How to Choose the Perfect Bathing Suit for Your Women’s Surf Camp Vacation
By Me-Shell Mijangos
Gone were the days when women surfers only used wet suits and rash guards as surf wear. After the movie Blue Crush, surfing fashion has undergone a revolution. Most women surfers now want to look as good as Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez in the movie Blue Crush, active yet feminine. That is why, more and more women surfers now abandon the traditional unflattering wetsuit and wear a bathing suit instead, professionals 1 piece suits:
*Traditional one piece suits are good for every body shape.
*Tankinis: However, if you find 1 piece suits too outmoded, you can try wearing a tankini. A tankini is a two piece swim wear; a tank top and a bikini for the bottom. One good thing about tankinis is that they can give support to the torso while making you still fashionable. Just ensure that the top of your tankini clings to your body and does not hike up when you move or else your chest will be accidentally exposed.
*Bikinis: For the bold and daring is the bikini. If you think that you’ll remain comfortably active on a board in it, then you may opt to choose it. In fact, some of the world’s professional women surfers have been spotted and photographed surfing in a bikini.
Whatever style you choose, just make it sure that you are comfortable in it and it will suit your body type. In the last analysis, however, the one piece suit other than being the “safest” style is the best for surfing because they give full support for the upper part of the body, especially the back.
Bathing suits also come in all colors. You can choose from either plains or prints. However, if you are not sure which to choose, go for plain ones because they are safer than prints. If picking the right color is difficult for you, go for the basic colors like black, blue, white or red; or you can buy a bathing suit that matches the color of your eyes.
2. Support
A good bathing suit is one which can give full support to your breasts, padded or not. Always look for one made of spandex and/or nylon. It must be thicker but not too thick to restrict movement because thickness has also the tendency to decrease flexibility when you move your arms and legs. For your top, the best bathing suit would be halter tops and racer back styles because they give you support and freedom of movement while you paddle and stretch you arms wide when you attempt to balance on the board.
3. Comfort and Protection
Comfort is subjective. Before purchasing a bathing suit, ask yourself, “Am I going to be comfortable when I paddle and surf if I wear this bathing suit?”.
Make sure that your bathing suit is simple without unnecessary materials such as belts, buckles, wires and knots. When you lay on the board, they will dig into your chest, which may become a little uncomfortable.
Pick a bathing suit that fits you snugly with its material clinging to your body as a second skin. It must also be stretchable but not so much that its edges already dig on your skin and create ghastly contours. As much as it is a bad sight to see too tight fitting bathing suits, it is also as bad to see loose ones especially at the part of the bottom where it may wrinkle. Another possible consequence of a loose bathing suit is that you might get in danger of showing what is not supposed to be shown. Because it does not cling tight to the skin, your top and bottom are exposed to the danger of being washed away by the waves, especially when they are particularly strong.
If you are not comfortable with your bathing suit, you may opt to wear board shorts over your bathing suit bottoms. If you think that spreading your legs as you balance yourself on the board will make you feel uncomfortable to stop you from giving full performance, then you can reinforce your attire with board shorts. Ascertain, however, that its bands are thick and elastic enough so that they won’t be washed away.
4. Brand and Durability.
Before purchasing a bathing suit off the rack, check the seams first if they are stitched well. Brand is not really the test of durability but if you have more money to spare, buying a bathing suit from a well known brand may also be good. Good brands are known to make bathing suits from the finest fabrics and engineered to increase flexibility and strength.
A women’s surf camp vacation may be fun provided that you are in your most comfortable state. Remember that surfing is an active sport, requiring constant movement and action. To get full performance, you must be in the perfect bathing suit.
But whoever said you can’t surf and look sexy and feminine at the same time? If you are planning to join a women’s surf camp vacation, forget about the wetsuit. What you need is a bathing suit that is chic to lay on the sand to get a tan but is not too trendy that makes it unsuitable for surfing.
Just keep the above tips in mind so that the next time you plan to buy a bathing suit, you’ll never make the wrong decision. Have fun riding the waves in your most fashionable bathing suit!
About The Author
Me-Shell Mijangos (http://www.swellwomen.com/founder/html) a surfer who first began surfing at the age of 30. She is the founder of an all inclusive women’s surf camp called SwellWomen. Two years ago, she started SwellCo-ed, a Surf and Yoga Experience for women, men and couples. She hopes to surf with you in paradise soon! Visit her SwellBlog!