It’s no secret that there has been a devastating loss in the realm of bikinis; Victoria’s Secret has completely stopped the sale of their bikini line after the summer of 2016. With heavy hearts, teen girls everywhere trudge along to summer ’17 with a closet full of last year’s colors, styles and patterns.

“I’m bummed out that they won’t be selling them anymore,” senior Gloria Hussain said.

Now that the famous brand is gone, where will girls find relatively cheap, but cute, bikinis? Sure, Triangl is an option — if you want to spend over $90 on a bikini plus a ridiculous Australian shipping fee and so is Kiini Bikinis— but don’t even get us started on these prices.

When did buying a simple bikini become such an expensive and complex matter?

After hunting all winter, there seem to be alternative websites that aren’t quite as pricey as Triangl or Kiini, two other popular swimsuit online stores.

Moana or Midori Bikinis are two online brands that have both solid and patterned bikinis for those searching, but their prices are still not ideal. Moana Bikini charges $80 for just the top, and to purchase a set it costs around $120. These prices, while they are cheaper than some other places, are not exactly a steal.

“It’s insane because Victoria’s Secret has always been my go-to place and now it’s hard to find stuff online that’s good material and a price I can actually deal with,” sophomore Mary Fant said.

Then came the Instagram flurry of free bathing suits from Sunny Co., which was not only a major scam, but a chance of hope that once again ended in complete devastation. The situation resulted in a sad apology from the founders and a relentless amount of jokes from social media.

“Honestly, I knew the thing had to be a joke when I scrolled past it on my Instagram about 30 times in 10 minutes,” sophomore Denise Domerstad said.

The scam was no surprise to those who saw the promotion, but it was still disappointing.

Customers affected by the Victoria’s Secret situation felt this loss a little closer to heart, and discovered that the worst of their nightmares had come true because they now needed a new go-to store for cute bathing suits.

“It is annoying because I love Victoria’s Secret bathing suits,” junior Sarah Iannuzzi said.

Now, as the summer approaches, the search is on and there seems to be no end in sight.

After asking around, there is a sufficient number of places to hunt for cute bikinis this summer. Everything but Water, Ripcurl, Bloomingdales and Pacsun are just some of the places you can look.

While these alternate stores are great, nothing will ever be able to replace the Victoria’s Secret bikini-sized hole in the hearts of teen girls.