So, I’ve mentioned I’m at the beach with my family. Though we can’t swim in the ocean because of the oil spill (and I’m pretty wary of oceanic creatures anyway), our condo has a lazy river, an indoor pool and hot tubs, and a very sweet outdoor pool with a waterfall. Our room also has a private hot tub on the balcony. I knew all this when I packed, yet I still forgot my bathing suit. Even after my mom reminded me to pack it.
I briefly considered going out and buying a new one, but I didn’t find anything that I liked enough to spend $40 on (and, as it turns out, $40 is cheap when it comes to bathing suits). Luckily, my sisters Dawn and Erika are close enough to my size that I was able to borrow their suits.
The Land’s End suit that I borrowed from Erika is a white bikini with gold accents. While I’m not too keen on the bikini part (they seem to highlight my “problem areas” and camouflage my “assets”), I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how good a white bathing suit can look on me. Though I’ve always steered clear of them because I’m so pale, I’m beginning to think that was a mistake–my pale skin actually appears darker and healthier next to bright white.
So I’ve decided to get a white bathing suit.
Because of the weird condo lighting, this suit looks almost navy. I swear it's a beautiful shade of eggplant.
Then, while swimming at our hotel Dawn and I noticed a girl wearing a very beautiful eggplant one-piece suit. Dawn gathered up the courage to ask where it was from, and she found out that the suit is from Old Navy. When we went shopping yesterday we made sure to check the Old Navy outlet store, and they had the beautiful eggplant suit! Of course it didn’t come in white, and they didn’t have my size (they only had it in xs, s, and xl), but Dawn was able to find one that fit her and she snatched it up.
When we got back to the condo I scoured OldNavy.com only to find that the suit isn’t even listed there. After searching several other websites for decently-priced, moderately attractive white bathing suits, I’ve come to the realization that this whole swimsuit thing isn’t really working for me. Even at the best of times I’d have to admit that (if real life were anything like Facebook) my relationship status with bathing suits is a half-hearted “it’s complicated.”
I can’t seem to find a bathing suit that fits me right. I wouldn’t say I’m modest, but I don’t like feeling like I’m sitting around in my underwear either. I tend to lean toward vintage-inspired one-pieces in solid colors, and luckily those styles are really popular right now. I really like the black one I bought from Target recently, so I wear it despite the fact it doesn’t really fit. It’s barely long enough (I’m tall), yet it still gapes in the back and the bust is almost too small. I feel like I’m constantly on the verge of a nip slip in this suit. Therefore, I’ve decided to break up with store-bought swimsuits and make my own.
That should immediately solve the color problem, since I can make one in whatever color I want. The pattern part is proving to be a bit more difficult. Almost everything I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only looked online so far, since I am sitll out of town) is either really outdated, really bland, or really impractical.
Cindy Bathing Suit, photo courtesy of Burdastyle.com
One pattern I’ve found that I really, really like is BurdaStyle.com’s Cindy, but judging from the pictures and comments this suit offers no bust support whatsoever. I’m thinking of combining the gathered triangle top of the beautiful eggplant Old Navy suit with the sweet skirted bottom of the Cindy. Making a two-piece would definitely solve my length problems, and I could still gather the sides (instead of the front), since all the gathering is one of my favorite things about the Cindy. I’m going to work on some sketches, and I’ll post them as soon as I figure out a way to upload them.
Of course, if I find the perfect pattern I’ll use it. I’d love to not make things up as I go, but at this point it looks like I’m going to have to.
What are your biggest swimsuit complaints? Have you found a place that sells the perfect bathing suits or bathing suit patterns?
i have had such an “it’s complicated” past with swim suits, too. i hadn’t really invested in a suit since high school. and i had pieces that i had bought separately that didn’t match. last year, i bought one from target, and the bottom pooched out in front like whoa. i guess i wasn’t paying attention when i tried it on. this year, i went straight to victoria’s secret. no front pooching, appropriate amount of padding up top, and perfect tightness in the butt area, even after getting wet. and it is hot pink. =) i think my total was around 32 dollars…i can’t remember exactly because i would have paid $50 for this suit. (sorry for writing a book)
My biggest swimsuit complaints:
One pieces typically aren’t long enough (Luckily, I don’t have this problem with my eggplant Old Navy gem). This usually results in a pretty obvious camel toe. My ideal one piece would be exactly like the Old Navy one up top and have more length at the bottom, kinda like boy shorts but not quite as long.
The tops to two pieces usually don’t provide enough support, and the bottoms are rarely if ever flattering to my thighs or my butt. Boy shorts work really well with my body type, but I can never seem to find cute ones in the right size. My ideal two piece would be a top with molded cups and adjustable straps with boy short bottoms.
Jaqui, I’m going to have to check out Victoria’s Secret for sure. I haven’t set foot in there in years (my sleepwear is comprised entirely of things flannel, floral, and second hand), so natually I didn’t even think of looking there. Thanks for the hot tip!
Tops with too little support and suits with too little length are the story of my life. I hate bathing suits that give me pancake boobs and cut my butt in half. I’d honestly sooner visit a nude beach or swim in a big t-shirt than be mangled by a bathing suit.
hahaha, mangled is a funny word.
Mutilated, mauled, man-handled, misrepresented, molested: all m-words that a bad bathing suit can do to your body.
You should check out modcloth.com They have really cute retro looking bathing suits and they have awesome sales all of the time. Also an easy return policy if it doesn’t work for you.
Missy, I have heard very good things about modcloth.com from my sister, Dawn, as well. I have a birthday coming up–maybe I’ll discreetly email Kyle some links.