Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Swimsuits for the tall, busty (and doughy...)

36 replies

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 15:19

Horrified as I am at the mere thought of thigh exposure, I really want to take my dds to the pool and I also live very close to the beach and yet never go in the sea unless in a wetsuit. I don't have a swimsuit that fits me. I do have a bikini, but that is only to go under the wetsuit .
I find that swimming costume manufacturers allow you to have one difference from the average, like large breasts, or a big tummy, etc, but only one. I am tall, so I need a longish suit, but i am also busty (28GG/H) and at the moment due to a thyroid issue I have packed on the podge and am horribly doughy everywhere. Particularly my thighs . I like a retro looking suit, not at all high cut, and prefer straps to a halter neck as i also have a dodgy neck, but if it is a tie halter I can adapt it. Is there any hope of something even vaguely flattering? I look horrible in black or bright blue as i am as white as a bottle of milk (sound gorgeous don't I eh?).

OP posts:

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 17:36

Bumping in hope...

OP posts:

MegCleary · 20/03/2015 17:38

I am short fat and 32h so went to bravissimo and managed to find a tankini that suited they had one of two swim suits that may suit you.

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 19:46

I'll have a look at their website. However, if I buy my bra size in a wired swimsuit, even if I go up to a 30G/GG, they tend to be really short in the body and/or two small over the hips, as I think the assumption is that 28 or 30 bra size means a short (and very thin person) person. This was a problem even when I was a size 6. I could go for a tankini instead of a suit I suppose, I am just hoping to find a suit that fits, but a tankini would be ok if there really are no suits out there that will work on me.

OP posts:

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 19:54

My issue with tankinis is that they don't have any tummy holding in power.

OP posts:

ygritte · 20/03/2015 21:16

M&S do longer length sporty suits.Some have disappeared completely from the website recently but might be some left.

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 22:09

Sporty no good for me, not enough bust room and also I am the least sporty person in Wales. I want something vaguely pretty to wear on the beach as well as at the pool, but it needs to be able to accomodate my ample bosom, suck in the doughy tummy and hopefully not accentuate the fat thighs. I'm asking the impossible aren't I? I live just over a mile from the beach and every Summer I am there fully clothed as I can't face getting into a costume. This year I am the heaviest I have been in my life, so although I am trying to lose weight I am not going to be super slender by July.

OP posts:

Redhead11 · 20/03/2015 22:12

Simply Be have a couple of swimsuits in longer length that hold in the bits you want held in as well. they have a nice selection and always put 'longer length' where it is available. Online or in store.

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 22:39

I've never looked at Simply be, will go and google now.

OP posts:

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 22:45

Had a quick look there, nothing in a bigger cup size with extra length. That is my problem every time. There is one that looked ok, but it is black, no extra bust room, and they don't have my size anyway(probably need a 12). I need a longer length costume with a bigger cup size, and no-one seems to make them. I also have a very small back (26" under bust) but don't mind taking something in a bit there, so that is the least of my problems.
So this is the brief=

Big cup size or roomy bust, not squashing as it is my only redeeming feature at the moment and I'm depressed enough..
Longer length, either on purpose, or maybe some swimsuits just come up longer?
Not black, and not a matronly tropical print.

I think maybe this just doesn't exist. You can be tall, but not bigger than a C cup it seems.

OP posts:

Greenrememberedhills · 20/03/2015 22:48

Bravissimo swimsuit, for sure. Dont get it too small or you'll have fun getting it off when wet!

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 22:56

When have tried a swimsuit from bravissimo they have all been too short, as they only do one length and in my bra size the suits are tiny, as I am a 28 bra. So more like a petite suit, whereas I need a tall suit. If there is a make that comes up longer I will try it, but Freya has been fine for Bikinis but I've had no joy at all with suits. Anyone who is a GG cup found a long suit?

OP posts:

Amaxapax · 20/03/2015 23:02

I know you wanted a swimsuit, but would something like this work?
www.next.co.uk/x552234s3

I'm a 30G, apparently, and I've found this bikini quite comfortable. The bottoms hold in my tummy and I like the vintage feel. There's also another suit that is very similar in a lovely flowery print. I'm 5'9" and I've certainly found that swimsuits don't suit me.

gymboywalton · 20/03/2015 23:05

i had exactly this problem last summer and i am afraid i didn't find a solution-i am much much fatter than you though. as you say, you seem to be allowed to be tall OR have big boobs but not both

BrilliantlyStupid · 20/03/2015 23:08

Landsend are great for tummy control swimsuits and some come in tall sizes too. I have a larger bust and have always found the cups to be generous. Not the cheapest but excellent quality.

Naoko · 20/03/2015 23:16

I have the same problem (6ft, 30G, size 14-16). I have come to the conclusion that they simply don't exist. I haven't been able to buy a one piece swimsuit since I was 14 (and size 6-8). Are you sure you wouldn't be able to find a bikini that makes you feel ok? I was very hesitant when I last needed to go swimming but I managed to find one that actually looks really nice even though I don't feel good about my stomach at all, and certainly much better than the ill-fitting swimming costumes and tankinis that only succeeded in emphasising what they claimed to conceal.

ouryve · 20/03/2015 23:20

A halter neck that you tie yourself can be very forgiving when you're long in the body.

I don't swim, but needed a suit for hydrotherapy, a few years ago. I found a reasonably flattering one for my doughiness, with tummy control at M&S (although it was October, when no one could possibly ever want a swimsuit, so I had to order it online.)

herecomesthsun · 20/03/2015 23:20

5' 9, 34g. I wear a Boden tankini. Tankini because I have a long body so it does not pull, but it still covers the Caesarian scar. Cups were supportive enough.

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 23:21

I've noticed the lands end longer length suits but they don't come in their fuller cup, so that is interesting that the bust is generous. I don't mind paying more for something that works. My dds have Lands End suits as they need an extra slim fit, and they are one of the few places that does one.
Amaxa, I like the style of that but the bra top wouldn't fit me, the smallest is a 32, Also I have put on weight around my middle and although I would have probably looked ok-ish in that bikini shape last Summer, at the moment I would have a roll of podge above the top of the pants .

OP posts:

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 20/03/2015 23:25

Never thought of Boden as the cups always look tiny. I assumed to get any bust room the suit would have to be so big it would be huge everywhere else. I am open to tankinis, (I also have a c-section scar, with a ledge above it), but am living in hope of an actual suit. I really think there's a gap in the market. Anyway am going to look at Boden and LandsEnd right now.

OP posts:

Newbiecrafter · 20/03/2015 23:30

Hello
Very sell this one and I think it was really flattering when I tried it on.

I'm a size 16, 5'6", 32gg and also doughy due to thyroid issues.

I like the shorts as I don't have to worry to much about being waxed

Hth and good luck. I'm also paranoid about wearing swimming costumes but this seems the best of all the ones I've tried.

Newbiecrafter · 20/03/2015 23:32

Sorry, I meant to say, I know I'm not that tall really, but think the Tankini might be a good bet as the length isn't fixed, iykwim?

mysteryfairy · 21/03/2015 08:25

I'm 5ft 10.5, similar bra size to you and wear a Freya active swim tankini for proper swimming. They only start at a 30 back but it's an ok fit.I find looking like a serious swimmer makes me feel less self conscious than a fashion suit would. I actually also think that if you do go to a pool it's generally the case that if you do look at other people they do not generally have perfect figures either, but can't remember the last time I looked at anyone when swimming!

margaritasbythesea · 21/03/2015 09:38

I am similar and have also found nothing to suit. I think it is even harder if you don't wear black but i might be wrong as i don't try the black suits that i think might work. I look like death in black.

If only a swimwear designer could read this thread!

And for what it's worth, I do mind paying more for something that fits. I resent paying double because I have a non average breast size. But I probably would if I could look half decent. I tend to size up and wear a cheapy that still squashes my boobs. Better than an expensive one that goes up my foof. Great.

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 21/03/2015 10:08

It is so annoying isn't it? And I agree about the black. I did see a Freya tankini that would be ok, but only in black. I know that when I go to the pool or the beach I am not looking critically at all the other women, the most I might do is think that someone has a nice suit on, but it is still hard to walk out almost naked when one's shape has changed so much. I naturally have a very small frame, and so although I am not a big dress size I am much fatter than a normal size 12 would be, as underneath I am a modern size 6 ish. Then you add the milky whiteness, the veins on my legs,the c-section shelf, it is hideous, so I want a suit that fits well and is as flattering as it can be, under the circs! On the beach I bump into all my neighbours too, so that makes me more self conscious. Do all swimsuit makers think that everyone above five foot six has small breasts? Height makes as much difference as width when buying a suit. I keep thinking there must be a Swedish, Danish or Dutch make that will be the right shape, but I haven't seen anything online.
I looked at Landsend last night, they do a tankini top in a bigger cup, although it is D, or DD, but only in sizes too big for me unless I buy from the US site, where they also do a DDD, but it is then such a faff if it doesn't fit as it takes three weeks to come, and I will have had to pay lots of duty on it. They do lots of high waisted bottoms though, some are little shorts, maybe I could mix those with a tankini bra sized top from somewhere else.
At this rate I will be back in my wetsuit.....(I do love my wetsuit, it holds everything in, no need for sunblock, and keeps me warm in freezing welsh seas. Very squashing and uncomfortable on the bust though, there are no wetsuits for the busty either it seems).

OP posts:

Original poster

SirVixofVixHall · 21/03/2015 10:12

Oh and I agree that it is annoying having to pay extra just for being busty, however at the moment I would pay over the odds just to feel more comfortable and less unattractive in a swimsuit.

OP posts:

Flip

1 2