… if the thought of a bikini gives you the heebie-jeebies
… if you’ve been wearing your bikini for five seasons
… if you are convinced that the bikini that suits you doesn’t exist
… if looking at the wild floral patterns and glittery sequins in the current swimwear collections gives you nightmares
… if you fear your partner’s comments when he sees you in your bikini for the first time
… if you’ve already decided not to go to the pool anymore
Keep your cool, wipe off the sweat and hitch up your knickers: you’ll buy a new bikini.
The earlier you start to look the more time you’ll have to get an overview and make a decision.
- It’s best to buy a bikini in March or in April at the latest. At this time, retail will have received the full assortment, and there is still enough to choose from.
- Before you go shopping, ask yourself what you especially liked or didn’t like about your last bikini. If you know, e.g., that you only feel comfortable in an underwire top you can skip looking at triangle tops altogether. Maybe you’ve also experienced that your bikini only fits perfectly if you can adjust it as much as possible, which means that you’d be best served with a triangle top. Try to remember what you’d like to pay attention to when buying your new bikini, but don’t focus too much on special details. It may turn out to be difficult to find a certain colour if it isn’t trendy at the moment or a bikini top with the same shimmering mother of pearl buttons that you already have.
- The fitting is crucial: are you wearing the right size bra and also bikini? Have you noticed how many women wear a bikini that doesn’t flatter their figure and sometimes downright disfigures them? In swimwear, the fabric gives when it’s wet, i.e. it widens. Because of that, a bikini that looked alright when it was dry may look saggy after swimming. This affects especially the top: many women wear bras and bikinis with way too wide underbust measurements. However, this part has to be tightly adjusted in order to support the bust. The length of the straps is secondary, but they should also be adjusted tightly. The sizing information provided by many underwear and swimwear brands is unfortunately often inconclusive. Very slim women may find it difficult to find a bikini or bra with tight enough underbust measurements. A triangle bikini top could be an alternative for them.
- The right colour: even tough not all colours are available every season, it makes sense to determine which colours might suit you and which ones might not. If you tend to always buy a black bikini but then get annoyed when seeing lots of other black bikinis by the pool you should consciously decide on another colour.
- Where would you like to wear the bikini? The warm and sulfurous water of a thermal bath puts a different kind of strain on the fabric of the bikini than the cool water of a pool or a lake. In general, the colour of a bikini fades after a while, just as the colour of a T-shirt fades when you wash it a lot. If you plan to primarily wear the bikini at a thermal bath, I would recommend a bikini without prints, sequins or other decorations.
- Do you want to go shopping on your own or together with someone? Maybe your husband would like to give you his opinion. You may find out that his view is entirely different from yours. Some problem areas may cease to exist, while he might point details regarding fit and fabric out to you, which you’ve never paid attention to. If you prefer taking a friend with you she should really know what suits you and your body and not only know all about the latest trends.
- Don’t forget about mail-order businesses, which often have a big collection of swimwear. It may be an alternative to order a few bikinis and try them on at home, especially if you’re unsatisfied with the choices you found in some shops.
- Now that you know what size you need, what aspects of the bikini you focus on and where you’ll wear it you’re almost ready to go. Don’t forget to take a shower before you leave as well as shave your legs, armpits and bikini line, just the way you’ll do it before going to the swimming pool. You’ll avoid exposing hairy legs to the sales person or your friend, and most women simply feel better when they look at a well taken-care-of body in the mirror of the fitting room.
- Make sure that the sales person shows you bikinis in your size – this is criterion no.1: your bikini has to fit like a glove. Take the time to look at yourself from all sides, not only from the front with your arms hanging by your sides. Does the slip fit well? Are the side seams or the waist band cutting in? Is the fabric wrinkly or loose around the buttocks? How does the top look? Is the underbust band tight enough? Can you tighten the straps enough? Does the top move or allow certain insights when you bend forward or sideward? Does the fabric have enough lining to not become see-through when wet? This is especially important for light colours. What do your proportions look like? Do your legs look longer or shorter, does the bosom look bigger or smaller, the buttocks rounder or flatter? Women with a long upper body, e.g., should be careful about slips with a very low waist, since these make the upper body look longer.
- Criterion no.2: how does the colour look on me? Consider that you buy your bikini at a time when your skin still seems paler, unless you go to the sun studio regularly. As a rule of thumb, if you know that you tan a lot in summer you can choose bright colours in accordance with your seasonal type (spring, summer, autumn or winter). Light types that only tan a little usually look better in pastel coulors. What about patterns? There are more patterned bikinis that plain-coloured ones, which surprises me since most women would look better in a plain-coloured bikini. Why? A swimsuit has a lot of space for patterns and prints, but a bikini has very little. When wearing a bikini, the focus is on your body, there is little that you don’t show of yourself. No garment we wear in public shows us as naked or vulnerable, and hence your personality is placed special emphasis on. The big amount of tanned skin and the expression of your individual personality are complemented more impressively by only one colour than by patterns (in different colours). Choosing a patterned bikini takes a sure instinct, else the bikini may just reduce a woman’s charisma.
- So, have you found your dream bikini? If yes, congratulations! Why don’t you
treat yourself to a beach towel and beach shoes in style with your bikini? Remove the labels from your bikini and enjoy yourself swimming and tanning!
A little bikini-manual:
The triangle top has the advantage that the fit can be adjusted to the body better than with all other bikinis, especially when the top can be adjusted both in the neck and at the back and also the slip can be tied on the sides. The disadvantage is that a triangle bikini usually doesn’t have molded cups and hence doesn’t have the push-up effect or help shape the shape of the bosom
The wire-bikini usually corresponds to a classical bra: straps on the sides, clasp in the back. The wires help shape the cleavage. It is very important that the underbust band is tight and the straps can be adjusted.
In a bandeau bikini, the cups of the top are ruffled on the side. The straps may be fastened on the edges or in the middle, where the two cups meet, and very often the bandeau bikini doesn’t have straps at all. It is crucial that the top fits well. The advantage of this bikini is that the shoulders will be tanned seamlessly. However, the lack of straps looks disadvantageous on many women: the chest seems to be lower without the straps. When the straps are fastened in the middle of the top between the cups it may look as if the breasts were hanging downward on the outsides.
The push-up bikini optically lifts and enlarges the breasts most. The cut is very similar to a wire-bikini with integrated padding, which makes the
