Picking a swimsuit if you have a fuller figure can be quite a struggle as you are suddenly left with considerably less material to cover yourself with than you are when you are dressed for the day. This means you are going to be suddenly exposing yourself, and at the same time struggling to squeeze into something that is particularly punishing for the full figured woman and far from comfortable or sexy.
Fortunately there are of course provisions for every body shape, and if you know what to look for there are swimsuits out there that will not only disguise anything you want to disguise, but also draw the eye to the bits you are proud of, while at the same time providing comfort.
So how do you go about choosing a full figured swimsuit? Well first of all you will probably want to steer away from bikinis which have a lot of separation and bare flesh, exposing your thighs, buttocks and entire midriff. Furthermore the bras tend to be fairly small leaving very little to the imagination. For the very petite these bikinis are fine, but they can be somewhat indecent and embarrassing for everyone else. Worst of all, if you jump into the pool you might even find your bikini top rising to the surface long before you do – which can be highly embarrassing.
Likewise however, one piece swimsuits are hardly designed for looks or comfort and while they’ll certainly cover up your stomach, they’ll also cling to it incredibly tightly and cause any ripples or roles to glisten in the water – in other words far from hiding your imperfections they may very well highlight them. Furthermore this will not be particularly comfortable, and this is made worse by the fact that swimsuits tend to ‘ride up’ and pull and cut into your lower half, particularly where the bulges are. They are also fairly impractical and do not allow for easy use of the toilet, meaning you have to take your whole suit off every time you want to go.
So what’s the solution? Well one answer is the tankini swimsuit. This is a two piece swimsuit, but where the top half is much longer and covers some or all of the stomach. This allows that half to hang free (or to cling if you prefer) which gives you more space and freedom. It also means you do not get any riding up, and means that you can remove just the bottom half to go to the toilet. The top half also has more material and cover, meaning that you can get a more supportive bra built in or even a sport-bra type support if you want to do some heavy swimming.
The additional great benefit of having a removable separate bottom half is that you can mix and match your tops and bottoms as you wish to make sure that both aspects fit perfectly. For example if you are a size 10 above and a size 16 below then you can get the two different sizes for the top and bottom meaning you will get optimum comfort.
For those who find their bottom half is still uncomfortable, or shows too much, then a tankini top can be combined with women’s swimming shorts which will cover some of the tops of the legs and mean you do not have to worry about large thighs or a lack of shaving… These again can be tight or baggy as you see fit.
The ability to mix and match tops and bottoms also allows for a series of design options too allowing to create your own match up that no one else will have making it a completely personal swimsuit design.
There are ways that you can design your outfit to help make you look slimmer. While a loose hanging top will help hide your rolls, make sure that you only have either a loose top or bottom, otherwise the extra cloth will make you look as though you are larger and take up more space. Remember they are also likely to float up when you are in the pool unless they are tightly fitted. By choosing one or the other to be baggy you can hide your rolls and make the slimmer half of your body look even slimmer by comparison. Those who see you will unconsciously assume that your other half is the same size underneath the baggy bottoms or top.
You can also use similar optical illusions with the designs, patterns and colours of your chosen swimsuit which can help to hide and exaggerate parts of your body respectively and to change the appearance of your figure.
Everyone knows that black is slimming for example. The reason for this is that it absorbs light, thus it looks as though there is just ‘space’ where you are, as opposed to bright yellow which will look like you are taking up space and will practically glow in the sun. As such, black is a great colour to use to make yourself look slimmer if you have a full figure, and can be used selectively to slim those parts of your body that need it alone. For example, you could have just black around your waist but a colourful bra to draw attention to your bust. The other great thing about black is that any other colour set against it will stand out meaning that you can draw the eye to wherever you want it to look.
Another well known trick is to use vertical lines in the design. These work as they force the eyes up and down to create the impression of height and to ‘elongate’ your physique. Ovoid horizontal lines which will make you look wider.
Essentially though it comes down to what you feel comfortable in. Try on as many outfits as you need until you find one you are happy with and remember not to worry too much about other people. Focus on what makes you feel comfortable and sexy.