My bathing suit adventure

We are crusing to Bermuda in July, so today I worked up the courage to bathing suit shop. After loosing my 25Ils I was ready to try on a two piece.... Something not even a consideration in years past.

Well, it was a little painful, but not bad!! I had no intention to buy today, but just to see where I stood on the bathing suit battle!!.... Well OK my body is not quite ready for a 2 piece yet, but I did not run out of the dressing room screaming either. I figured I have 2 and a half months to go, and it is do-able.

What bothers me though, is what happened to the two piece bathing suits where the bottoms came close to your waist and covers your behind????... The bottoms are sooo skimpy. I was not shopping in the JR section of JC Pennys, so what gives???? There must be a market for suits that are not so darn small.

And ladies, at 50 is wearing a 2 piece out of the question??? I am pretty realistic when I look in a mirror, and would only buy one when the ol body is ready, but is it "yucky" for a 50 yr old to wear a 2 piece?

End of story!!

What kind of 2-piece are you looking at? I have lost 50# this past year so I thought I'd try a 2-piece on and I was really happy so I bought 2. I found some really nice tankini style 2-pieces at Target that cover everything but still look fashionable. And believe me I don't look like the models for Sports Illustrated either. I say if you feel comfortable go for it, you only live once.

You are right, i just checked Target and they have the bottoms that come up higher, i also just tried some on at Pennys that are also higher, Pennys had a huge sellection of tankini's.

Thanks. I will try Target.I guess the Pennys I was in just had a bad selection.

Keep going strong on your WOE and exercise and I'm sure you'll look stunning in a 2 piece!! :D

age is just a number!

go for it!

Personally, I love 2 piece bathing suits, especially for the beach. They're easier to deal with for bathroom runs! :rolleyes: My theory is that if you don't want to see my scars and fat just walk on by!:D I know what you mean about the bottoms being skimpy though. I was ok when I was wearing a 2X but now that I'm needing a large or a medium I have a terrible time because I have an ostomy bag. I just can't pick any old string bikini out because while I could care less about people seeing the fat I do care about the bag hanging out.:rolleyes:

I've had really good success with buying separate pieces out of NEWPORT NEWS catalog. http://www.newport-news.com/ You can mix and match tops and bottoms and they have all sorts from tankini tops to tiny ones and string bottoms to boy shorts (which I hate because they creep!) to full cut bottoms) There are usually 2 pages of them, one set of colors like rust, olive, black and navy and another of brighter colors somewhere else in the catalog. I can always get a couple of years out of them too and we have a pool so I wear them all the time. I think I paid $10 each piece last year.

Tami

Tami

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! For the website.

We go "down the shore" alot in the off season, so I hate spending tons of money on a suit that will get sand and salt damage. Love the mix and match, love the prices. If you have a pool, then I know the suits have to hold up.

I'm going to order the animal print skirtini, maybe some other mix and match pieces.

Mountain... I love NewportNews, and I have bought plenty of bathing suits from them. They fit pretty true to size, and for the price, are constucted well... You can sign up on thier website, and they will send you EMails on thier sample sales... You just cant beat the prices then. Our last home we did have a pool and they stood up to the pool chemcials. (Also, look at thier FXcollection.. I love it!)

But an update to my bathing suit issue!! Today I went back to the mall and bought the skimpy two piece!... I just kept thinking about it. It is a very soft light light green in eyelet fabric and I so loved it. I decided that it would be just the perfect thing to motivate me to exercise. Ok, I would not wear it in public today, but it is not to far of a stretch to be ready for prime time for my cruise in July..... I might do a before and after picture, but I wont show you guys until I have acheived the after!!

I cant join the weigh in threads here because I just dont loose like that... I can loose absolutely nothing two weeks straight, and then all of a sudden I will loose 3-4 pounds in a day.... The weekly weigh ins would be a real discouragement for me. Instead I just work on finding something I would really love to wear and then just work towards it.

I think you'll like the skirtini look. The two pieces are great for bathroom convenience and the 'skirt' part of the 'tini' covers those bulges that happened sometime after childbirth and never left. All in all, fairly flattering!

Sears is carrying Lands End, and I did try on a Skirtini. I did not think I was going to like them, but they are really nice.

My skirtini fromNewport-news just came and I love it, but have to return it FOR A SMALLER SIZE!!!!!!! I'm so glad that it came with return instructions. I have not been a size 12 bathing suit for over 5 years, when I looked at the sizing information I was going by my old measurments---needless to say I'm happy, and I love the suit.

THanks for the website. Does anyone know, do they have similar styles at Target? I wouldn't even begin to know how a mail-order suit will look!

THanks for the website. Does anyone know, do they have similar styles at Target? I wouldn't even begin to know how a mail-order suit will look!

Sandy- I didn't have much luck at Target when I was looking. They really cater to the Juniors crowd unless you're into the Women's sizes so all the bottoms I found were pretty low rise. If you can deal with things that are an inch or more below the belly button you'll be ok, but they're not for me. I did find a cute suit at Walmart. I need to buy another one though. I've always had good luck with Newport but I always buy a size smaller on their bathing suits than what I wear clothing-wise.

Tami

Sandy- I did find a cute suit at Walmart.

Tami

Hmmm, I have a Walmart close by. I need to make this a front burner project, or all the good suits are gone by the time I get there.

It is hard for me to deal with how the marketing to younger girls no longer is appropriate for me. I think I'm getting over it, now, but it used to bother me that I was no longer in that category. O, excuse me, I think my pre-midlife crisis was showing!:o

I looked at both Target and Walmart for mix and match tankini/skirtini combos before Tami wrote in about Newport news. I bought a skirtini bottom at Walmart, but the Newport news skirtini (which I have to return for a smaller size) is of better quality. The pants part has a lycra insert and it feels like it will stay up better. In general the fabric is better than Target or Walmart.

On the other hand I found a Nautica at TJ Max for $16.99 that is really, really nice--considering that one top or bottom at Target was $17.99 I felt good about bargain shopping.

We go to the ocean and I need something that will stay on in the waves, for the price I like the Newport news and my suit came with a UPS return label if it needed to be returned. Just go out and try on suits BEFORE you order so you know what size you are.

hi ladies,

i just popped in to say that i think that it doesn't matter how old you are, or what you look like - if you want to wear a 2 pce, then wear it and enjoy yourself! it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it is all about how you feel about yourself. so, i am glad to hear that everyone seems to be finding 2 pce suits that work for them!

oh, and just for the record - i just bought another 2 pce suit to wear for this year...and i still don't look fabulous in a 2 pce (and probably never will), but i have never had anyone tell me (to my face, anyways) that i shouldn't be wearing one, or that i am too fat, etc, etc...and i always had fun when i was wearing them! so, get out there and enjoy those 2 pce suits!

jocey

Jocey- I absolutely agree! i'm not only slightly on the chubby side but I have alot of scars from the 6 major surgeries I've had. Not only do I wear a 2 piece most of the time (high waisted bottoms for the ostomy bag but a bikini top) but I've also done the topless thing on beaches where that was appropriate. My theory is that after all I've been through I'm just happy to still be in this body. If others don't like what they see they can move on down the beach! :D

Tami

Mountain....how did the return go? Did you have to pay to have it shipped back, or a restocking fee? I saw some cute ones in Newport news but I am worried about mail-ordering a swimsuit.

I have 4 bathing suits from Newport news and I love them. 1 black one piece. 1 tankini, and 2 bikini's. I'm 48 and I haven't felt this good about my body since before I turned 40. I too have scars and a pouch from children. But I'm wearing my two pieces with pride!!!Obviously I have been very pleased with teir bathing suits...I only have 16 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are also cruising to Bermuda in July...July 8th from Philly on the Empress of the Seas...is that your cruise?

Lady--The return seemed to be easy. They provide you with a pre addressed UPS and also a preaddressed label if you want to mail it yourself. They charge $5.95 for UPS, it me $2.75 to mail it back. I'll keep you posted.

My personal opinion on bathing suits (& clothes in general) As long as it fits & you are comfortable in it, wear it!

No matter whether you are a size 2 or 22, if it doesn't fit right, it just won't look good! It bugs me to see the teens (& unfortunately women older than 20, too) in those cropped tops & low rise pants with their bellies & hips "oozing" over the top of their pants. My niece wears this type of clothes all the time & she just doesn't believe me when I tell her that when she looks like that, she looks heavier than when she wears clothes that fit. In her mind, she thinks she looks better in a tight 11, than in a 13 that fits! It's all about the numbers!

Or their chests are "whoopsing" out of the tops of their bras, like a 2nd set of boobs! (Men, too, who won't wear the next size in pants, but have their bellies "ride" over their waist bands! :eek: ) I've been to Orient Beach on St Martin 2x now, & I think that the naked & topless bodies of all sizes & shapes that I saw there were way more attractive than some of the people on the same beach squeezed into their too-small bathing suits!

Thank you for letting me vent a little! :D

That said, I really do need to stick with a 1-pc. With all the weight I've lost, unfortunately my 47-yr old skin just has not shrunk along with the fat this time. So my most recent new suit was a 1-pc Lycra size 12! I bought it at Target in February, so there wasn't much selection, but I was very pleased with the fit! Woohoo!

Love your story about trying on swimsuits. I have lost 55 lbs since last august. We're going on our first cruise in June for 30 anv. I'am 48 and found a two piece a jc pennys last saturday. my problem is I have a very long torso. this is so much fun reading everybody suggestions.

Baj, no we are on different ships!. We are saiing on the NCL Crown our of New York. We leave July 2nd, so that we could take advatange of holiday..work off days... This way we only had to use 3 vacation days for a 7 day cruise!!

Sharon I have lost 25ILS, and at 50, my skin is not bouncing back all that great either, but not a disaster!... I have my Denise tone up DVD's and hope everything will be back in place and where it should be 2 months from now! I am only 5ILS away from my goal now, so now I have toning on the brain!

Hey Janet (from another Janet!)... I bought my bathing suit at Penneys also.. They have a really nice collection this year. 55Ils.... Wow, good for you. Really, that did not take all that long to accomplish a goal like that.