Why does it have to be a bikini?
What if it didn’t have to be teeny-tiny, itsy bitsy, busty, cheeky, two piece, low coverage, etc? All terms we see advertising bathing suits.
As soon as the winter season starts letting up and the first
signs of spring come out so do the swimsuits and whether it’s for your spring
break beach party or the summer vacation, the hunt for the perfect swimwear
begins. Before they are out in the stores we scour all the websites online. We
find loads of cute ones the models show off, they are picture perfect. We get
high hopes wanting to look beautiful just like the pictures. Then we go to the
stores and begin trying them on and it’s no picnic trying to find the perfect
one. You likely ask, who were these made for anyways? especially when things start hanging out and the suit is riding up, or you notice your skin matches the white walls of the dressing room. Too many times we’re going to put on a suit only
to realize it looks nothing like what it did on the model, on us and we become dissatisfied with the way our body is made rather than how some company made a swimsuit.
Many will work out beginning in January for that "bikini body." Now
everyone should take care of their body, and be healthy, but the results
of that won’t be just like the model.
A. Because many of the images have been photo-shopped.
B. Our bodies are all perfectly unique!
We’re tall, short, petite, curvy, sporty, “rulers, apples and pears.” There is no such thing as “the average girl” our figures come in all shapes and sizes. We’re all created uniquely beautiful, no mistakes. We are UNIQUE! (can I stress this enough?) None of us are the same, so why do we think we have to dress the same? We know that one type of pants, shirt, dress etc won’t flatter everyone’s body. So can the beauty of all body types and personalities be revealed by one style of swimwear?
There are some schools of thought saying "every body is a bikini body" "to have a bikini body all you have to do is put on a bikini!" okay but...
What I am asking is why? Why do we have to have a "bikini body?" In a culture that today values individuality, why do we think we have to wear the bikini, a suit that everyone else is wearing? Shouldn’t we seek to wear what "suits us," uniquely us?
A. Because many of the images have been photo-shopped.
B. Our bodies are all perfectly unique!
We’re tall, short, petite, curvy, sporty, “rulers, apples and pears.” There is no such thing as “the average girl” our figures come in all shapes and sizes. We’re all created uniquely beautiful, no mistakes. We are UNIQUE! (can I stress this enough?) None of us are the same, so why do we think we have to dress the same? We know that one type of pants, shirt, dress etc won’t flatter everyone’s body. So can the beauty of all body types and personalities be revealed by one style of swimwear?
There are some schools of thought saying "every body is a bikini body" "to have a bikini body all you have to do is put on a bikini!" okay but...
What I am asking is why? Why do we have to have a "bikini body?" In a culture that today values individuality, why do we think we have to wear the bikini, a suit that everyone else is wearing? Shouldn’t we seek to wear what "suits us," uniquely us?
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why am I looking for
or wearing this? You can ask this question about any article of clothing but in
this post we’ll focus on swimwear.
That swimsuit everyone is wearing is the bikini...Why am I wearing a bikini?
Let’s think
back to when you first started wearing one, some of us perhaps have been in
them our whole lives, others wore one pieces or tankinis till a certain age. Why did you wear a one-piece or two-piece or why did you change from one to the other?
I remember the first year I got a two-piece swimsuit. My last one-piece had been solid black with tweety bird on the front. I was in junior high and most of my friends were wearing two-pieces. I thought getting a bikini was the “more grown up” thing to do. Like it was the next step on my way to growing into a young woman. So I got my first two-piece, it wasn’t a triangle top, it went straight across with a racer back, it was sporty blue and came with boyshort bottoms instead of bikini bottoms. I remember I felt less comfortable in this than my one piece, but more comfortable than if I had a true bikini. I felt better around my friends now having a two-piece like them. Then I jumped off the diving board and my top slid up leaving me exposed. Good thing I could fix it before I surfaced, but that scared me. I realized this new suit came with new things to worry about and so my activity in the water wasn’t as care free as it had once been.
I remember the first year I got a two-piece swimsuit. My last one-piece had been solid black with tweety bird on the front. I was in junior high and most of my friends were wearing two-pieces. I thought getting a bikini was the “more grown up” thing to do. Like it was the next step on my way to growing into a young woman. So I got my first two-piece, it wasn’t a triangle top, it went straight across with a racer back, it was sporty blue and came with boyshort bottoms instead of bikini bottoms. I remember I felt less comfortable in this than my one piece, but more comfortable than if I had a true bikini. I felt better around my friends now having a two-piece like them. Then I jumped off the diving board and my top slid up leaving me exposed. Good thing I could fix it before I surfaced, but that scared me. I realized this new suit came with new things to worry about and so my activity in the water wasn’t as care free as it had once been.
So my reasons for making the switch to a two-piece were
because all my friends had, and I thought I had to eventually because it was part of "growing up."
After that I went through midriff bearing mid-kinis, bandeaus, and then
eventually for a few years wore true bikinis. I never had a string one because
I feared not being able to keep the suit in proper place. Was I ever comfortable in
them? No, not completely.
A few examples: I remember chasing my cousins around the pool, and feeling “naked and exposed” everytime I had to climb out of the water. Then a moment while studying abroad. I was exploring a creek with a guy classmate. It wasn’t anything he did, but I was so self conscious and wished I had at least worn longer shorts.
A few examples: I remember chasing my cousins around the pool, and feeling “naked and exposed” everytime I had to climb out of the water. Then a moment while studying abroad. I was exploring a creek with a guy classmate. It wasn’t anything he did, but I was so self conscious and wished I had at least worn longer shorts.
The change....gradual.
I began working as a lifeguard after I graduated high school. For work we had the option of wearing either a one piece or a midkini. I chose the midkini. Reasons why; well one pieces to me weren’t “cool” or attractive, most of the other guards chose to wear midkinis, and practically speaking, it’s easier to go to the bathroom in a two-piece. I remember our head guard saying he thought the one pieces were more professional looking. That stuck with me, especially hearing this from male. I wanted to be more professional, but not enough to make the switch. Working at the water park as I scanned all the swimmers keeping an eye out for things not in order, I sometimes wondered about the people. I remember seeing a junior high girl on a field-trip day wearing a one piece standing in line for a slide with her friends who were all in bikinis. She looked kind of self conscious. Now who knows why she really looked this way, yes should could have been nervous about the slide, but I wondered from my own experience, if she wanted to be more like her friends, wearing a two piece. In reality she looked amazing in the suit she had on. Another time I remember seeing a fellow guard who came to swim wearing a bright tourquoise tankini with a skirt bottom. I was surprised, she was a beautiful confident girl who could have easily pulled off a tiny bikini, but she chose not to. She was more covered than 95% of the other women swimming, and she looked great, not lame, dorky, frumpy or too prudish or whatever. That summer I realized:
we don’t all have to or need to wear a bikini to be amazingly beautiful!
we don’t all have to or need to wear a bikini to be amazingly beautiful!
The next summer I found a cute red tankini with a skirt bottom. It still showed a few inches of my stomach, and it took me a while to get used to being more covered and not in a bikini like everyone else, but the comfort I felt in it, the comfort of being more covered and “secure” definitely outweighed the reservations I had about no longer being in a bikini "like everyone else." That was my suit for a few summers until my latter years of
college.
The year of 2012 I
decided that I would no longer ever wear another bikini, low cut top, or midriff bearing
swimsuit. I felt I didn't have to.I learned that I could look amazing, classy and beautiful and feel completely comfortable all at the same time. I was lucky and found
a cute vintage style one-piece at Forever 21 that year. It was great, covered
everything and looked cute with a pair of board shorts. When I first
wore it around friends and family sure I wondered what they thought of my one
piece, but that didn’t matter. I
finally felt confident not worrying about if anything was hanging
out or riding up or showing too much. I could stand and talk to a guy and not
be worrying or feeling exposed. When I looked in the mirror I felt
beautiful, my attention wasn’t drawn to my midriff or butt or chest wishing they
were "perfect" or looked differently. I looked amazing in this swimsuit, it flattered my unique figure and personality!
Today I have found a tankini that I look just as beautiful in as the one-piece and it's definitely more practical (you know for when you have to go). Another option I found is dri-fit sport clothes. For example try a dri-fit sports bra and dri-fit t-shirt or tank-top to wear with board shorts and a
swim bottom. It’s just like wearing clothes, but for the water, nothing drags or
weighs you down.
So this is my story of my switch to modest swimwear. Now I
pose the questions to you to consider when buying a swimsuit this season….
Why are you wearing a bikini?
Is it because everyone else does? "because everyone else is doing it" is never a good reason. Be yourself, do your own thing!
Is it because everyone else does? "because everyone else is doing it" is never a good reason. Be yourself, do your own thing!
Do you feel like you have to? Whether you feel like you have to in order to fit in with friends, have to look a certain way or dress a certain way, feeling pressured is never a good reason to go along with a trend.
Are you afraid you won’t get male attention in a one piece? Consider this...you aren't just getting "that one guy's" attention. Every guy will see you whether they are 12, 20, 42, or 60+. What are you actually comfortable with people seeing you wear?
Do you think you’ll look prudish, dorky, or un-cool in a one
piece or tankini? Give them a chance, there are tons of styles and prints. You will be surprised! You may
have to look a little harder, but they are out there. At the end of this post I’ll
give some shopping suggestions. I also have pinterest board where I pin any stylish modest suits I find.
Are you truly comfortable in your bikini, are you
comfortable with the way you look and feel while wearing it? If you don't feel comfortable showing cleavage, exposing your midriff, worrying if your butt is covered etc., then don't limit yourself to a bikini. Consider that you haven't found the suit that uniquely fits you. Not any one suit will make everybody look and feel amazing. If you're standing in front of the dressing room mirror with a suit on wishing you could change your body, STOP! You are beautiful and perfect the way you are, it's the suit that is not, change the suit!
Give one-pieces or tankinis something you wouldn't normally try, a chance.
Choosing a suit that is more modest, is not about hiding your body or being ashamed of how you look. It's about you being confident and comfortable in what you are wearing. It's about people seeing you at the beach and not just your body.
I hope you will please consider this. Here are a few words from another one-piece wearing blogger on the subject of a one-piece.
"They’re simultaneously classic and modern, and when they look right, they look sophisticated, a word not normally invoked at the beach....At the end of the day, people should just recall that you looked beautiful. Eventually, everybody figures out that you look your best when you feel the most comfortable. And at the beach, I want to be able to sit up and have a picnic without worrying what my stomach looks like, or dive into a pool and swim for as long as I want without fearing a Seventeen magazine Traumarama moment and losing my top. I need to feel ready to run into the waves, play with my dogs, or to try surfing. My one-pieces are not, “covering up that bod-ay,” but empowering it, flattering it, and ensuring that I’m able to do what I want, whenever I want." —Alessandra Codinha
"They’re simultaneously classic and modern, and when they look right, they look sophisticated, a word not normally invoked at the beach....At the end of the day, people should just recall that you looked beautiful. Eventually, everybody figures out that you look your best when you feel the most comfortable. And at the beach, I want to be able to sit up and have a picnic without worrying what my stomach looks like, or dive into a pool and swim for as long as I want without fearing a Seventeen magazine Traumarama moment and losing my top. I need to feel ready to run into the waves, play with my dogs, or to try surfing. My one-pieces are not, “covering up that bod-ay,” but empowering it, flattering it, and ensuring that I’m able to do what I want, whenever I want." —Alessandra Codinha
Love Your Sister,
Alyson
Should Women Wear Bikinis? -Jason Evert
Alyson
Should Women Wear Bikinis? -Jason Evert
Links to sites with tankini and one piece options:
My Modest Swim Pinterest Board!
http://www.limericki.com/
http://www.hapari.com/
http://www.divinitasole.com/
http://www.reyswimwear.com/
https://www.swimoutlet.com/
http://www.modcloth.com/shop/swimwear
Athleta
http://downeastbasics.com/swim.aspx
http://www.thepinkdesert.com/
Links to common stores that have tankini and one piece options:
Kohls
JCPenney
Dillards
Beals
Target
Belk
Here are some pictures of a few great styles I've seen.
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| Romper Style @LimeRicki |
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| Vintage classic stripes @ Modcloth |
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| One Shoulder @ LimeRicki |
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