Last year, Lands' End held its inaugural National Swimsuit Confidence Week, and convinced nearly 100 bloggers to post photos of themselves in their swimsuits.

I have to say, I LOVED the result.

Not many of us are thrilled with the way we look in a swimsuit.

Seeing so many women dare to put photos of themselves in a swimsuit online for all the world to see made me feel a lot better about my own body, in a way that seeing photos of models like the one to my left do not.

So when I was asked to participate in this year's National Swimsuit Confidence Week, I took a deep breath ... and said yes.

My love affair with crochet doesn't have to end when it comes to bathing suits. And just because it has holes all over it doesn't mean it can be properly sewn into a swimsuit to give you the right amount of coverage and support, and a whole lot of style. And yes, you can even swim in them.

Behold the Robin Piccone 'Penelope' Crochet Overlay One-Piece Swimsuit ($130) from Nordstrom perfectly named after my daughter. So cute, don't you think? The one-piece (I think my daughter is too, of course). And sure, it's expensive, so if you aren't prepared to splurge, I found some more crochet swimsuits, including a bikini, at a fraction of the cost.

Some celebs are probably mortified when the paparazzi take pictures of them in a skimpy bathing suit on the beach, but Rihanna was more than a little confident sporting a bikini in Hawaii. Instead of trying to cover up her body and hiding from photographers, she invited them into the water with her so they could obtain close-up shots of her rockin' figure.

And judging from this shot of her that was taken on a different trip to Barbados, I can't say that I blame her for wanting to flaunt what she's got. Rock-hard abs like that are definitely something to be proud of.

There's werkin' it for the camera, then there's Rihanna. The Barbadian songstress loves the lens so much that I might suggest she marry it. After a probably well-deserved vacation in Hawaii, Rihanna took to Facebook to share some, um, intimate photos with everyone in the entire world. From pics of her topless to pics of her paddle boarding to pics and pics and pics of her looking like she's quite literally making love to the camera, Rihanna didn't hold anything back.

To which I say, enough. Is anyone else starting to get a little tired of her antics? She's too talented to be doing stuff like this! Leave these kind of "photo shoots" to the likes of Courtney Stodden and, oh god, Heidi Montag. Rihanna's too good for this shit.

As much as I hate to think about it, bathing suit season is rapidly approaching, and there's really nothing I can do about it. Well, I guess I could move to Alaska to avoid being forced to expose too much skin this summer, but something tells me my husband won't be on board with that plan.

And no matter where in the world you live, you probably take a vacation once or twice a year, and vacations usually involve bathing suits in one way or another. And even though our bodies have been to hell and back after having kids, plenty of us moms still aim for wearing bikinis, even though the odds of them being flattering is stacked against us.

The Kardashian girls recently took a trip to the Dominican Republic, and we can really learn a few tips on how to wear a bikini as a mom by looking at Kourtney and Kris's skimpy swimwear.

Lauren Conrad is absolutely gorgeous, which is why it's pretty shocking to hear that she's afraid to be seen in a bathing suit in her hometown of L.A. If I looked like her, I'd run around in a bikini like it was my job! But I guess even someone as stunning as Lauren isn't exempt from feeling the pressures to look perfect out there in the land of beautiful people.

It must not be very visible to the naked eye, but Conrad insists she has cellulite and says that having someone zoom in on it and take a photo of her is what prompted her swimsuit wearing fears. Take a look at Lauren's sexy topless photo on the cover of the new issue of Glamour magazine. Does she look really like someone who needs to worry about wearing a bathing suit?

Ugh. It's all well and good that it's finally getting warmer outside, but I think that most moms would agree that despite the better temperatures, we're all still dreading bikini season. Nothing is quite as cringe worthy as the idea of swimsuit shopping, right? Even when I was a perfectly svelte size-2 back when I got married, I still shuddered at the thought of trying on a minuscule piece of material in a dimly lit dressing room. (Little did I know that things were only going to get worse).

Bikinis are skimpy enough -- but Brazilian bikinis are a whole other story. Up until recently, the bottoms were barely large enough to be considered anything other than a piece of dental floss. I never understood how wearing a piece clothing resembling the size of an oral care product could be comfortable, and thankfully, Brazilian swimwear designers are wising up and realizing that most women want a lot more coverage on the beach.

J. Lo's had some fashion misses over the years, but overall, the world's most beautiful woman has some pretty fabulous style. And I mean fabulous like faaaabulous, dahling, because her outfits are generally over the top, over-accessorised, and overly-exposing in the best worst way possible. I know that sounds confusing, but I also know that you know what I mean. From too-tight dresses to clown makeup on Idol to giant earrings for any and every occasion, Jennifer Lopez's got the look.

Most recently, our girl and her boy toy Casper were lounging around on a yacht near Rio de Janeiro (obvs), and J. Lo, not one to lose an opportunity to look oh-so-stylin', wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow ... bikini. No polka, no dots, but she looked hot.

Even though we have no shot at looking as good as her, here are 5 yellow swimsuits to picture yourself in as you lounge on your own boat off Rio.