Swimsuit woes

[resonant]

Just finished ordering a couple of swimsuits for the kidlet, which was an exercise in frustration -- it's very difficult to find appropriate swimwear for someone who's already shaped like a woman at thirteen.

It seems to me that the available swimsuits make one of three statements:

Type 1: "I am a hoochie mama. I wasn't actually planning on swimming; I'm just going to recline here while you undress me with your eyes. If you bring me champagne, it's going to have to have a straw in it, because if I raise my arms, these straps are going to break."

Type 2: "I am a middle-aged matron. Would you like to see my swim cap with the little flowers on it?"

Type 3: "I can afford to spend seventy dollars for a swimsuit for someone who's still young enough to enjoy scooching around the bottom of the pool on her belly."

I no longer have a problem ordering for myself, because I actually am a middle-aged woman (though my swim cap doesn't have flowers on it) and have lowered my standards to "will stay on for actual swimming and won't disintegrate in the chlorine for at least a year."

I ended up at kmart.com (the online store, because the three-dimensional store only had Type 1 swimsuits, many of which had both fringe and sparkly studding) with a couple of suits that look athletic and practical in the itty bitty preview photos. I just hope they don't fall apart right away.

p.s. is there such a thing as a service on the internet that I can instruct, "Keep an eye on this product, and send me an e-mail if it goes on sale"?

Comments

[james]

One thing I found that helped a lot in appropriate swimsuit wear, was adding a pair of bike shorts. That way you only have to find a suit that is appropriate for the top half. (Heck, bike shorts and a sports bra! No suit!)

[resonant]

Like her mother, she's a little too big around the middle for a two-piece; we tried it once and she just felt too self-conscious to enjoy herself. Pity -- it sounds really comfortable.

[florahart]

So, here's what I go with on those rare occasions I intend to be in water: I take a nylon-ish running skirt (which is actually shorts but with an extremely short skirt around it?) and a plain ordinary one-piece suit in some kind of coordinating color. Put on the suit and clip the straps together in back if you want/need (I do--I personally use the kind of hairbands that have beads on them, but one could use a device designed for bra straps). Put on the running skirt over. Voila.

[james]

I currently own a swim top from Hanes - here and it is AWESOME for hiding a stomach. And since it's a separate, it lets me pair it with any kind of bottom I want (swim bottom or bike shorts).