Summer Uniform: The Bikini

Summer is flying by and I am trying to soak up as much sun and family fun at the lake as possible.  Honestly my summer outfits are mostly a bathing suit or joggers and a crew neck.  I recently turned 40 and still choose a bikini because it's what I am most comfortable in.  This is not to be confused with CONFIDENCE, because I don't always feel confident in them but as I've gotten older that has also gotten better; see the links below for posts on my journey with body image.  Not all bikinis work for me and I will tell you that the best bathing suits for me in the last decade have come from La Vie En Rose.  They have so many styles to choose from, colors, patterns , mix and match options that I truly have been able to find something for each season of my life that I feel pretty good in.  My favorite thing about their bathing suits are the bottoms are made from soft fabric, so they don't dig into my sides and squeeze everything out.  I also like that I can find full coverage for both bottoms and tops, which makes me feel comfortable and lets me move around freely.  I think there is something for just about everyone, from my mom, to me, and even my teen purchased a bathing suit from them this year.  This year I purchased two to update my selection, the bold pink one and the one shoulder yellow and white one.  I love them equally and have been wearing them non-stop! See my previous bathing suit purchases from this company, as well as my journey with body image, here and here.

I'll be here for the next two weeks trying to fill my bucket with all the things I love, family, friends, wakeboarding, boating, kayaking, reading, and sitting by the fire.  

Tell me about your summer so far?

Shop This Post:

Yellow Bikini (one shoulder top & similar bottom )

Pink Bikini (similar top and bottom)

Beach Days & Bathing Suits

Hello friends!!!  This is just going to be a quick post because my BFF is arriving any minute for our annual family lake extravaganza!!!!!  So excited!!!

If you've been a long time reader, thank you and adore you, you know that each year I post about what I am wearing at the beach.  I have had some really honest posts regarding my insecurities when it comes to my beach body and how I've come to embrace it, read HERE.  I usually add at least one bathing suit to my collection each year and this year I scored a sweet one from Shein of all places.  To be honest I've been rather hesitant to buy things from them but after my teens talked me into ordering some spring wardrobe pieces and bathing suits for them and it working out 100% , I decided to give it a try too.  I only ordered one, took my measurements and then read reviews left by others on sizing.  I was between a small and medium but decided to size up.  Honestly, I think the small may have been a slightly better fit but the medium is just fine.  I like the high waisted bottoms and what I really fell in love with is the marble, tie-dye, print and the colors.  There was nothing like this anywhere else, plus the selection at Shein was unbelievable compared to anywhere else, not to mention that it's cheap!  The only thing I don't love, and this is across the board this year, is that the bottoms are cut in a little too narrow for me.  I really enjoy feeling like my butt is all covered up so that when I move I don't have those insecurities popping up, but I've tried to embrace the style and the more I have wore them, the more confident I have grown in them.  So maybe it's not such a bad thing to push ones self out of their comfort zone.  I also have a couple of cover-ups for the beach but mostly I have adorable little dresses that can take me from the beach to the market to a mid-day lunch visit with a friend.  I love simple little sundresses like this stripped one.  Doesn't it give you all the nautical vibes?

We spend a lot of time as the beach reading, sunbathing, swimming, visiting, boating and sometimes we even bring along card games or Spike Ball.  Summer is truly a magical time for our family as we spend up to 6 weeks at the lake.  We have a lot of friends and family come to visit, and it's fun to share our special little place with the people we love.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer thus far, there is still lots of it left so don't jump right into fall mode too quickly, lol.  Tell me, did you buy a new bathing suit this year?  Where?  What kind?  Do you love or dislike bathing suit shopping?

Shop This Post:

Allover Print High Waisted Bikini (lots of colors; $15)

Sigh, It's Almost Bathing Suit Time & Body Image

Hello, hello!  Last year I felt like I sort of just gave up.  Gave up trying to attain a body that I couldn't even define.  I gave up on dieting to attain a body that wasn't sustainable.  I gave up on being Hangry..  Bathing suit season really stresses me out.  It amplifies some serious insecurities I have about my own body.  I do try to be very positive, to have a healthy outlook and relationship with my body, but like many it's now been many years of back and forth struggle.  The good thing about last year was that "giving up" wasn't a negative, but I rather  view it as bringing me acceptance.  I am well into my 30's and closer to 40,  I'll be 37 in July.  My body has given birth to two ladies and has for the most part treated me better than I've treated it.  My body is far from perfect, but honestly I don't even know what that means to me and long ago I learned that it usually is unattainable and doesn't actually equate to happiness.  All that being said, last summer I went on a bathing suit hunt that made me feel good.   I still prefer a two piece to a one piece.  I also have this desire to show my girls that you can wear a two piece that looks age appropriate and modern on various body types.  I woudl like them to have a better relationship with their bodies than I had so I really strive to model that, but it's HARD. 

The last two years I've had great success at finding bathing suits at La Vein Rose.  They have lots of options, cuts, materials, styles and patterns.  You can mix and match styles and sizes, and you can't find a better price point!  I absolutely love their high-waisted bikini bottoms and also their regular ones that have extra soft fabric that doesn't dig into your sides to create the "muffin top" look.   Last year I foudn a really fun two piece that was reversible so you got 4 bathing suit option in one!!!

This year I found a super sexy one piece, that has some significant cut outs to make it extra sexy.  I've tried this style int he past but always felt like if I moved too quickly after the kids that I would end up falling out.  In theory you think you can lay on a lounger all day but that's not real life.  This bathing suit is the best and though they don't have any more on-line they still have some in store.  Also, check out some of my favorites, practical and fun, linked below.

Tell me how you feel about bathing suit season?  What's your bathing suit style?

Shop This Post:

Bathing Suit #1

Bathing Suit #2 and an adorable dress in same print

Bathing Suit #3 top and bottom

Bathing Suit #4 top and reversible bottoms 

Bathing Suit #5 top and bottoms

Bathing Suit #6 top and bottoms

Bo's Beach Must Haves & Embracing My Body

 

Oh the beach and my love and hate relationship with it. 

I love the water. 

The sun. 

Boating. 

 Feeling the weight of "adulting" seep out of my body and evaporate into thin air. 

 

 

 

BUT I don't especially like finding the right bathing suit for the occasion.  I've never had a six pack, unless you are talking about the beer kind in which case I've had a few in my day.  I work hard to stay in shape by running and watching what I put into my mouth, but my body is what it is and I've worked hard to embrace it as it is.

 

 

A couple of years ago as I sat with my three mommy friends, I realized that I was the only one sporting a bright, pink bikini.  I became super self-conscious, not because they made me feel this way but because that's just the way I am.  I went out a bought a very expensive, one piece, black bathing suit shortly after.  I really like how it looks on me but truth be told I don't wear it a lot.  The real point of this is that I doubted myself and what I was wearing.  Why do we do that to ourselves?  Is there an acceptable/unacceptable age for wearing a bikini?  Who decides?

 

I have two little girls and I want them to grow up to be confident.  Strong.  Healthy.  To lead an active lifestyle.  To be aware of their own judgments and to work on them.   To elevate others and themselves.  To be proud. 

 

 

So today, and most days, I put on my bikini and I show them that even though I may not always be happy with my body, that I don't have to hide it.  I can choose to wear a bikini, a tankini, a one piece, a cover-up, a rash guard, to put on make-up or to show the scars on my face from acne.  So here I am laying it all out there. 

 

 

I will say that I find La Vie En Rose to be a great place to find a bathing suit that fits my body at a great price.  What I love most about them is that the bottoms, have a soft fabric that comes over my middle and doesn't cut and squish everything out to the side.  Haha.  I also love my rash guard for water sports and for playing around on the beach.  Give me a cover-up or a summer dress, pair of sunnies,  sandals and I am a happy beach goer. 

 

What are your beach wear staples?  Tell me where you find your bathing suits.  Enjoy your summer and wear whatever makes you feel fabulous!