Forgot to charge your iPod for the beach? Just plug it into a solar-powered iKini...



It may well be something of a niche market.



But for those fed up with their iPod running out of power when lazing about in a bikini, help is at hand.



It comes in the shape of a £120 swimsuit made of solar panels that can charge everything from an MP3 to a camera.



She's electric: The Solar Bikini is powered by the sun and has USB sockets stitched in for the wearer to plug in an electronic device

The designer, New York-based Andrew Schneider, is even hoping to create a pair of trunks that can cool beer.



He spends up to 80 hours creating each bikini with 40 paper thin flexible, photo-voltaic panels and conductive thread.



The user can even take a dip. ‘You just need to be dry before hooking up,’ he added.

Anyone worried about getting a shock from their swimwear needn’t be.



‘You wouldn’t even feel the charge,’ insisted Mr Schneider.

USB socket: The swimsuit is powered by photo-voltaic panels sewn together with conductive thread

Each bikini is made to measure and involves up to 80 hours of painstaking hand-stitching. Unsurprisingly, they cost more than £120 each





