introducing the super-SUPER high-cut bikini - which comes with the added risk of something people are calling "side-flaps". If side-boob gets you side-eye, side-flaps gets you a full. On. Stare.   

It all started when an Australian brand shared this photo of a model wearing a pair of its red and white bikini bottoms.

OK, so it’s not the first outing for the high-cut bikini – it has already been seen on some of the runways, and we spent most of last summer watching the Love Island fash-huns bathing their bods in thigh-scraping swim gear. 

But when a picture of this latest bikini went up on Facebook, the internet responded with a series of comments alluding to the model’s - errr – uncomfortable pose. Is this piece of clothing in any way practical for women IRL? 

One Facebook comment read, 'I had a less intrusive smear test today', while another commented that, 'It's like floss for your hairy handbag'. 

Retailing at nearly £22.48 (Australian $39.95), we think you’d agree that’s a lot of cash for so little fabric. 

Snarky comments aside, people seemed united in the view that this screamed unrealistic beauty standards for women.

One woman said, 'This picture is starting to make me feel inadequate with my lady bits...tuck and tape is a must'. While for another it evoked uncomfortable memories: 'I haven’t sat in that position since I birthed my third child...'

Basically, normal non-models are not going to feel good lying by the pool in nothing more than a fancy climbing harness – as mum and blogger Laura Belbin, 34, proved when she tried the look IRL.

"The model [in the original photo] looks incredible, but it is the most unrealistic swimwear option for 90% of the population," says mum-of-two Laura.

She runs the blog Knee Deep in Life and was encouraged by her followers to recreate the picture to highlight its absurdity. 

She rummaged through her toddler's wardrobe to put 'the look' together. "I just grabbed his T-shirt, threw it on along with a pair of pants that basically cut me in half with my other son’s Spider-Man belt round me. I said to my husband, 'I need you to take a picture'. He was like, 'What on earth are you wearing?'" she laughs. 

But she thought it was important to do. She says: "We have rolls of fat. We have cellulite. We have stretch marks. We don’t always shave our bikini lines. Why is it that we have to feel ashamed? So, whenever I do my expectation versus reality photos, I am taking the mick out of myself, but it’s also highlighting the fact I do not look like her and that is actually OK, I don’t need to." 

Her followers clearly agree - the post got 28k likes and over 6k shares on Facebook alone, with comments ranging from, 'This woman is my hero', through to 'Amen!! This is true life not the photoshopped crap we see every day!!'

The company behind the viral post has since responded to criticism, saying it "believe(s) that body shaming is never appropriate", and has used the publicity to ask women over 25 to get a cervical cancer check.

But it seems the battle to keep toxic body trends at bay is far from over. When it comes to sky-high bikini bottoms, some seem to think this look is a "must-have", but we're thinking more along the lines of "must-run-away-from". Immediately.