For a while now I have been buying swimsuits that were “tolerable” to wear because I didn’t want to spend much money on something that wasn’t going to fit by the end of the summer. Because pretty much every summer for the past 5 years or so I was either pregnant or planning to lose the “baby weight” and be back in my size 6 swimsuits that I still have tucked away in my closet. Well 2 more pregnancies, 1 torn ligament, 1 broken foot and a hernia repair surgery later, I am still a size 10 and I am sick of wearing swimsuits that I don’t feel good in. I would share photographic evidence but as you can probably imagine, there is little to none because there was no way anyone was documenting me in any of those suits. So I decided to accept the size that I am right now and invest in a swimsuit that actually makes me feel good.
*This blog contains affiliate to links to all the swimsuits I actually tried on.
I have spent one too many summers dreading the swim suit shopping trip. The idea of trying on ill fitting, clingy garments in bad lighting that make me feel like an old fuddy duddy is just not my idea of fun. I was so tired of rummaging through swimsuits with ruching, blousons, tummy control panels and tankinis that made me feel like someone’s grandma. But due to my ever changing waist size and boob size thanks to multiple pregnancies and different stages of breastfeeding, I was pretty much in need of a new suit almost every summer. Not to mention, when you buy cheap suits they basically desinigrate by the end of the summer into a ball of crunchy elastic.
So this summer, being fed up with this, I had to ask myself why I am I torturing myself with this dreaded task? Am I punishing myself for not having the body I want? Why am I buying cheap swimsuits that I am constantly pulling, tugging and adjusting all while hiding it under a cover up for the entire summer?
Well…No more because I am sick of it and I deserve to feel good in a swimsuit no matter what size I am!
So I gave myself a peptalk, told the negative selftalk to kiss my butt and marched myself to Everything But Water, a store that specializes in swimsuits. I walked right up to a sales lady and told her my list of demands for the perfect fitting suit. Not too revealing but kind of sexy and no bikinis, no tankinis, no ruching, no narrow bottoms, no plunging necklines, no sheer panels or cutouts, no strappy things, no bad patterns and definitely no white.
I am sure she rolled her eyes at me in her head but she laughed at me and told me not to worry. She then proceed to go around the store and pick swimsuits that broke at least one of my very long list of rules. She asked me to trust her and at least try everything on.
And guess what…
I put the first suit on and it wasn’t so bad. I had no complaints and I actually felt kind of cute in it.
And then I put another one with a plunging neck line, a pattern and a little strategically placed ruching and my boobs looked fantastic.
And then I put on a an olive green one with a narrow butt, strappy things and cutouts and…
Oh My Word…Hello me! Who is that sexy lady in the mirror???
Don’t get me wrong, there were a few bad ones in the bunch but mostly because they just didn’t fit right. But I was in a fitting room, trying on swimsuits (by myself which is a small miracle) and actually enjoying myself. To my surprise, I ended up with 3 suits that I felt like one hot mamma in which I was not expecting at all. But because I was investing a bit of money in this swimsuit, I could only buy one and I probably tried each one on about 3 times before I made a decision.
I left Everything But Water with a smile on my face, a fantastic suit in my bag and plans to hit the beach as soon as possible.
I write this after spending an entire day at the beach, in a swimsuit, with no coverup and actually feeling damn good about myself. All my perceived flaws were on display for the world to see and I didn’t focus on them for one minute. I am a little sunburned and very tired but I actually got in the water with my kiddos and the squeals I heard coming from my toddler and the smile I saw on my daughter’s face made it all worth it.
Elisha Beach is a stay-at-home mom to four kids and four step-kids…Yes, you read that right—eight kids. She is a wife, home cook, taxi driver, herder of children, terrible housekeeper and founder of The Mom Forum. This blog is part of the Prioritize Me blog series documenting Elisha’s journey in selfcare and putting herself first.
If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to subscribe to our email list to get more blogs like this straight to your inbox.
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
