Am I the only one that hates women’s swimwear/beachwear options?

[Mudonstairs]

A total first world problem…Just wanting a rant really. I have booked my first holiday since becoming a mum and am finding the bikini options quite depressing. I’ve never liked one piece swim suits so bikini/tankini is really my only option. I just find them all so revealing and I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing them. The tankini options tend to look so plain and unattractive and I find they are marketed at the plus size market so unavailable in my size sometimes. I am finding most styles are either too revealing or on the other end of the scale just frumpy 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just want something pretty that covers the bottom a bit better. I don’t want to have shave or wax while I’m away for two weeks so knickers are a bit too revealing. I feel annoyed that men don’t have to decide whether they want their pubes on show!!!

I am late thirties, a size 8 but I do go up a size or two on bottoms to get more coverage. Another rant: why do the bottoms only cover half a bum cheek?! 🤬 perhaps a lot of retailers believe that women want to bare as much flesh as possible, especially if they are of a smaller frame??? I don’t get it.

I have bought a skirted bottom from M&S online (can’t remember which brand) which is ok and still feminine without looking frumpy. But I can’t find anything else remotely pretty but still not too much flesh on the bottom area on show. People have suggested sarongs/cover ups but honestly I just want something I can go in and out of a pool without too much faffing. I will have a two year old to run after!

Sorry, rant over! Does anyone else feel my pain?

I quite like this
tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc144948790

Or this with a black bikini top
tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc144049727

I saw this recently and I didn’t really like it at first but it has started to grow on me. Oddly, there is no matching top though and it’s not really a colour/design that would look good with any old top.

@Mudonstairs there is matching but not at Sainsbury's strangely here at Joe browns own site https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/crystal-waters-brief-wp135?___store=GBP&glCountry=UK&glCurrency=GBP&utm_campaign=&utm_adgroup=&utm_kwd=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_cidCjwKCAjw4f6zBhBVEiwATEHFVu9_v9BgwfSFefvt3x_WAV4tIZQCo8FDSlMJTCc0B4IltUPZtRjMHhoCXAQQAvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4f6zBhBVEiwATEHFVu9_v9BgwfSFefvt3x_WAV4tIZQCo8FDSlMJTCc0B4IltUPZtRjMHhoCXAQQAvD_BwE

Ps sorry for my terrible link!

I know exactly what you mean! I’ve gone for board shorts— the longer shorts surfers wear— with a bikini top. I also shopped for swim shorts for boys and got good coverage without the bagginess.

Looks nice on the model!

I liked this until I read that it is literally just a skirt, no bottoms so would have to buy separate bottoms. I want the skirt attached to the bottoms 🤔

@Mudonstairs I didnt realise that either!

I'm with you OP, why are women expected to be so exposed while swimming/on the beach? I went on holiday a couple of years ago and got a swim dress from Bon Marche of all places. I have a big bust, but don't mind showing off my assets. 😁 It's my crotch I want to keep covered, especially as I don't shave or wax anything. I liked the colour and pattern, and it was nice to wear. (Link for illustration purposes, it's not in stock but I did buy it over two years ago!)
www.bonmarche.co.uk/sale/tropical-lily-cross-front-swimdress-9001300.html

I'd like something inbetween high waisted Bridget Jones/Granny pants and shorts. You can get knickers in that style why is it so difficult to get bikini bottoms like that!

Depending on how long you want the leg to be, they do exist.

There is plenty of choice out there with differing degrees of coverage, as this thread has demonstrated.

I comfortably go topless when l can. Nobody is made to be “so exposed” (your words) on the beach and nobody is made to shave or wax.

Women have fought hard for these choices. Long may they remain.

Why are women expected to be so exposed on the beach?

well they aren’t. But most of us make our choices based on societal norms.

@StarlightLady mentions we’ve fought long and hard for these choices. We have. But it still remains that most of us make our choices based on what everyone else is doing. Our “free choice” isn’t as free as we think it is.

A pp mentioned “feeling silly” when she chose to wear a one piece swimsuit when everyone else is on bikini’s. O/p thinks she might look stupid covering up in surf gear when she clearly doesn’t surf.

if more women wore what they actually wanted rather than what they felt the should so as not to be “different” then we’d have more choice. If you don’t want to be exposed, don’t be.

i am that woman who wears a long sleeved rash vest at all times. Yes I look different, and I’m sure some are judging me. People will often comment that I hate the sun. I don’t, I love the heat and sunny weather, I’m just more comfortable covered rather than slathered in sun cream, and I don’t like the look of my skin tanned.

@toomanytonotice - Of course you have every right to your choices too. But their are too many societies where males try to force women to cover up in case they can’t control themselves.

Yes, but I was answering op’s question on why are women expected to be so exposed.

Answer being we’re not, we choose to based on societal pressures.

women being expected to cover up is a different issue, and is often not a choice at all, with severe consequences in some cultures. An entirely different conversation.

True. With apologies to you and others. I did not mean to hijack the thread.

Boden shorts when they are in the sale.

I hear you. I have had absolute rage this weekend trying to find a decent one piece that doesn't either floss my nethers/threaten to cause a Judy Finnegan moment or and doesn't have "secret support" or "magic tummy control".

are you shopping in fashion rather than sports?

try proswimwear or similar. Sports brands like speedo, adidas, head, arena, funkita, Nike, Tyr.

all of those do swimwear as you describe.

Just randomly looking for organic cotton bras and ended up on the Bonprix site... and discovered a load of swim shorts, swim dresses, boy leg swimsuits etc.:

https://www.bonprix.co.uk/womens/swimwear/swim-shorts/_/N-19Z1z140t5Z1z13xek?refined=leftnav&showMeItems=48

A word of warning about walkonbeach - the swimsuits look lovely on the models but when mine finally arrived (from China) it was unwearable - strange flaps of spare cloth hanging down in the stomach area. And the only way to return them, for a reduced refund, is by paying for a tracked return to the USA. I wish I’d looked at Trustpilot first. That said, a few people seem to have got lucky with their purchases.

It gets worse - walkonbeach said they would refund 30% of the cost of the swimsuit which was £25.42. But £7.99 was charged on top of that for shipping, which is extraordinary since it arrived in a screwed-up plastic bag from the West Midlands - I paid £33.41 in total. If lucky, I'll get £7.63 back. "Do not use this company it is a scam" says one of the unhappy reviewers on Trustpilot.

I had a lovely Adidas bikini a few years ago - looked like shorts and a sports bra

I am loving the link to La Redoute. Reasonable prices too.

See the rest of the collection:

www.laredoute.co.uk/pplp/100/157878/201/671/cat-672.aspx#opeco=plp:Bannerlink:Swimwear