Find the Perfect Swimsuit Top for your Bust

Susan is a blogger for Beauty and the Beach, a swimwear and fashion blog by InStyleSwimwear.com.  For more swimsuit style tips, trend reports and more, check them out today!

Let’s face it—no two women are shaped exactly the same, and some of us need more or less support than others when it comes to the girls! While shopping for a new swimsuit, one of the biggest problems women run into is finding a top that fits and flatters their figure.  The key is to know which swimsuit tops to look for, based on your bust size. After reading this mini style guide, you’ll be well on your way to looking absolutely fab this season!

Small Bust

Women with small bust sizes are often very self-conscious when swimsuit season comes around.  The key is to find styles that enhance your bustline. In terms of silhouette, triangle tops and bandeaus with either a twist design or sweetheart neckline are your best bet.

Look for these swimsuit tops with specially designed push-up padding (which will help enhance and boost you up) or molded cups (which will help create a curvier shape for your bust). 

Finally, embellishments and texture are your best friends! Look for triangle or bandeau swimsuit styles with fringe, tiered ruffle detail or beading such as Playful Promises Hummingbird Triangle Bra or Valencia by PilyQ.

Medium Bust

Ladies with medium bust sizes are the lucky ones! Depending on your particular bust size and shape, you can pretty much wear any style of swimsuit top you’d like, including halters, triangle tops, bra tops and bandeau tops! 

Ask yourself what you’re looking for. If you want to make your bust appear bigger, look for swimsuit tops with embellishments, push-up padding, molded cups or even bold prints.

But if you want to make your bust appear smaller, look for swimsuit tops that will offer more coverage and create a minimizing effect, such as plain bandeaus that go straight across or dark solid-colored halters. Playful Promises Future Tribal Embroidery Bandeau bra or Indian Summer by L*SPACE are perfect for this.

Large Bust

Finally, if you’re well-endowed up top, then you’ll most likely need swimsuit tops that offer better support. Any top that has underwire cups will be the most supportive for the girls. Similarly, halters with thicker fixed underbands or those featuring double-string underbands can be ultra-supportive.

But if you hate tan lines on your chest, bandeaus are not out of the question! Certain bandeau swimsuit tops have center v-neck halter designs which can be easily untied when you’re laying out. In addition, most traditional bandeau tops come with one or two optional neck straps that can be easily removed for your tanning pleasure!

For more support, go for styles like Playful Promises Garden Party underwire bra or Tricolore Blue by Gottex Profile.

Now that you know what swimsuit tops to look for, you’re one step closer to finding your perfect swim style! Happy shopping!

Shaping the Female Figure

Lingerie takes an important role in shaping and moulding the female figure. From push-up bras to girdles, basques and shapewear the lingerie industry continues to push the boundaries of sculpting the female form.

 

History is filled with moulding, shaping and sculpting fashions, from the obvious corsetry of the early 20th century, to the subtle bindings of the Greco-Roman period and the boyish girdles of the 1920's.

In particular crinolines and bustles stand out for me. A vital contraption of the 19th and 20th century fashions, crinolines and bustles would amplify the size of the posterior and hips, helped by corsets nipping in the waist, giving the illusion of a dramatic hourglass figure.

 

Originally crinolines were made from stiff fabrics and horsehair. By 1830 they would have been made from fabric and steel hoops or even whalebone hoops. These rigid structures would hold-up the petticoats and skirts and would shape the outerwear in the fashionable contour of the period.

The crinoline would have been worn by every social class and was widely available. However, width of the crinoline and choice of style, trend and fabric would have defined a woman's social rank in the late 19th century.

 

The 'cage crinoline' as it came to be known, imprisoned women, and could have been up to 180cm in diameter. The issues included, sitting down, revealing ankles and perhaps more, knocking over items when passing by, windy days and more importantly; catching fire, and being caught in machinery in factories.

As with every decade, fashion and trends is of the highest priority to all women, so the crinoline had a reasonably long-lived life. The onset of the industrial revolution reduced the width of the crinoline to a bustle around the back of the dress. This steel contraption would have been attached around the hips and would have supported and shaped a dictated curve on the posterior.

The bustle is typically associated with the Victorian era. Combined with the corset of the period the style female form defined a generous posterior, a refined and fine waist and ample bosoms.

Crinolines and bustles are almost unknown in contemporary fashion, however women and fashion still seek to modify the natural figure to convey dictated trends, although perhaps not to the extreme of the 19th and 20th century fashions.

High-waist briefs, inspired by the 1940's and 1950's briefs accentuate hip curvature, push-up bras will amplify bosoms, girdles will nip at the waist and longline bra's will define the bosom whilst the longline bra gives the illusion of a small waist defining the natural hips protruding.

 

Playful Promises looks forward to the next wild and saucy trends that inspired the lingerie industry, however we are thankful to be free from the shackles of 'cage crinolines' and bone crunching corsets – we offer an alternative to these corsets with the beautiful Vintage stitch corset.

Defining and shaping your waist, pushing up your bosoms and highlighting your hips. Ideal!