As the swimsuit season approaches – *cough**cough**gasp**gasp* – I have been searching for an alternative to the swimsuit I bought after having only ONE child. For some reason, since my belly has been stretched into a large watermelon shape four times (and we won’t even mention the other areas that have been stretched out as well!), my swimsuit just doesn’t fit quite the same. And, truth be told, it’s not as modest as I would like.
Don’t feel scandalized. It’s a tankini. With a skirt. It covers (most of) my belly. It just has one of those ring hole things up at the top, which I am not comfortable with. Not that I have much of anything to show through the hole.
It’s a matter of principle.
(Sorry, DadR and any other males besides my husband who read this. Heck, sorry to you, too, Luke.)
So, I’m on a quest to find a beautiful, modest swimsuit. One that won’t require me to get a second mortgage on the house in order to fund it. And one that doesn’t make me look as old as I feel.
A while back, I stumbled upon Lime Ricki Swimwear. I like how funky yet modest their suits are. I’m not sure if any of them totally suit my personality, but I am admiring this one lately…
Cute, isn’t it? Since the top is “new,” it’s priced at $40, and the bottoms are $26. Standard shipping is $7.50. So, this suit, delivered to my door, would be $73.50. Not cheap.
It’s hard for me, a bargain shopper, to pay that much for a swimsuit. A swimsuit! And if I was looking for a bikini or something skimpy, well, I could’ve paid $10 for a clearance suit last fall. Skimpy is a dime a dozen. Not modesty. And certainly not beautiful modesty.
So, it’s probably worth it.
Does anyone have any other suggestions for modest swimwear? I’m really open to suggestions!
(And I will save the modesty soapbox for a later date. But beware, I’m sure it’s coming eventually!)
try newport news! good suits, last long, and cheaper!
I am so glad you are choosing “modest” over the latest style. I always had the girls (and myself) shop at Lands End. They are expensive, but they are quality material, modest and fit great. Even their high rise bottoms cover “the” bottom. I never allowed two piece suits on my girls or myself. But, this last time, I bought a tankini from Lands End and the top does cover the bottom, even when sitting down. The material doesn’t fade when you swim in a chlorine pool. They wash nicely too. They say to hand wash them, which I refused to do, and they still last forever. So, that is my two cents worth.
I love that suit in the photo! I want one too. I need a new suit as well, and lemme tell you bathing suit shopping is hard to do. Not a good thing for the self image.
One of my faaaavorite kinds are the ones with skirts…maybe I’ll branch out that direction. Not sure. But $70 for a modest suit is waaaaaaaaay better than $90 for a Roxy suit with practically no cloth involved. Just sayin. You will have to pay for the quality! In the end, it’s much better in my opinion. Some things you just have to pay more for.
I know that being frugal is a part of who you are, but why be frugal on the things that matter, like your modesty? I’m not saying to buy the first suit you find and not shop around, but especially with something like a swimsuit, I think that It is ok to spend a little more than the average store is selling theirs for, especially it’s offering you more. And seeing that you will most likely only buy one and use it for the next several years, I think even spending upwards of $50 is realistic. Is it likely that you could purchase the top from this company and the bottoms from somewhere else at a cheaper price? Just an idea.
Let us know which one you find and which company you decide to go with!!
Hey Lace!
I’m proud of your stance on modesty! I agree with Erin- on some things, it’s just not worth being frugal- especially something that’s important to you. And a good quality swimsuit is worth every penny- especially if you can wear it for several years. Shoot, now I need to find myself one too!!
That’s a very cute one you have pictured! Another FYI on the Land’s End route, which I found when also shopping for “modest, but fits” last summer… you can shop their suits online, but if you figure out what you want to order, go to Sears at Woodland (they have a land’s End section), and order it from their computer… then you get FREE shipping to your house… AND, you can make returns for free to that same Sears, so you can actually order 10 different suits if you want, and return 9 of them, and end up only paying for one. Their prices run about the same as the one you have pictured; after years of hating swimsuit shopping, I’ve determined that paying a “non-cheap” price for something that fits and lasts is worth it. All that being said, I still didn’t find the greatest fits for my body type (or should we say, “body flaws”) at Land’s End… the good news is they have a lot of different fits and styles to choose from. Happy weekend to you.
I think we should just go back to the old swimsuit style where it goes down to your mid-thighs. =) I hate swimsuits but that one you have pictured is pretty cute! By the way, love the new blog look!
Agreed…. don’t compromise on your beliefs… On the suggestion end, I ordered a suit >10 years ago from either Land’s End or Spiegel that was ~ $65. Years later, it still looks brand new and I still get compliments on it… sometimes it’s a bargain when you pay a little more.
I am going to be the token male to comment on this. Your title is “Looking for Beautiful Modesty.” Only modesty is beautiful. Immodesty is…well I won’t use those words where my grandchildren might see them.
Thanks for your suggestions, friends. I have considered Land’s End, and I’ll probably try one (or five) on at Woodland when I get the chance (or whenever I feel brave enough to try on swimsuits with four small children in the dressing room with me – can anyone say torture plus more torture?!).
Chaeli – Thanks. You are one of my friends that’s known me long enough to remember me before I understood the importance of modesty. I wish I’d grasped that a long time ago. Oh, the mistakes I’ve made. By the way – I saw your mom and dad today at the Church Ministries Conference here in GR. They are so sweet, as always!
Andrea – I agree! Once, when I was in high school, my dad came home from shopping with my mom and told me he found me the perfect swimsuit. But he didn’t buy it…’cause it had a stain on the knee!
Teehee!
You all don’t have to worry about me compromising on my beliefs. I have four little ones looking at my every move, into whom I’m trying to instill a sense of being made fearfully, wonderfully, and in God’s image. I’m not about to flaunt my un-flauntables just because I can’t find a cheap swimsuit.
But it seems like some of us aren’t on the same page financially. Luke and I are very heavy into getting our finances straight right now (thank you, Dave Ramsey), and we have every dollar budgeted. Let’s just say the clothing column does not include $70 for a swimsuit, just because I feel like I need one. I can scrimp on my grocery budget and possibly save up enough for it in a few months, but it’s not something that I can, in good conscience, just outright buy. Maybe after we get our student loans paid off (in 17 months or less) AND our 3-6 month emergency fund socked away AND our mortgage paid off early (in 10-ish years)…Well, then I’ll be able to spend $70 on a new swimsuit. A new swimsuit every month if I felt like it. But right now we’re living like no one else, so that LATER we can live like no one else.
Just so you know.
Thanks for your input.
Love you all.
Lacey, I wear a tankini top with a bikini bottom…with men’s board shorts over that:) Comes to my knees, so I feel comfortable and always modest. I had a skirt bottom for a while, but even that…I just don’t like showing off so much thigh:)
So that’s my tip — maybe not as cute as other options, but I actually LOVE my brown and blue Hawaiian flowered board shorts:) I think I paid about $10 for them several years ago, and I don’t plan on buying anything else for a very long time. The bikini bottom underneath totally matches as well, which is completely pointless since no one can see it:) That I got at Target on clearance for $4:)
I hear ya on the finances…there is no way I would pay that much for a swimsuit no matter how long it lasts:) I gagged using b-day money on a $30 pair of jeans the other day, even though Jay and I had discussed it previously…I can’t find a pair that will stay up! So I keep buying pair after pair of cheap jeans and living with them not fitting until I find another pair on clearance:) So the money I’ve spent on clearance ones adds up to way more than $30 — time to spend that and be dome with it! But $70 for a swimsuit? Definitely couldn’t do it,