Bathing Suits That Will Flatter Your Body

The muffin top, cellulite, wide hips, no hips, small breasts, huge breasts, and beer bellies are reasons women sprint from bathing suit shopping. Throw in the utter confusion of selection with the cluelessness of what flatters most and we have a situation. Instead of starting your summer off with this horrendous shopping experience, look up your body type below and walk into a local swimwear shop armed with knowledge.

Belly Issues

If your belly sticks out or lumps about, try a one-piece with ruching or shirring across the torso. These looks camouflage your own personal ruching and shirring. Another style to consider is the draped waist, where one side crosses to the other. There is also the tip of selecting a dark colored suit and then color blocking. If you are short-waisted, try a V-bottom for a two-piece or a solid colored one piece.

For the mother left with the sweet treat of stretch marks or belly bulge after their little one was born, the one piece is your friend, but don’t rule out the two piece. The 50s influence is available everywhere, including swimwear. The high-waist bottoms of the 50s will cover marks and even hold in your tummy. The best effect is when it reaches up to you natural waist. By hitting the thinnest part of your torso you avoid the muffin top sprouting.

Breast Issues

Whether large breasted or small, molded cups with an underwire will help. For the large breasted, the cups will shape and lift. For those with small breasts, it will give the illusion of volume, especially if it has padding in the cups.

For the busty women, throw out those inserts. For the women with asymmetrical breasts, leave in one of the pads, and for the small busted, be wary of the water those pads can hold. After taking a dip, water sponges in the pads. My tip is to discreetly push your hand on the pads after leaving the water, to get the excess liquid out.

For the small busted, take advantage of all that you can wear: patterns, graphic prints, bandeaux, and more. The world is your oyster. For the racked women, take advantage of that cleavage! Wear those straps with pride. Hint: Halter straps create cleavage.

Hip and Bum Issues

There are many tricks to put into action for luscious hips. First, tie closures on your bottoms will cut less into your flesh than a brief. Fold over bottoms are a great help for soothing those curves. Pairing a light colored top with a dark bottom puts the focus on your bust and let's not forget our good friends ruching and shirring. Again, the retro styles are fabulously flattering. Often, people say a high-cut suit will slim hips, but mostly it just extends the legs. In actuality, the low reaching bottoms of the retro style will smooth out the hips when your legs are slimmer than your hips.

To make that bum look smaller, avoid a full coverage bottom. This will make your behind look bigger, making it a good tip for the small bum girls. Instead, choose a Brazilian bottom. It cuts your bum in half, making it look half its size.

Mental and Physical Health

Before shopping, eat a healthy snack or small meal instead of nothing or a huge meal. You will need the energy of food, but don’t want to feel bloated in the dressing room. Also, shop in the middle of your menstrual cycle instead of when you are retaining water and cranky. Another good idea, once you find your suit: Wear plenty of sunscreen to prevent premature aging, skin cancer and tan lines. Lastly, if you can’t love your body, at least accept it. The purpose of the swimsuit is for swimming fun in the sun. Never forget that.