To ask you slightly larger or maybe less confident women what you wear.to swimming pool? :(

[floatyflo]

Going away in a week. There will be a fab swimming pool, with huge flumes and slides.
Went two years ago with dp but was slimmer then :(

Really want to go again this year, especially as ds is old enough to go too :)

Thing is I am dreading it. Feel huge in all the wrong places and swimwear is not my friend. Its just all the getting in and out of the pool and walking around to go from one jacuzzi or slide or pool to the next. And other members of our family are going this year. If it were just dp, I might've been ok!

Anyway I am rambling now. Reason for posting is if anyone has any good tips/ideas on what I could wear so am covered up without looking obviously fat and self conscious iyswim?!

Buy a decent supportive swimsuit... I have a lovely bhs one which flatters in the right places. To get to and from the pool I fling on a very light spaghetti strap dress. If I am at a water park I wear some board shorts on top. Sports direct have some gorgeous ocean pacific ones at the moment for about £4 which go up to a 20/22
I have a high roll top bikini (again a real cheap ocean pacific from sports direct) which I wear if we are somewhere secluded that I don't have to move about..tbh it looks awful...but is the best of the awful options while allowing me to get a tan on my flabby tum!!

I try to stick to the mantra that no one really cares what you look like!!

The boy leg swimming costumes from sports direct are fab.

I wear board shorts over a tankini, I'm a 16-18 with very wobbly bits. Have fun, that's what its all about!

Oh, and my boardies are blokes ones as you can get bigger waist sizes, and they're longer.

I have that short-leg sports direct cossie too! I'm slim but I find it much more practical when dealing with small children as there's no riding-up factor.

We went away last weekend and went swimming three days in a row and I can honestly say the only person I actually noticed was a woman wearing a great black t-shirt in the pool which made her about ten times more conspicuous than just wearing a costume.

I usually wear a tankini with great big granny knick style bottoms to reduce chance of giant white belly flashing everyone at the beach (more common for me than the pool).

Just don't pick something with a mini skirt or shorts that finish at the widest part of your thighs. So many larger ladies do it to cover up flabby bits and don't realise that all it does is accentuate how wide their thighs are at that point. Regular swimsuits are more slimming because there is no horizontal line, even though they feel more revealing.

Oh and I agree with everyone else, you are much much more concerned with how you look than anyone else.

I am a size 22 (I feel like I should add "at the moment") and have recently been for a week in center parcs and 2 weeks in spain - both required a lot of public swimming cossie wearing.

I was bricking it completely about being in my swimwear in front of brother in law and at center parcs in front of a bunch of women I barely knew (hen thing) so I bought this www.very.co.uk/resort-long-line-swimdress/1216500654.prd?browseToken=%2fq%2fswimdress I actually got a few compliments when I wore it at center parcs and other than an episode in a jacuzzi where the dress bit was bubbled up around my neck and it appeared that I was under attack, it was great!

Because I was going away for 2 weeks (and I am an over packer) I took a black plain tesco cossie (for wearing under things) and I bought this direct.asda.com/george/womens-swimwear/spotty-swimsuit/G004195074,default,pd.html and it was seriously comfy and held all the right bits very well so I more or less lived in that spotty one for the most of the time

The panic about this is so not worth it. I am not someone who thinks I am fat, I AM fat and there is no hiding it, these people you are afraid of being in your swimsuit in front of have seen you, they know what you look like so fuck it, have fun with your family :)

I'm going to Spain in oct with my family - will be 9 months post partum and almost 5 months pregnant - far from perfect. But, I will buy a one piece and not worry - life's too short.

Thank you for this thread. I have ordered the long leg swim suit from sports direct and a swim dress. I plan to wear the dress at the beach and the swimsuit in the pool (am guessing I won't get away with the dress in a French pool).

I hope to be able to wear one or the other when I taken yr6 swimming next term, with a t-shirt on top. Usually I wear a normal cossie under shorts and t-shirt, but still worry about lack of clothing!

My only advice is to wear a "normalish" swimming costume - swimdress, short bottoms etc are fine but don't try to hide under t-shirt and shorts and wear them in the pool. It really does look far more ridiculous and you will stand out far more. There will always be someone else who looks worse than you normally me

I bought this one in blue at Center Parcs when I left my swimsuit in the lodge. The print is a bit grannyish but the bottoms come right up to my bellybutton underneath and the top has a control layer.

www.amazon.co.uk/Pour-Moi-Control-Tankini-sizes/dp/B007TUXTAC

I also have this one and it is very flattering. There are a few on ebay but M&S stopped doing it for some reason.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-M-S-Black-Ruched-Tummy-Control-Swimsuit-Sz-8-/360701137105?pt=UK_Women_s_Swimwear&var=&hash=item53fb7690d1

Have a look on Figleaves.com they have a really good range of control swimwear

I wear sun protective swimming gear from Coolibar for two reasons; I burn very easily and I hate flashing my wobbly bits. They have short and long sleeved tops, and mid- thigh, knee length and ankle length bottoms. They look kind of like tights.

It's a really good thing to do for your skin anyway, regardless of size or confidence!

Coolibar bottom pieces

If you go down the tankini route I recommend BHS's cheapie £8.50 shorts. I have a few different colours and can mix and match them easily with more expensive tops with better, er, upholstery than you generally find in the cheap ranges. I'm not massively self-conscious on the beach actually (there's nothing like being abroad to make me unclench) but I do hate having to pull bikini bottoms out of my bum all day.

Re: the board shorts, I wear Primarks cropped linen trousers or their shorts, they're £8 - with a one piece. I'm an 18

cropped trousers do a fuller figure absolutely no favours at all.

I'm of the opinion that the more you try to cover something up, the more people will think you're trying to hide something.

A swimdress

Everytime I go to France Im amazed by how body confident very large women are...they honestly dont give a stuff and therefore they look good! I think the swimsuit dresses make you look more like you are trying to hide yourself and draw attention. Just get a nice one piece with ruffles around the tum area and have a lovely holiday!

I feel the same way OP, and I'm 6 months pregnant to add to the insecurity, but recently bought this:

www.bonmarche.co.uk/swimwear/spot-print-swimdress-with-bow-detail/invt/17520007/#contentTab1

...which is the most flattering swimsuit I've ever owned in my life, including when I was a size 8. I have G-cups as well, and it's supportive and has no problem holding me in.

I wear a well-fitting swimming costume with internal boob support and a sensible cut on the leg, and then just brazen it out. No one has recoiled in horror yet.

Can guarantee everyone will just be concerned about how they look, rather than how you look!

Wear your curves with pride woman - walk with confidence. Wear a one piece if that makes you feel more confident and covered up. I promise you people only notice if you are hunched up and wearing more clothes than everyone else.

If it's an outdoors pool I'd probably wear a tshirt over the top anyway, to avoid getting burnt. If it's indoors, ditch the tshirt and buy a swimsuit/swimdress with a cute pattern so you feel better about wearing it.