Perfect Bathing Suits: From Model To Mom

In just about 1 month, the family and I will be headed to Maui! It’s a vacation the hubs and I have been dreaming about for years. The major damper on this fantasy vacation? Swimsuit season has to be dealt with earlier than I’d like.

I go through this every year- it never gets easier. Still I remained hopeful and began searching online. The problem? All of the swimsuits that claim to be “miracle suits” and “flattering for all sizes” with “tummy panels” are all modeled by women who are at most 110 lbs and have legs that go on for days. Not only does this make us feel worse about ourselves when shopping for a bathing suit– it kind of messes with your head – almost to send the message of “this bathing suit will make you look this skinny”.  It won’t. And I think as moms we aren’t looking for that – we just want something that will flatter child bearing hips and a “Mom pouch”.

So I hit the mall in search for the perfect bathing suit– which seems like an oxymoron.

In a store called “Everything But Water”, I tried on about 15 different bathing suits that were suggested for my body type. The price tags were a little higher than I typically spend on a bathing suit but I was amazed that I found more than one that I not only  “liked” but felt good in!

So I did what any good blogger would do. I reached for my iPhone and took pictures so that I could share my  first hand experience as a non-size 2 with a “mom pouch”.

Lets start with the ones that I did not purchase- but still loved.

I was *this|close* to purchasing this one. In fact, I’m considering going back for it. This 2 piece looked best when I went up one size. Let’s just chalk it up to this one “runs small”– shall we? but once you get passed that,  I loved the angled ruching and felt great in it.

__________________________________________________________________

Profile by Gottex  $118

This one ultimately didn’t make the cut simply based on the color. I feel like I’m always hiding behind black bathing suits because typically they are the most flattering. The ones I chose are super colorful! That being said, this was still flattering and I liked the white accents.

__________________________________________________________________

Ralph Lauren, Ombre, $139

I liked this one a lot.  It was colorful, I loved the straps and the center gem piece. It was actually one of my husband’s favorites {Yes, I make sure this experience is just as painful for him as it is for me. After all it’s his fault I’m all stretched out- right? }. I have no good reason I didn’t pick this one except that I found others I liked a little more- possibly because the others had a tummy control panel and this one didn’t.

_________________________________________________________________

So which bathing suits did I choose?  {{ DRUM ROLLS }}

These next two swimsuits will be traveling with me to Hawaii….

Nanette Lepore $108 <-I actually found this one $60 cheaper at Nordstrom. I’ll be exchanging.

This was the first one I tried on and instantly fell in love!  All the ruching, the colors, the plunging neckline – to me this one just said “sophisticated and sexy”.

The hubby agreed.

__________________________________________________________________

La Blanca $109

This one seriously fits so comfortably! I put it on and knew I had to have it. I love the color

__________________________________________________________________