Good-girl Gidget, where have you gone? Apparently not on spring break. Every year college students from across the country descend upon the Florida Panhandle (affectionately referred to as “The Redneck Riviera”) for a different kind of March Madness. According to locals and breakers alike, there are just two goals on the average agenda: to look good and party hard.
Achieving the former has most coeds adopting an unspoken uniform. At the beach, it’s printed bikinis, belly rings, bright tank tops, denim shorts, oversize school sweatshirts and rubber flip-flops.
The club scene is only slightly adjusted. A foam party or wet T-shirt contest calls for a bikini worn with sexy halters, the shortest minis imaginable and those same flip-flops. For a more dressed-up night out at one of the massive beachfront dance clubs (Panama City Beach is home to LaVela, the largest club in the United States), the ubiquitous skimpy top shows up over ruffled minis or low-rise jeans and platform or stiletto sandals. Girls go for minimal jewelry and no-fuss, fun-in-the-sun hair and makeup. And as for that proverbial “healthy” tan, more than a few breakers enhance their glow with endless applications of oil.
— Kim Friday