Swim Modest

Pretty Emily, my 2nd daughter, on Catalina Island

Having girls is quite another thing. After 3 boys in a row, I got a daughter! And when she was old enough to wear a swimsuit, I was in for a shock. Yes, she was just a baby, but I could already see that the world and I were not going to agree on how much of my daughter's skin they were going to get to see.

So began a very long shop-a-thon which left me empty-handed. We experimented. Covering a normal swimsuit with a t-shirt and shorts was not the answer (a wet t-shirt is very immodest!) Then I began a sewing fury, trying this and that, mostly failures. To dress my daughters in modest swimsuits became an obsession. We tried so many things!

I went to the local swimming pool to observe. If it wasn't so sad, it would be laughable. Every teen and woman there was in a pull-and-yank struggle to keep covered. First it was a two-handed pull-down of the back of the suit so the panty didn't ride up on their bottom. Then it was a yank to the front neck to keep their cleavage a bit more covered. Then on to the underarms to try once again to keep their breasts more covered, and then to the front crotch area, trying to make a tiny width of fabric cover a very private part of the body. This didn't look fun!

This called for some serious pattern drawing. I had lots of sewing experience, and my husband is an engineer, so he got out his drafting tools and some pattern paper. We slaved most of a summer away trying to come up with the perfect swimsuit!

My first goal in creating a swimsuit was modesty, but comfort and stylishness are very pretty important too. Finally, after lots of failed attempts, and a whole summer of sewing prototypes and lots of hysterical laughter when my daughters were summoned to try on yet another suit, we finally designed a suit that everyone seemed to feel comfortable, modest and stylish in! It is made of quick-drying lyrcra swim fabric that stretches with your body's movements. It has sewn-in lightly padded no-show-through bra cups (instead of those limp, panel bras). The sarong skirt (sewn in) drapes beautifully giving the crotch coverage that make us feel much more at ease. Under the skirt are shorts, not a panty, thank goodness, so you can sit at ease cross-legged in the sand without ever tugging at anything! And it is all one piece, so no worry about midriff showing, sarong falling off or anything else. Finally, liberation! Hurray!

Little girls look charming in them, big girls and moms feel comfy and relaxed. Older women appreciate the skin coverage. Boaters wear them as "splashwear". Sun sensitive people love the fact that they give top-of-the-arm and thigh coverage, where sunburns can be so painful. People who would feel ill at ease wearing a swimsuit into a store think they are great and dash into the store in them. No need for a cover-up.

If you are ready for something new, something more modest than what the stores are showing, try a Swim Modest swimsuit. I think you will be delighted!

See a big gallery of modest swimsuit photos here.