Flattering Swimwear for Everyone

Summertime is inevitably a season when we all at some time or another bring out the swimwear. Whether it is at the beach, camping or the cottage, the warm weather and tantalizing water encourages a refreshing swim. There are some on the other hand who may not even use their swimwear for the water but who like to sit in the sun's rays and give their skin the glow of summer. Whatever use you have for your bikini or swimwear the wonderful assortment of fabrics, styles and accessories will have you out and about enjoying the fine weather.

There are some of us who don't exactly look forward to this time of year when we have to bring out the swimwear and bikinis in hopes that those couple of extra pounds gained over the year won't have us bulging out of the seams. Not to fret though as swimwear today offers great stretch fabrics for easy mobility and plenty of style options that might just minimize or hide any imperfections.

The fabric, body shape, design and color are all factors when choosing the most flattering swimwear for you. When selecting a swimsuit the quality of fabric is important as you want a suit that will stand up to the seasons of wear, sun and saltwater. Nylon, Lycra and Faille are popular fabrics used for swimsuits, they resist fading and hold their stretchiness. Nylon and Lycra used together offer more stretch then standard swimwear along with shaping, control and comfort for the wearer.

The design of the swimsuit is probably the most important factor when women are out shopping for swimwear and bikinis. You will find plenty of suggestions on flattering suits for all sorts of body types. There are suits to create curves where needed, suits to minimize hips, suits to whittle waistlines, others to add shape to specific areas and then there are the standard all purpose suits that may look great on a variety of shapes. Lines and colors are very important in minimizing or accentuating particular parts of the body. Black and darker colors are often used to minimize, while stripes depending on whether they are vertical or horizontal are used for the same minimizing (vertical) or accentuating (horizontal) effects. There are several special sizes of swimsuits available to accommodate women from petite, tall and plus sizes.

Bikinis alone come in several popular designs that may include; tankinis which are similar to a tank top (with matching bottom, there are different variations of the tankini from short (above the navel) to tops that touch the bottom piece; bandeau tops are designed as a strip usually with no straps; halter tops are just as the name implies similar to a halter with possibly a string that goes around the neck connecting the bodice; lastly there are bra-tops (similar to bra designs) and triangle tops (triangle designs). The bikini that works best will vary from person to person, you want a top that offers support if needed, it is always best to try on a few different tops and see what works best.

Women's swimsuits offer features such as; soft-cup bras which give full support, built-in shelf bras with underwire, sarongs that add gentle shaping to midsection, gentle tummy wraps that accentuates shape, side shirring adding gentle shaping, and overlapping tops with bottoms for gentle coverage. There are also swimsuits available in swim dress designs which offer additional coverage of hips if needed for some, and bandeau style one pieces with no straps.

Women really are at an advantage when it comes to selecting swimwear designs, as the number of women's designs far exceeds the number of men's designs. Women's swimsuits come in one-piece designs, swim dress designs, sarong swimsuits, tankini suits and several bikini designs. Whereas men's suits are available mostly in the standard racing style, swim trunk and swim short designs.