While I might not love summer for the flies and humidity, I definitely love it for swim season. There’s nothing better than bobbing about in the water, feeling weightless, and having fun with the family. This past summer I spent my days alternating between the local beaches, the creek and then swimming at home in our pool.
Plus size swimsuits have certainly come a long way in the past decade. Before designers had assumed that curvy women were older and the designs were rarely simple or stylish. Now there is so much to choose from. Before summer hit, I loaded up my cart with plus size swimsuits from a range of different stores, with a range of differing price tags. For transparency, I did purchase all the swimwear myself
And didn’t I put them through the ringer. I wore them day in and day out. I wore them in the salty sea getting smashed by waves, in the creek and back in the pool at home. Here’s how they all shaped up.
Capricosa Black Short Sleeve One Piece | $99.95
I love this swimming costume so much, that over the last six or so years, I’ve owned three of them {retiring one from over-wear, and another one I outgrew}. For my curvy body, I love the coverage; It’s not high cut, has good tummy and bust support, and has discreet padding on the bust as well. The tie is useful, in that you can tie tighter for more bust support. It’s great for sun protection too. My only bug-bear, and it’s only slight… is that the tie falls out during wash, so make sure you use a lingerie bag to keep it altogether. Otherwise it’s not a big deal at all. Shop it here.
Sequins & Sand Cobalt Blue Lace Up One Piece | $99.95
I was pleasantly surprised by this costume, and the support it offered. If you’ve never tried a tie up costume before, consider this your nudge to do so. It’s great for controlling the support on the bust. The fabric of this costume is really comfortable and particularly durable. I’m about to start deep water running, and need the support for bouncing boobs, and this is my choice. Shop it here.
Artesands Underwire One Piece | $139.95
If you haven’t heard of Artesands before, get ready to hear about them a lot. They’ve paving the way for plus size swimwear, and totally nailing it. I’ve owned other Artesands swimwear before, but never with underwire, so I decided to try a little bit more support with this one. The bust on this is so good, that I could easily wear it under clothes and feel like I was wearing a really comfortable bra. It also has excellent support on the tummy too. If you want to get a functional, stylish swimming costume, this one is brilliant. Shop it here.
City Chic Long Sleeve One Piece | $129.95
I wanted to try a wetsuit style swimsuit for full sun coverage, so grabbed this one from City Chic. It was only available in limited sizing so I squeezed myself into the 18 {and let’s not talk about me getting out of it once it was wet; EPIC EFFORT}. Functionality wise, it’s an amazing, supportive swimsuit. I loved it. But living on the Gold Coast I was so hot with a full black swimsuit, so I’ll be saving this one for the cooler months. Shop it here.
Big W Cross Front One Piece | $20
Everyone owns one cheap and cheerful swimming costume, don’t they? This is mine. It was comfortable and secure, especially with the crossover straps at the back, but I did miss the support that the more expensive swimsuits offered. My bust felt lower on this one, and it offered little tummy support, but otherwise was comfortable to wear. This one I’m keeping for swimming in the pool at home. For $20 it’s easy to wear, and I don’t mind if it wears out. Shop it here.
The verdict.
After spending the summer in and out of swimmers/cossies/togs, sometimes as many as 3 changes a day, I really put all the suits through the works. The one that I went to the most was the Sequins and Sand tie up one piece in blue. What I want most from a swimming costume is support, and this had the perfect amount, and the beautiful colour and style was a total bonus. I might need to grab it in black for next summer!
Where is your favourite swimming costume from?
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalise a purchase.
