This Swimsuit Photo Trick Is Blowing Twitter's Mind

The swimsuit industry has been lying to us for years

Of course we all know how deeply Photoshopped and airbrushed-to-perfection almost all professional photoshoots are. Especially female models. And especially female models in swimsuits. Not that these women don’t probably look Barbie-eque in real life, but even models are subject to the touch-up treatment in photos.

A viral Twitter thread recently exposed the “truth” behind this perfection, and reading it will make you feel equal parts frustrated and validated. Here’s why:

Writer Nicole Cliffe shared this little tidbit of information on Twitter yesterday. Swimsuit models are really wearing bras. Which is why their boobs look amazingly supported and supple in bikini and one-piece tops, and the rest of us, well, don’t.

Does this make any other mere mortal woman feel better? We think so.

Oh, thank God it’s not just us.

YES.

Apparently we aren’t the only ones to not be clued into this pertinent information. Other Twitter users shared their joined frustration at false advertising and perpetuating unattainable standards.

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/921571839578640384

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/921560840737886208

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/921590466365112320

Other women shared their feeling of relief and validation.

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/921564204754141185

Cliffe is absolutely right, too. A quick Google search turns up a number of articles where photographers and models share their secret.

This little “trick” is probably not surprising information for anyone. The fashion industry is rife with this kind of thing, which only serves to make consumers wish we looked like these models in our own swimsuits, — which is what drives us to purchase them in the first place. But then we end up feeling awful when we don’t. If it makes you feel a little rage-y when you think about it, the responses to this thread prove you’re not alone.

Now we know that even these thin, conventionally beautiful women get a boost (pun intended) in looking the way they do in these photos.