Happy first day of Summer! With the onset of this season comes the “joys” of swimwear shopping, but hopefully this post will help. I’ve rounded up my top favorite places to shop for swimwear of all different types (1 or 2 pieces, less vs. full-coverage, trendy, retro, etc) and price points, and several of these shops have free shipping and return ship for ease of try-ons. These photos were taken by my favorite pool in Boston at the Colonnade Hotel rooftop – it’s a gem right in our neighborhood where I can have water to lounge by amidst a busy city setting!
1. ASOS is one of my favorite places to look due to their huge range of sizing, ranging from 00/30A to 42G and lots of extended bra cup sizes, even for small bands. I also love that they make the same patterns in multiple cuts for mixing & matching, so you can order what you feel best in! For example, this seersucker striped fabric comes in my bandeau bow top, an underwire top, high-waisted bottoms for those who like to munch by the beach/pool, Brazilian bottoms for the bolder ladies, as well as hipster bikini bottoms. From my experiences, here’s a few things to be aware of when shopping their swimwear:
– sizing on their in-house “Asos” brand tends to run small
– bum coverage is much more minimal compared to that of American brands
– some items like their 1-pieces don’t have bra cup padding so I’ve had to add my own
– bottoms and 1-pieces with a higher-waistline may be harder to fit, because sometimes the elastic at the narrow waist area won’t stretch enough to slide on over your hips.
I’m wearing size US 2 in both pieces here and the top still feels a bit snug on me. The compression did lend to a push-up effect though, which I’ll take! Both pieces feel good quality for the price, plus ASOS has free shipping (or very low free ship minimums) for a variety of international countries, and free return shipping.
2. Revolve is where I go to look for chic, on-trend pieces from more contemporary brands. They have slightly higher-end items like these pretty suits from Mara Hoffman or Nanette Lepore (love both of their gorgeous prints!) as well as affordable ones like this eye-catching black bikini set for under $60. They also have quick, free shipping & free return shipping at any price. I’ll mention Shopbop here too as they carry a lot of the same brands as Revolve, and also with free expedited shipping & return shipping on all orders! P.S. Even though neither of these stores actively advertise price-matching, the customer service teams at both have kindly granted price matches when I’ve found an item I purchased elsewhere for less.
3. Modcloth – if you’re a fellow fan of swimwear with tummy coverage, Modcloth has a big selection of such given their focus on retro-inspired fashion…and I guess that’s what was popular in the olden days. They also carry many designs with solutions for common trouble areas, like flattering ruching or crossover details at the tummy.
4. Nordstrom – one of my favorite places to shop in general for their awesome customer service and everyday free ship/returns. They carry a lot of Topshop swim which typically runs small and is small-bust friendly, like this floral suit on sale. Their selection ranges from affordable juniors brands to higher end, and some more unique-looking brands like Robin Piccone (I’m loving the look of their crochet pieces, but haven’t yet tried!).
5. LOFT – they are having a big 60% off summer essentials promo right now, including swimwear & cover-ups! I love my 1-piece from this post (if any of you got that suit, let me know how you like it!) – it was fully lined with removable bust cups, and ran a little small/short which ended up fitting me well. And if you like tankinis, they have several options including this cute batik printed one (the 1 review mentions it fit tightly).
Honorable Mention: Anthropologie – they always have such cute and unique clothes, but pretty much never have free shipping (come on, Anthro! I’d shop with you so much more often…) and certainly not free return shipping. My favorite from their current selection is this bordered halter 1-piece (with removable pads, lining, good tush coverage), and they also offer a mid-rise bottom in several prints, for those who want something in-between the typical low and high rises.
Ohhh so adorable … The design brings back a slight vintage edge and updated to a beautiful modern touch! 🙂
La Bijoux Bella | by mia
This is super cute! I think retro, high-waisted suits are so adorable 🙂
Enclothed Cognition
The seersucker bikini looks great on you Jean. I hear you about the push up, I'm very petite as well and not as gifted on the chest area so any little help, helps! Great roundup on other swimsuits stores, I get mine from Ecuador as I can always find great pieces for petite women there. Hope you had a nice first day of summer.
XO,
Maria
MariaOnPoint http://mariaonpoint.com/ | Find me on IG https://www.instagram.com/mariajabad/
My go-to basic black two piece is from J.Crew and my most luxurious swimsuit is from Agent Provocateur. Great swim picks, Jean!
Rebecca
http://www.glamorousenvironmentalist.com
love it! btw, how much do you weigh?
Super obsessed with this seersucker swimsuit!! I love these types of two pieces as well where it's a high waist. I wish I could pull this off!
Meghan | BeyondBasicBlog.com
Love your swimwear!! Looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing those stores!!
Xoxo,
Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}
J. Crew is my favorite- especially their scalloped pieces! If money were no object – Marysia 😍
Anthro really needs to do something about their shipping costs…it is absolutely why I don't shop there often!
So many great pieces and tips!
http://my–socalledlife.blogspot.com.au/
Gorgeous swimwear also love the crab towel. Sophie x
https://stylestarsandsparkle.blogspot.co.uk
I'm totally with you on Anthro's refusal to offer free shipping! I would totally shop from them so much more!
beautiful suit!!
-Cheyanne
http://www.lifeofcheyanne.blogspot.com
Love that seersucker suit and your other options! If you ever try Kortni Jeane suits, I'd love to see your review. I recently ordered a couple of options from them and am eagerly waiting to try them on! She also offers the same patterns/fabrics in multiple styles so you can mix and match, and free shipping for orders over $100. They are getting more and more popular, I think, because many options/sizes run out quickly and they're a small company so it takes time for them to restock. They're about to release a new line up of patterns and cuts for this summer though.
I'm loving this swimwear combination, I'm looking for something similar for an upcoming holiday.
http://ohduckydarling.com
Thanks for the awesome review!
xoxo
Sharan
http://www.MyGoldenBeauty.com
Hi, I love your asos swimsuit – does the top have padding?
Cute picks! I'm surprised that Triangl didn't make the list given how often you wore those pieces last year; is there a good reason why you're no longer wearing that brand?
Love this striped combo and the other picks. So true about Anthro shipping.
http://thevagabondwayfarer.com/
I haven't hopped on a scale in years, but my measurements for reference are 32-24-32 if that helps!
The entire front half of the top is padded (not removable cups) so nothing will show through!
After several readers mentioned they were charged exorbitant customs fees ($100+) from the US or Canadian governments on their orders, I reached out to the company to get more info and never got a straightforward response. For that reason, even though I do love the fit of their swimwear I don't feel comfortable featuring them on here until they can do something about their shipping procedures.
I love this swimsuit!! And those places are great to buy swimsuits from! I just hate how you can't return swimsuits in store at Loft.
http://www.maggiealamode.com
Love this striped bikini. You look amazing with it!
xx
http://www.mybeautrip.com
Jean, you look adorbs. Non-swimsuit question. Do you have the 58mm aviators or 55mm? xo
That's a great reason. Thanks for the update!
Ahh where was this post a couple of months ago? I was looking for swimsuits then, and had a bit of trouble finding an affordable website for smaller chests. I ended up going with J.Crew haha, but am still excited to check out your choices (:
Angelina Is | Bloglovin'
I love the bathing suit. The bottoms are so retro. I don't think I could pull them off since I'm far from summer body ready. But I love your post!
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Love this swim suit. Looks great on you .
Jillian – http://www.cupofcharisma.com
I will forever be a Target swimwear shopper. I like the price point on their suites and they usually are similar to higher end brands in terms of style.
Lifestyle by Joules
Love the high waisted vintage look! It's very cute and I love how it's flattering for different figures and body shapes.
Polly
http://gemsandjoy.com
I struggle to find suits because I have 3 major needs. The suit needs to:
1. Fully cover and support my big floppy boobs
2. Cover my stomach
3. Have a short enough torso so that it doesn't hang off my chest.
There is almost no company on the face of the earth that provides this other than Lands End and I have decided to break off my relationship with them due to my disagreement with some of their recent editorial decisions.
It's a pity. I love swimming, but I need a sturdy suit and few swimsuit manufacturers believe that short voluptuous women exist. If anyone reading this knows of any, I'd love to hear about it!
You need to try H&M; – they have some great scalloped pieces that are ridiculously similar to Marysia – I have bought the pale pink and black bandeau bikinis. Word of caution – size up! They are tiny – I have sized up 2 sizes for comfort – I'm usually a size 8 UK (2 US) but had to buy size 12! Even the size 10 bottoms dug in (V unflattering). Good quality, apart from the size issue though.
Did you test this suit in the water, by any chance? It didn't go transparent at all?