The Swimsuit Dilemma
I am a fluffy cruiser. You might say, I am a person of size or a plus-size woman. Some might use really unkind words to describe me, but I am sure that none of my readers would ever stoop so low as to use those words. Like many plus-size women, I absolutely hate shopping for swimsuits. I mean, I would rather go to the dentist. First of all, it’s hard to find decent looking swimsuits in my size, especially in a brick-and-mortar business. I love all the signs; “Looking for more colors or sizes? Check out our website.” Yes, that is helpful (read the irony in my tone). Second, I am very long, not terribly tall (5’8”) but long in the torso. Even in my thin days, it wasn’t easy to find a swimsuit.
Here’s the thing. I love swimming and being in the water. I am not going to pass up swimming in a pool or at the beach because you might be uncomfortable with my size. Shoot, uncomfortable with my size and putting on a swimsuit but I am not going to let that keep me from enjoying my cruise. I am going to play in the water with my granddaughters and make memories. But this still leaves me in need of swimwear.
We booked three water-based excursions for our cruise. I asked my daughter-in-law, who will be with us, how many suits she is bringing and she is bringing three. Three sounds reasonable. Having three allows time for drying in between water activities. I hate pulling on a wet swimsuit. You too? Yeah. The good news is that the two swimsuits I bought for our last cruise still fit pretty well. They’re okay, but nothing spectacular. What I am really loving are the two-piece tankinis I am seeing on the internet. By that I mean in my Facebook and Instagram feeds. All I did was talk about needing a new swimsuit (yes, in front of my Google Home), and the ads started appearing in my feeds.
To my surprise I found many plus-size swimsuits. Unfortunately, after a quick Google search of reviews, many of these companies do not score high marks with buyers. Sigh… I did find one company who had rather decent reviews and I really liked their selection of modest swimsuits. Now the problem is that I may have waited too long. Many of the tops/shorts that I like have already sold out in my size. I love the short sleeve swim tops, but they require a swim bra underneath and they don’t have the color I would want in my size. *Another heavy sigh*
In my other life, I am an online reseller. While I sell clothing, I rarely purchase clothing on eBay or Poshmark. After a quick search, I found a Posher (yes, that is truly what they call themselves) who had a few pieces in my size from various makers, including the brand I was interested in. I put four of her items in a ‘bundle’ and asked for a 20% discount. She agreed and now I have a lovely swim tank and three different pairs of swim bottoms headed my way, all new with tags. I then ordered a couple more tankini tops from JC Penney. Yeah, not terribly high end, but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with shopping at Penney’s.
If all of these piece’s work, I will have six swimsuits to take. I am still on the fence about another suit I am looking at. It’s not like we don’t have another cruise in November.
Let me ask you, how many suits do you take? Do you have any advise for suits and ocean excursions? I would appreciate any words of wisdom regarding cruising and swimwear.
See you Shipside.
