Feel Good Half Naked

I was recently asked what style of swimsuit is best for larger-than-desired thighs. I understood exactly where this woman was coming from because thighs are my “issue” as well. Well, one of them at least!  Although I work out regularly and occasionally get down to my “game weight”, I still think my thighs look a lot like my Dad’s (thanks Dad).  As a result, I’ve become somewhat of a “thigh expert” on swimsuit styles that make me look and feel my best at the beach.

Fret not – there are several thigh-flattering swimwear styles on the market. My favorite is a pull-on skirt made of swimsuit fabric. I pair it with a tankini top and pull it over a higher-waisted swimsuit bottom. It sort of looks like a tennis skirt or a running skirt. Alternatively, there are all-in-one “swimshorts” which look like a pair of shorts but have a brief bottom on the inside so you can swim in them.

You don’t need to cover up your thighs if you don’t like the skirt or short idea. Choose a swimsuit that has more color or detailing near the top and a darker, solid bottom so that admiring eyes instantly travel up and away from the thigh area. Sarongs, skirts or boardshorts are also great for covering troublesome thighs on the way to and from the beach.

What I would not recommend is a boy-leg bottom. Those little lycra “bootie” shorts are fine on many body types, but can cut the thigh off across the widest part and give the illusion of larger legs.

The most important thing is to wear what you feel good in. And really, between you and me, once we get to the beach or pool and look around, those thighs of ours don’t look so bad! What were we worrying about?!

For many years we produced our own brochure to show all of our new swimwear styles. The project entailed hiring our own photographer, stylists and models for a photo shoot in Hawaii. As fun as a trip to Hawaii may sound, it was incredibly challenging to show styles that would appeal to all of our customers (all ages, all sizes), while keeping our suppliers happy with our representation of their products.

Swimco has been crusading for the portrayal of real women long before it became a popular discussion point. We would explain to the modeling agencies that we weren’t looking for eensy weensy. We needed some meat on those bones! Hard to believe, but it was really difficult to find regular-sized swimwear models.

Our goal remains the same to this day; to offer swimwear to women of all ages and sizes. Some of us are bigger, some of us are smaller, some are younger and some have been here longer! Regardless, healthy bodies should be the ultimate goal.

Here is a link to an interesting article about the slowly-changing trend in marketing women’s fashion: http://goo.gl/429n. It’s refreshing (and frankly a relief) to witness this long overdue evolution in perspective.

Cheers to healthy bodies,

Do you have a favorite swimsuit that you just can’t let go? I know I have several.  The ones I rely on and wear far more than any others. They’re just so comfy and flattering! Unfortunately there comes a time when we must say “good bye” to these faithful standbys. Here’s a funny story from a friend of mine who carried on her love affair with her swimsuit just a little too long. Has this ever happened to you?

I was snorkeling with my husband and a group of our friends in the bay of Santa Maria, looking at the beautiful fish in my “can’t let it go” 5-year-old black 1-piece swimsuit.  I wanted everyone to have a good viewing of the sea life, so thinking I was Jacques Cousteau, I stuffed the bra of my suit with bread.  As I brought out bits of bread to feed the fish, more and more came.  Some even nibbled the gold beads on my swimsuit.  Suddenly…I felt a snap.  At first I thought a fish had yanked too hard on one of the beads.  I looked down to witness the horror of my swimsuit, which used to fit me snuggly, now hanging below my body in the water and flowing with the current.  Our friends were getting a viewing alright – I had become the largest fish out there!  The elastic in my suit had let go all at once and was carelessly floating what seemed like a foot below my body. You could see EVERYTHING. I might as well have been skinny- dipping. Total embarrassment!

I wasn’t sure how to get out of the water without subjecting my friends to a full-on peep show.  When I came out of the water, my suit fit me more like a hanging gunny sack, with lots of gaping. Unfortunately my towel was over on the patio, so I had to fold my arms across my chest as I walked up to the house.  My suit drooped down to mid-thigh where it had once fit tightly around my legs.  Needless to say, we all had a good laugh.  Now that’s what I call truly getting to know your friends on vacation!

Recently a writer for Swerve Magazine, the weekly trends insert in the Calgary Herald, visited one of our Swimco stores.  She wanted to address the phobia that many women have of buying a new swimsuit, and share her experience with her readers. Luckily one of our trained Fit Experts was able to help her overcome her fears!

The writer describes Patti Barr as a “Fit Virtuoso”, and shared Patti’s tips on how to make shopping for a swimsuit a “walk on the beach”. Patti is a long-time Swimco employee and exemplifies Swimco’s philosophy of making our customers feel confident and beautiful in their swimwear.

I won’t hold out on you any longer!  Here’s the link to Patti’s tips for making swimsuit shopping easy:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/virtuoso+Swimco/2498031/story.html

January is the month in which many of us make some resolutions for improvements or changes we want to make in our lives. More fitness, less food, lose weight, do more of this or less of that, etc. I know many of my friends think that they need to shape up before hitting the beach or the pool…and before hitting the Swimco fitting room! Not so.

I regularly receive commendations from friends and people I meet about the awesome experience that they had in our stores. I also receive emails from Swimco customers after their shopping experience. The usual theme is relief, appreciation for the awesome help they received in the store, and excitement about their new swim wardrobe (in which they look great)! Here is one of my favourite emails, sent by one of our customers to her friends:

Hello M and L,

Check out this cute little number that I got last night with a pair of optional swimming shorts. It looks better without me in it. For now!!

I went to Swimco and the manager looked after me.  She has found her calling! She was kind, fun and upbeat and demonstrated tremendous professional concern for how very uncomfortable I was with the process. I was there about one hour, gave myself over to her expertise, tried on about 20 suits and actually had a good time!! I even came away with a swimsuit that will help buoy (ha, ha) my courage.

If you are ready to take the proverbial plunge, give her a call. No pressure – just keep in mind that there is no time like the present to take charge of the future.

Your soon to be wet friend,

M

When I read letters like these, it reminds me that our purpose as a company is to make women feel confident in beautiful swimwear. If you’ve been to one of our stores lately, I’d love to hear your “Swimco Story”. Feel like including some fun photos from your vacation? Even better!

This will be a great place to chat about swimwear, holidays, body types and swimwear fit solutions, swimwear phobias, trends, adventures in retail and much more. It will be fun! I’ll share some insights, experiences and tips and I hope you will share some of yours as well.

Lets start with something that’s on many people’s minds right now …how to hide  holiday excesses while wearing a swimsuit. Although I’m not going anywhere hot at the moment I had the occasion to put on a swimsuit over the holidays for a soak in the hot tub with my son and husband. I unearthed one of my (many!) swimsuits selecting a tankini style (tank top with bottom). I thought this would be suitable as my tummy would be covered so my fellow hot tubbers would not see the evidence of my over imbibing.

Unfortunately the top is what’s called an “apron” top which only has fabric in the front and not the back and is quite loose. I gracefully crawled in the hot tub only to find that the top floats, baring my midsection. Although neither my husband nor son said anything like “way to go chubbo” I think I heard them think it!

The next day I selected a different suit from my collection this time going for a 1 piece Anne Cole tank. My tummy would indeed be covered! But lo and behold the darn thing felt a little short in the body. Didn’t used to fit like this. Knowing that I have not grown any taller and that lycra does not shrink I had to face the fact that it’s time for … a new swimsuit!

Yes, I am exactly the same as all of you ladies out there. Trying to figure out how to Feel Good Half Naked. As you can see we’ll have lots to talk about! Welcome to the journey.