Tuesday 15 December 2015

Tales of swimwear shopping


I was out shopping for a swimwear last weekend. Even before I left home I knew that I was going to spend an awful lot time in shopping for that one perfect swimsuit. Since I am regular at swimming, my utmost requirement is comfort. How hard can it get, you say? Well, Very!

I entered a small shop that welcomed with a colorful array of skimpy swimwear for women. There were a plenty of options to chose from, from the chic and sexy 2-piece suit to athletic to conservative full-limbed suits.

First, there were dresses with jewels and gems; those were the party wears. Then come those with the breathtaking (literally) underwire (google for it means if you don’t know).  Then there are the ones with a tiny skirt. I don’t even get this; why have a skirt that floats on the surface of the water once you are inside. It is to give you the allure, I suppose. Just not for me and I move on.

There were swimsuits in conservative category. These swimsuits do not show any skin but leaves nothing to imagination. They were dangerously thin, flimsy and hug the contours of one’s body like second skin. All the above options are available for little girls starting from the size of infants. Why does an infant or for that matter, a 5 year old needs a bikini style 2-piece suit, I can’t fathom.

That’s when I spotted the rack of fully comfortable and functional swim shorts on the farther remote corner of that shop. The salesgirl was quick to point out that it was the men’s section. I told her that I would still take a look. She gave up on me and turned her attention to other shoppers.

This rack had the short, flimsy, body hugging material of swimsuit (competition category suits). But it also had a lot of other comfortable options. Most of the swimsuits were not body-hugging kind yet tight at the required parts. The material was thick and durable. They even had inner lining material. I almost cried out at the unfairness. Those shorts could easily pass off as casual outdoor / sports shorts.

These are my requirements in a swimwear.
1.     Underwire should be banned.
2.     No thin, flimsy and clingy material.
3.     Thick fabric and durable material (Inner lining is an added bonus)
4.     Something that I can wear comfortably to a grocery shop and jump into pool afterwards. (What? Is this too much to ask? My husband does this all the time.)

I ended up buying one of the shorts from men’s section that passes all of the above criteria. I also bought competition category women’s swimwear. It didn’t pass any of the above criteria but over time I have learnt to be comfortable wearing it to the pool.