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Fitting standards for swimwear?
I currently have no swimsuits in my size. With summer coming up and since I live near a lake, I have ordered a few pieces. In the past I tried CK padded Bikinis which I did not like because the fit was off and the padding too thick. I had CK unpadded Tankinis which I really liked but looks like they only make padded ones these days.
That's why I decided to look into other brands. I got 34H - Freya » Gatsby Sweetheart Padded Bikini Top (AS5861MOM) (I wanted to get 34HH but the site I ordered from did some very wacky conversions to EU size. I ordered 75O and just hoped it would be the biggest size this top comes in. It's not.. on ebay HH cups can be found. Then I tried 34H - Elomi » Essentials Plunge Bikini Top (7504). (labeleled as 75K ) Both tops feel suprisingly very supportive and don't look bad! I'm shocked. Even the padding on the Freya is nowhere as thick as on CK ones.
The only issue... the 34H cups are just slightly too small for me. It's not massive quadboob but if it were a regular bra one would call it too small and size up. I also usually wear a 32 band but those feel good on me. I wonder if I size up, the band will feel looser too?
Do you have the same standards of fit for your bikinis? Or do lower your standards? Also do you size up or down for swimwear compared to your regular size?
Also if you tried Freya or Elomi Bikini bottoms, how is the sizing on them? I'm between 14 and 16 UK don't know if I should size down or up.
Filed under Bra sizing and fit
I’d say my standards are slightly lower. It still has to fit, be comfortable and function. Last year I was strapped for time before my vacation and ended up having to settle for an ill fitting black Curvy Kate bikini top. The brand is just not for me. I had to swap out wires just to make it doable, it’s gone now because the whole thing sucked so bad. It didn’t matter what size I would have tried it was a bad match. That was a 32FF and was still tight in the band. I also purchased a white Freya Swimwear bikini top and it was much better, but not perfect. I still have it and plan to wear it. I purchased that in size 30FF and got the best fit due to the wide wires. This year I purchased a Comexim black bikini top, size 30GG/65J my usual Comexim size. The wires were actually too narrow and the band on the bigger side, I could have sized down in the band and up in the cup. But once I bent the wires out the cups fit perfect. So I can live with the slightly larger band. I can always take it in as it’s an easy fix. I’d say because I don’t wear it every day I’m not as picky on how perfect the fit is. As long as it functions comfortably, it’s good to go. I haven’t tried Freya bottoms in a long time. But I do remember having to size down one size to get the best fit. I usually get my bikini bottoms from Target and then buy a top from someplace that offers cup sizes tops. I just make sure I get my top from someplace I can easily return or exchange if I have to.
I don’t try to look for the same thing at all when I order swimwear. If I get bra sized ones, I noticed that when it gets wet, a 32” band size can feel somewhat loose, so now I try to look for bands in 30” size or get bikinis with adjustable tie bands. I really love the triangle style, no padding, but sometimes I can’t find a print I like or the cups are too small. But this style is easier for me to find since I can get away with a regular Large size with strap ties.
Other style I like a lot is the strapless style because of no tan lines, but ever since I found out my new bra size, I’ve not been happy with any I’ve tried.
I purchased one recently that’s like a crop top style (it reminds me of a rash guard but sleeveless, I need to update pictures here if it) and I have yet to wear it, but it gives coverage and looks sporty which I like.
I only have one bikini with wires 32E - Freya Swim » Jungle Fever Plunge (5842) and this one fits well, but the band could be tighter when wet.
I also don’t like full coverage bottoms when in “bikini” style, I like a cheeky look more. However I also like the “shorty” look too which is super full coverage, so go figure, lol. I don’t think I added measurements of the Freya bottoms I tried, but I have pictures on my Freya bikini reviews. Next time I would size down for sure and instead of buying M I would buy a S size.
I love the prints Freya puts out the most every wear and its nice that they have different styles of tops and bottoms with the same print so you can pick which one you like. For cheaper options I like Target to try on in store (their sizing is not consistent, and it was a huge failure ordering online).