How to Buy Bikinis and Bikini Brands I Love

When reading the title of this post, “How to Buy Bikinis and Bikini Brands I Love,” you might be thinking, “It’s January!” While you are correct and I might seem to be jumping the gun, this is the perfect time to buy.

As you’ve seen with Christmases every year, retailers are pushing sales for seasons earlier and earlier and summer and spring break is no different. Plus, millennials are making taking vacation time, possibly for that perfect IG post, more than previous generations, so retailers take this into account when they begin to push spring and summer wardrobes in, say, January. {source}

While I live in a summer-round city, San Diego, with bikini stores open and turning a major profit 12 months of the year, I haven’t followed my own advice in the past. I normally wait until I plan a warmer weather holiday or make pool plans to check out my bikini drawer. And, full disclosure, this might be the case this year too. We just planned a beginning of summer Carribbean Family holiday, and thus, my shopping focus lately has been bikinis.

How to Buy Bikinis

Be Comfortable

For me, this means have recently eaten healthy so I feel my best. Note: I didn’t say look my best. I said FEEL my best. To look good, you have to feel good. 

For me, this also means trying on at home. Find retailers that have free returns and shipping and refund your credit card quickly. 9.9 times out of 10, I only link to retailers that do this. Including in this post.

Know What You Have

As the warmer months approach, do inventory. Clean out your bathing suit drawer. Try on, if you like, or I just look at bathing suits and know how each one makes me feel. If I don’t feel confident enough to go to a public setting with no coverup in a bathing suit, I get ride of it.

Know What Works/What Makes You Feel Good

This is a little repetitive of the suggestion above. Know what cut makes you feel the best in your skin. I love the look of one pieces and high waisted bikinis. Yet, with my body, and sweet tooth and affinity for pizza {all are fine! enjoy life!} I don’t have a super flat stomach, and never have. One pieces, especially after becoming a mom {read: severely shrunken boobs}, my belly that I am self conscious about, sticks out further than my non existent boobs, and I look like I am just beginning to show. Show a pregnancy that isn’t there. I don’t like the way that makes me feel, so I don’t rock one pieces.

Decide on a Budget

Decide on what price points make you cringe. For me, separates much over $90 seem to seem silly to me. Yes, I have a couple Pucci bikinis in my collection, but as much as I’m in and out of the pool with kids, I don’t want to spend too much on bathing suits that I might not have in a couple of summers. Chlorine, especially the amount that kid friendly pools use, wreck havoc on your bathing suits. I never wear my Pucci bathing suits in the pool. Only in the ocean.

Bikini Brands I Love

Solid and Striped

They have an end of summer sale each year and I always buy one or two. The bikinis are expensive, even on sale, but the quality is unparalleled. I would not be surprised if I have some of mine for 10-20 years from now, even though I have worn all of them in chlorine. The cuts are universally flattering and I really feel good in their bikinis. I normally get M in both tops and bottoms.

Target

I’ve never had much luck or like there, but this year, they are already knocking it out of the park! You’ve seen this neon orange tie front bikini and this hot pink bikini on my LIKEtoKNOW.it feed and IG stories. Extremely impressed with the cut and colors. I plan on mixing and matching them with this strapless smocked bikini top I just got in the mail!

J.Crew

Their bathing suits are always timeless and the perfect mix of girly and fun. Plus, they have brought back some more retro styles from their archives, which totally give me Solid & Striped vibes, at a cheaper cost.

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