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the swimsuit rant

i’ll forewarn you that most averaged-sized women will probably not appreciate this post very much. i understand. i’ve been (either directly or indirectly) the object of various hatred more than once.

i am not an average-sized woman. i’m only 5’1” on a good day, and i’ve never donated blood because most of the time (when not pregnant – and therefore not allowed), i don’t weigh enough to do so. i do not ‘diet’, so to speak, nor do i work out compulsively. i try to eat healthy food, for the most part, and i try not to sit on my butt all day. this is just the way i am. our current culture views me as ‘lucky’ to have this body type. whatever. a couple hundred years ago, people would have considered me ‘unhealthy’. i am what i am. i am small woman.

as the Lord has seen fit, i am a small woman who has given birth to 3 children. as i see fit, i am a small woman who wishes to exercise a bit of modesty, even when swimming.

unfortunately, the swimwear industry, seems to think that the only people my size fit neither of those situations.

i went looking for family swimwear last night. i came home with something for everyone but myself.

apparently, people my size are only allowed to wear triangle tops and string bikini bottoms. ::sigh:: okay, that’s a little bit of a generalization. you can actually find some full length tops. not many.

what i was mainly looking for is bottoms. i have a little ‘skirt’ type bottom, but i really don’t like the way it fits, and it’s kinda shorter than i’d like. i’d love a pair of board shorts or, even better, a board skirt… my experience in shopping for these items is less than satisfactory. it seems that the offerings of these items is also discriminated by size. yes, you can find them in my size. they are a good inch and a half to two inches shorter than the IDENTICAL shorts or skirts in women’s sizes grrr! what is with that? i’m not looking for something that will barely cover my butt! the relative size of my butt has nothing to do with it.

so yes, i’m frustrated.

i actually tried on a pair of trunks that i bought for dave, which wound up being too small for him. they actually fit me perfectly… except for the fact that they hang to about 2 inches below my knees and therefore look ridiculous! why is there no happy medium?

Comments

  1. BrendaJuly 8, 2010 at 2:43 PM

    On the flip side, I consider myself to be "average" size for the most part. My problem has always been I have a longer than average torso. I thought with some of the new 2 pieces I might find something that suits me better than most 1 pieces. Not so much, as I have a larger than average bust. My choices? Pay 3 times as much for a 1 piece at a specialty shop or end up with something where either my chest is falling out or is too big for me. And people wonder why I don't swim much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LindseyJuly 8, 2010 at 4:03 PM

    Swimsuit shopping is horrible for ANY woman, no matter her size I think...unless you want to wear a string or less ;) (ew) My advice...get some mens board shorts you like (if you can find some you like) and shorten them, wouldn't take more than a half hour or so. Good Luck!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Angie H-PJuly 8, 2010 at 5:05 PM

    have you looked in the boys section? Boy's board shorts might be the right length. I have a similar problem with Lily in that almost every pair of shorts in the girls section should be considered underware. So I shop in the boys section for her shorts as well.

    Alternatively, Land's End sold by Sears usually has a fairly good selection of more modest swimwear for women. Give that a look.

    ReplyDelete

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