Stamp of Approval: Best Swimsuits Results

Welcome to the (super late) roundup for March's Fat Girl's Stamp of Approval. In case you haven't seen this feature before, here's a little recap: each month I'm asking you to share your opinions on a certain type of clothing (March was swimsuits) so that I can pool everyone's recommendations together and figure out which retailers get the thumbs up from us fat girls.


So who got your vote?
Some months we just don't seem to manage to find a clear consensus, and this month was one of those times. It's always a little harder to write up the recap when it's like this, but hopefully by pointing out where the industry is lacking we can help get the word out about what we're looking for when we buy our swimsuits.

Common Swimsuit Problems:
The bust seems to be the biggest problem when it comes to us plus-sized swimmers. Lots of you complained about the bust being too big or too small. It seems to me like we need a little more variety in cup-size when it comes to our swimsuits. After that, the biggest issue seemed to be finding prints and styles that are actually fashionable. I think one reader in particular put it best, "I don't want to look like an old lady... that's my biggest complaint."

Best Review: Lane Bryant
Thanks so much to Closet Narcissist for her review of her new suit from Lane Bryant: "My Lane Bryant order just arrived, and I cannot even express how much I'm in love with it. Like full-on, couch-jumping love. The construction is sturdy, the the material isn't flimsy and too-thin, the cut and shirring are flattering, and there is a FULL BALCONETTE BRA built-in. It's low-cut in front, but it's supportive enough that I look cleavage-y, not droopy. The straps convert to crossback, so I know they won't be constantly falling down. The back is cut high enough to cover my back roll. I'm a big girl (size 24, 44D, with a big rear and a smaller-but-not-terribly-small belly) and I can't believe how excited I am to actually wear this suit in public with my family -- I look curvy and sexy."

Most Mentions:
There were quite a few mentions for Land's End, who I'd never heard of before but they seem to have quite a wide selection of swimsuits and they do ship to Canada. Here's what Holly had to say, "Land's end has lots of options for fit. I wish they had more options in terms of style, because they're a little conservative and "old" for my taste and age, but they're the best I've found."

Other retailers who managed to get a few mentions were Simply Be and Torrid.

Honourable mention:
Like a huge chunk of the plus-size blogging community I am totally in love with Monif C's swimsuits. So I thought it would be a good idea to track down somebody who owns one and ask them about the fit. I managed to get this review from Gabi of YFF, who owns the red one-shoulder one: "I love it! My only complaint is that it's not supportive enough for me, but I use it for when I'm just laying out at the beach." Although, I wonder if the support issue is just because it's a one-shoulder suit? I'd love some more opinions on this. I'm seriously considering saving up for one of these suits this summer.


Me last summer in my halterneck swimsuit from Evans
Beth's Picks:
As someone who swims at least once a week, I have to buy swimsuits fairly regularly. For years I've lamented that my only real colour/pattern options have been plain black or gaudy florals, but I'm happy to say that I've been seeing a lot of changes for the better in that respect coming from stores like Evans, Asos and Torrid. To date, my best swimsuit ever has been my halterneck one from Evans (pictured above) - I loved that it was underwired in the bust so it gave me a lot of support. I also love that they acknowledge the need to have different bust sizes - for my size I have relatively small boobs so it's nice to be able to choose a smaller option. I think this is something they need to go further with though because a lot of you mentioned that the bust sizes only cover C-E cups, and plenty of us are bigger or smaller than that!

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to send me your opinions and reviews, I couldn't make this feature happen without your input and I seriously appreciate all your help.