- Genna Gibbons ’21
Whether you need new swimsuits for an upcoming vacation, or you want to prepare for summer, basic swimsuits are essential for your wardrobe. Finding the right fit, style, pattern, and brand that you feel comfortable and confident in while relaxing by the pool or beach can be extremely time consuming, therefore, I am here to offer my guide to shopping for swimwear!
The first step in buying swimsuits is cleaning out your current swimsuits. This will allow you to fully understand what type of swimsuits you need, and make the process more efficient.
This year’s biggest trend was high waisted bottoms, and one-shoulder tops, which were seen frequently during fashion month as clothing brands revealed their summer lines. In particular, Free People, Triangl and Bond-Eye swimwear caught onto the trend fast, and released multiple new styles and patterns that fit the current trend. While some brands charge for their tops and bottoms individually, Triangl charges for both the top and bottom at a reasonable price. If you are looking for a broader range of options, I suggest looking at Revolve and Shopbop for thousands of different styles, brands, and prices that are made with high-quality material. Who knows, you may discover a new brand that you really like! Although wearing trendy styles is important, having a few basic bikinis that go with anything is the key to creating a sustainable and cost-efficient swim wardrobe. I often look to Topshop and Target for simple yet cute tops and bottoms that are also on the cheaper side. Black, specifically, is a great basic color that is very easy to pair with patterns.
When it comes to ordering suits online, finding the right size is challenging. Although the size chart is generally accurate, you may not know your sizing for all the different size categories they provide. Checking what size the model is wearing is extremely helpful because it gives you an idea of what size you may need based on the models’ height and bust. Some stores are now offering free delivery of a size up or down from what you ordered which is extremely helpful. In addition to swimsuits, a simple cover up is great when walking everywhere from the beach, to a restaurant, to your house.
Everything But Water, located at Stanford Shopping Center has a great selection of cover ups along with Revolve, which is all online. Personally I love wearing a skirt as a coverup over my bottoms. My go-to places for beach skirts are Planet Blue, and LoveShackFancy. Finding the perfect bikini can be challenging, but I hope my process of shopping for swimwear can be applied to yours now.
