Overall, not as bad as it might be! I found a red two-piece with silver buckle detailing, and it actually looks quite okay.
I was astonished to realize that I had to buy a size 8 bottom and a size 16 top - I know I am top-heavy, but didn't realize it was that bad!
I was also disappointed that I had to buy the halter-style top rather than the bra-style top - I prefer the bra tops as they put the weight of my boobs on my shoulders, whereas the halter puts all the weight on the back of my neck, which gets really uncomfortable after a while. However, the fit and look of the halter were SO MUCH better that I went with vanity over comfort. . .
And YAY - I don't have to try on swimsuits any more - that is the best part!
Zeller's. I am too darned cheap to spend a ton of money on something that only gets worn a couple of times a year! Of course, that creates many of my swimsuit woes - no doubt I could more easily find something nice-looking if I were willing to pay more.
At least even the cheap shops have begun selling separate tops & bottoms. So my biggest problem is finding bust support - a shelf bra simply WILL NOT DO!
Sometimes trying things on in a store like Zellers or WalMart can be a waaay less pressure. With things like bra's and bathing suits especially. You can take a bundle of them into the change room and nobody even notices, let alone asking "How are you doing in there?"
Funny to see this thread on here . I, too, just bought a bathing suit on Sunday. It's a 2-piece that looks like a 1-piece, y'know what I mean? The top is a tank & the bottom is cut pretty conservatively. I also have huge issues with boob support in bathing suits. It's really immodest if I don't have one with proper support, especially running around after 2 preschool boys. Anyway, it's a beautiful ocean-blue color & if nothing else, I love the way it looks OFF of me .
I wear my Speedo sports style one piece suit ... I look flat as a board in it but it's extremely comfy, I NEVER have to worry about falling out of it ...
I bought a new suit, just after the swimsuit challenge idea occured to me, this morning over the internet . It's a tankini, which is a style I've never worn before, and has a separate skirt along with the top and bottom.
I got it at Land's End. I'm a size 10 in every suit I ever try on and they all pretty much look about the same.
I do just about all my clothes and shoes shopping over the net - got 3 companies that make stuff that fits me quite well and is in keeping with my style (or lack thereof as I like really functional plain stuff).
I love to go to the mall 2 or 3 times a year and look but nothing beats getting an outfit in 5 mintues at 5:30 in the morning while dressed in my bathrobe
Right now, all I have are boring Speedos. They were hard to find, too! Why are lap-swimming suits all so low cut in back? I swear, most of them have less butt coverage than a bikini.
I would like to get a swimsuit that is more fun, but the only swimming I've been doing lately have been laps, so I haven't really needed one. I tried on a bikini at Old Navy, but I was pretty appalled at how bad it looked. Granted, I was feeling fat that day, but still... Clearly I need to spend a little bit more money to get a better fitting suit.
MY reply to the swimsuit issue. Its not always us. I dont think alot of swimsuit designers take into consideration we are all not teens with perky bodies. I like a two piece but often have trouble finding one that is (age appropriate). I have no boobs but a halter still pulls on my neck. I dont have a bad shape up to a size 6-7 . But I find all the low cut bottoms wont hardly cover my hyster scar/ c section. I do need the bottom to cover the but. All of it. Even a bigger size bottom seems to be cut for a tiny hiny. I dont want an grama suit either. Maybe we should get together and start our own line made for real women. !!!!
Okay, I'll jump in.....last summer I tried on a bikini. DD said she won't let me buy another tankini......but my problem is that I don't like my stomach--I have TONS of moles and freckles and I just don't like them to show. Most of them are on my abdomen. I guess I won't buy another bathing suit until DD moves out!!!
Maybe we should get together and start our own line made for real women. !!!!
You are so right! I wear a size 2-4 in clothing, so you'd think I could find a swimsuit that looks good on me. But I swear, I try them on, even the suits for lap swimming (in fact some of those are the worst), and globs of fat seem to pop out of nowhere! I look great in clothes, how can I look so awful in a swimsuit?
I'm a 8 bottom and 12 top, if that helps. Personally my biggest problem is with the string bikini tops, they're just not enough support for my boobs - especially righty, which is almost a full size better.
Oy Vey! My suit came yesterday. Took it out of the box, tried on the top, and just put all of it in a drawer. I have to stop the stress eating before the suit comes out again. I guess I'll be behind about two weeks on my suit debut
I think all of us are so used to seeing the models and other bone racks modelling the suits that we don't remember what real women look like in them. And even with the larger size models in the "a suit for everyone" articles they do "tweak" everyone with photoshop to make them look better.
Urg - why is it completely impossible to see your body as a whole when you look in the mirror in a swimsuit? ALL I can see is the bulgy belly and love handles - forget the nice legs, the fine upper stomach, arms, boobs, butt - LASER FOCUS.
Bought a Swimsuit Yesterday. . .
I am too darned cheap to spend a ton of money on something that only gets worn a couple of times a year! Of course, that creates many of my swimsuit woes - no doubt I could more easily find something nice-looking if I were willing to pay more. 
... I look flat as a board in it but it's extremely comfy, I NEVER have to worry about falling out of it 
...
Another new suit
. It's a tankini, which is a style I've never worn before, and has a separate skirt along with the top and bottom.
Granted, I was feeling fat that day, but still... Clearly I need to spend a little bit more money to get a better fitting suit.
I'm hiding in the bedroom
I bet you really DO look great in your swimsuit.... WE are our own worse critics....
