So sometimes you want the Tankini of Boringly Efficient Doom and sometimes you want something a little less…practical. If your glamor knob goes up to 11 and you want to spend some time in the Not-So-Shrinking Violet Lounge, why not check these out?
Catalina in Teal and Deep Lilac from Monif C.
The Catalina is probably a surprisingly flattering suit on a lot of women, especially the super pear-shaped and the small-chested apple, since the drape brings all the visual attention and weight to the chest which balances out wide hips and camouflages a non-existant waist. This might also be a good choice for the gal who needs to wear a bra underneath her suit since –provided she can find a halter bra she likes– the fabric’s folds hide a multitude of bra-line sins.
Out of the ordinary without being In Your Face Fashiony, the cut of this swimdress is still quite modest, but the animal print gives it edge. The trick is to commit. Wear a jangly gold necklace with it, or some fantastic wooden bracelets. Just something to give it a wild flavor.
Convertible swimsuit/minidress in white and aqua
I think I mentioned this white one when I was having a moment over white bathing suits last week, but the more I look the more I like this convertible swim dress. I’m not sure if you’ve ever gone swimming in a cockail dress, but there is something that can be extremely sexy about it, maybe it’s because it’s just slightly forbidden, who knows, but this swim dress with adjustable side ruching can give you either that cute retro look or that longer mini-dress dress thing. It’s also a godsend for the long-torsoed girl who just can’t find a suit in her size that covers both her nooks AND crannies.
Okay, to me this is just about 10 pounds of ugly in a five pound bag, but I got e-abused for not catering to the younger crowd. Well, here. An off-the-shoulder Harlequin-goes-to-Havana swim top in various alarming shades of pink. I hope Miuccia Prada is happy, because she’s the one who brought the harlequin-chic for Miu Miu all those years ago. Enjoy it, kiddos.
Monaco in yellow and fuchsia
From the ridiculous to the sublime –or at least marginally better than that last thing– I really like this suit, and if I had ANY belief it would be long enough for me I’d buy it in every color.
Well, that’s enough swimsuit posts from me for a while. Did you find any that tickled your fancy or does the search continue? Let a girl know!
Dear God, when I saw that Harlequin top I thought you must be possessed or something. I suppose it could be cute on someone younger, but personally I think I’d put the age cutoff somewhere around 12. An adult wearing that would look like a ruffled picnic table.
Comment by daisyj — June 22, 2011 @ 4:08 pm
I’m with daisy. There’s an idea there that’s not working. Either the print (which is a pretty fun color combo) or ruffles. At that age I wore board shorts and a top that looked like a sports bra. It had cute details and I liked it, but it wasn’t cute.
Also- that model (Fluvia?) has a lot going for her, but why would someone think that Divine’s eyemakeup is a good idea?
Comment by Ellen W. — June 22, 2011 @ 4:54 pm
What on earth happened to that poor Monif C. models face???
Dear Monif C.: Lay off the photoshop.
Comment by Erin — June 22, 2011 @ 11:45 pm
That’s a whole lot of swimsuit from Torrid. I wonder if they’ve sold any at all?! Love the last one even though photographers seem to make Fluvia pull faces like a drunken boxer. Strange, but she is gorgeous still.
Comment by Josie — June 23, 2011 @ 3:48 am
I am glad imam not the only one not loving the Monif C model’s (is it fluvia?) eye makeup. Those false lashes scare me a bit.
I just can’t get behind the swim dress they just read too granny or something to me. Although that aqua is great I may have to suck it up and give one a whirl.
Comment by Patti — June 23, 2011 @ 7:26 am
I’d like the model a lot better if she weren’t pulling the half-dead “sexyface” in every photo. But I guess that’s the look they were going for, though lord only knows why.
Hey, Plumcake! These are gorgeous suits, but how about a little something for the more Racktastic (and not necessarily plus-sized) among us? Since you’re taking requests, can’t hurt to ask!
Comment by SarahDances — June 23, 2011 @ 9:25 am
I know this isn’t strictly your thing, but what about big girls who are going to the beach or pool but, for various reasons, don’t want to wear traditional swimsuits?
I love my body, but I’d never wear something that revealing and it’s hard to find flattering, large sized modest swimsuits. And no, I’m not wearing a burkini and I’d rather stay away from the wetsuits.
Comment by Liz — June 23, 2011 @ 9:31 am
Echo you on the harlequin suit. I can’t imagine that suit would do anything for anyone’s chest. If you’re large chested like me, you’re going to flop out of it and look all kinds of flouncy and silly doing it. If you’re smaller chested, you look like the model here– saggy when there might not actually be anything to sag. Just sad.
I adore that Monaco in yellow.
I just found the suit of the DECADE for the chesty pear girl at Lane Bryant. It has built in underwire and, get this, an actual honest-to-goddess balconette bra in it. I look all Elizabeth Taylor in it. Wore it to a party this weekend and got compliments in a swim suit for the first time in my life.
Comment by Melody — June 23, 2011 @ 9:31 am
Yeah, there’s something wrong with the Monif C. Model. I’d kill for her body and hair, but the face…Maybe if she closed her mouth occasionally? Her face in the teal Catalina scares me.
Comment by Liz — June 23, 2011 @ 9:34 am
Good ol’ Esther Williams makes and sells fabulous classic swimwear. Retro sheaths, modest (kinda boy short) 2-piece, and a-line swimdresses. I bought 2 swimdresses for my 30 year highschool reunion. They ain’t cheap (swimdress is $72), but are beautifully made and wonderfully flattering. Available in regular and plus sizes. Tons of beautiful fabric choices. I’ll never buy another brand as long as she keeps making them.
Comment by Carol — June 23, 2011 @ 10:23 am
I love the leopard print swimdress. It would be even more wonderful if the brief were a separate piece.
Comment by Nancy — June 23, 2011 @ 12:08 pm
That first suit would be terrible to swim in. You’d have a huge bubble of fabric floating in front of you.
Comment by Margo A — June 23, 2011 @ 12:35 pm
I love the Monaco suit in fuchsia; if I were not utterly broke and unemployed, it would have been mine.
However, I am also sort of obsessed with Monif C’s high-waisted bikini, though I’m not in love with the print. I have only worn a bikini one summer of my life. I was eleven. And ladies, for years I would point to a picture of myself in that (pretty adorabable) suit and wistfully remark that it was the only time in my life I was both old enough and thin enough to wear a two piece. Well dammit, I was pathetically wrong or wrongly pathetic, and I WILL wear a bikini again, God as my witness..
Comment by schmemily — June 23, 2011 @ 6:49 pm
I should add that Land’s End has some surprisingly un-frumpy plus-size suits (also pretty of frumpy ones, if that’s your thing).
For the woman who mentioned concerns about modesty, this is a pretty cute, covered-up suit, and they carry plenty that offer even more coverage.
I also like this one, this one (Look, Ma! No two-inch-wide grandma straps!, this one, and this one, which such a cute swimdress it actually makes me sort of want to wear a swimdress.
If you’re looking for a tank to swim laps in, they have those, too.
Bonus, all their suits are on sale, some as much as 50% off.
P.S. I do not work for Land’s End and actually think most of their clothes are chronically unfabulous.
Comment by schmemily — June 23, 2011 @ 7:14 pm
I recently bought this suit in red — at Walmart, of all places — and am completely in love with it. I’ve never felt so sexy in a swimsuit in my life. Every time I see swimsuits in a catalog or a store window, I seriously get a little wave of joy, knowing that I have the perfect suit.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Shape-Solutions-by-Catalina-Women-s-Shirred-Halter-Swimsuit/15149480
Comment by lacey — June 24, 2011 @ 1:12 am
Love the Esther William suits and I second Lands End. The Walmart suit looks good too — I may try one for aquarobics – the daily extended dose of chlorine is so hard on a suit that I buy cheap ones just for that purpose.
Oh Dear, is it wrong to buy a new bathing suit at a site where the value of the day is Beef Jerky?
Comment by Susan — June 25, 2011 @ 12:01 am