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Fab Body Guide, Part One: The Best Swimsuits For Full Figures

Wed, 06/25/2008 - 4:00pm by FabSugar
3,464 Views - 31 comments

Ah, the quest for the perfect swimsuit. After trying on numerous bikinis, one pieces, monokinis — you name it — what was once a fun shopping expenditure can sometimes turn into a disheartening experience. Believe me, I know how it feels.

Regardless to what you may think, full-figured women have a lot of different options to choose from. Complement your curves with a sexy one piece or dare to bare in a bikini. The key: Try to avoid suits with little or no support.

To learn what kind of suits are best for a large bust, bottom heavy, and plus-sized figures, read more.

  • Large Bust: If you're plentiful in this area, look to halter-style bathing suits. Wide bands around the midriff will give your girls much-needed support and lift while showing off some of that sexy décolletage.
  • Bottom Heavy: Minimize a heavy tush with a bikini bottom that has a wide set band or opt for a short, skirted version. Avoid string bikini bottoms and boy shorts.
  • Plus-Size: Swim dresses are flattering to plus-sized figures. Look for darker colors and prints with longer or shorter lengths to conceal or reveal as much as you please. Avoid baggy fits and bright colors.


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31 Comments Add a Comment

  • mommie's picture
    mommie
    1

    I have to laugh at Marilyn being referred to as "full figured".

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • RosaDilia's picture
    RosaDilia
    3

    I'm bottom heavy and I had the nerve to wear a string bikini when vacationing in South Beach. Not a good idea.

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • mini_pixie's picture
    mini_pixie
    4

    You know, everyone quotes the stat about Marylin wearing a size 12, but in todays sizes it would be an 8- still heavier than most of the stars we see, but by no means plus-sized!

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • myystque's picture
    myystque
    5

    I have a fairly big butt; however, I'm not sure that I would want to minimize it. I'm proud of the booty!

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • javsmav's picture
    javsmav
    7

    I don't care what anyone says, if you're fat, you can't hide it in a swimsuit. There's no way I'm going anywhere near a bathing suit this year--at my weight, it just shouldn't be done.

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • MisterPinkNoTip's picture
    MisterPinkNoTip
    8

    Marilyn =/= full figured. I guess they meant curvy, but I hate how curvy has become a euphemism for fat sometimes.
    Anyway, I do think retro styled swimsuits look best on curvier (I mean hourglass shape, not overweight) women.

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Francoisehardly's picture
    Francoisehardly
    9

    I think curvy actually means hour glass figure but it's used to mean full figure even though it doesn't mean that, but that's kind of off topic and irrelevant.

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Isista's picture
    Isista
    13

    I know that I'm fat. I have pasty white skin, freckles, cellulite, a big chest and a big butt. But I love the water. Am I going to strut around in a bikini? Not on your life. But I'm not going to cut a part of my summer out because I have lumps and curves. Sorry, beach-goers, guess you'll have to deal with another fat girl in a swim suit.

    That being said, some of these suits are kinda cute. I really like the one-piece retro suit. I almost bought that same one actually.

    P.S. Sorry for the mini-rant.

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • morganfay's picture
    morganfay
    14

    @ plasticapple "none of those will hide the cellulite on my thighs!" : thankfully cellulite is quite independent of size. Size 2 and got plenty, baby. Laughing out loud Who cares?

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • cocomademoiselle's picture
    cocomademoiselle
    15

    Thank you Fab for a post on fuller figures!
    It's always nice to read some advice on how to translate fashion into a "plus size language"!

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • HipMom's picture
    HipMom
    16

    I hate swim dresses - plus nobody wears them in Europe, you just bring more attention to yourself, and not in a good way. But until I get down a couple of sizes, no bikini for me - halter one-piece and halter tankinis only.

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Rnicolew's picture
    Rnicolew
    17

    Marilyn is curvy- full figured?- nah!I love that photo of her....The swimsuit is divine on her curves....

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Rnicolew's picture
    Rnicolew
    18

    Marilyn is curvy- full figured?- nah!I love that photo of her....The swimsuit is divine on her curves....

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Lovely_1's picture
    Lovely_1
    19

    Uggg...with my boobs, it's so hard to find proper ones! I am pretty tiny so I need a small, but my boobs are a 32D!!! Good luck with that one!

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • bbkf's picture
    bbkf
    20

    I'm very curvy (36-24-38), and my favorite bathing suit trick is to get a brightly printed top and a dark, solid bottom. Keeps the eyes on the rack and off the hips!

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • kikidawn's picture
    kikidawn
    21

    I've gained some weight and my stomach is not very good right now. So instead of forgoing a bathing suit altogether this summer I got one of the monokinis Smiling

    10 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • itsme3683's picture
    itsme3683
    23

    chances are, if you actually have a LARGE bust, then it's just a matter of finding the halterneck suit that covers half your boob!! i hate being told that it's so easy for big-boobed girls to just get a halterneck to offer support when if it's really a problem halternecks can be excrutiatingly painful because of all the boobage pulling down on the flimsy neck fabric...

    10 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • kikidawn's picture
    kikidawn
    24

    I love it too mondaymoos!! Smiling It's cute and there aren't a lot of people that have them. My family didn't even know what one was until I wore it at their pool Smiling Everyone really liked it though!

    10 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • lisseth0221's picture
    lisseth0221
    26

    Hey itsme! I totally agree! I have the biggest problem finding a good supportive halter top! They are usually too skimpy and I am usually terrified of one of my girls falling out!! lol

    10 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • catesugar's picture
    catesugar
    27

    I was ready to have a crack at the editor for using Marilyn Munroe as an example of a "fuller figured" person, but I can see that several people have already beaten me to the punch! It is, however, a time for people to take a hard, long look at how they think about size. At 173cm I am 66kg and a US size 8. Probably half the people reading are thinking "FATTY". I have no cellulite, a flat stomach, so why should someone my height and build be a size 0 or even a size 4 or 6? Is it simply some fashion designer's androgynous dream? I think I'd rather resemble Grace Kelly than Posh Spice.

    10 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • aimeeb's picture
    aimeeb
    28

    Marilyn is hardly full figured. I'd rather be curvy any day!

    10 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • CoralAmber's picture
    CoralAmber
    29

    I bought the cutest bikini, but I haven't got the courage to wear it. I have a belly, not just a "pooch" or anything so quaint. Every once in a while someone asks me when I'm due because my belly is so much "rounder" than the rest of me Laughing out loud

    9 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • rabidmoon's picture
    rabidmoon
    30

    Marilyn's famous "size 14" dress size was evidently UK, not USA sizing, which would make it equivalent to about a size 10/12 depending on the brand and sizing, however in Marilyn's day, overall sizes were SMALLER than they are now, making her more likely to be a US sized 6/8 on her average day, and at her height, that is to me absolutely ideal, curvy and perfect, just like that other photo of Elizabeth Taylor, who looks trim but shapely.

    I am not particularly thin, by any means, but no way would I wear a "dress" style swimsuit, and I would not wear a skirt either, because I fail to see how putting my arse in some flippy thing is going to make it smaller, if anything it accentuates it too much.

    "Damn, that is a lot of fabric."

    That is how I would feel anyway. Trust me, draping my butt in a skirt is like throwing a tablecloth on a hill. Its still a hill, and everyone knows it. Sticking out tongue

    For some fuller body shapes, especially shorter ones like mine, I still think you cannot go wrong with a really good looking one piece, preferably halter neck with a really cute or cleverly designed fabric and reasonable support, that shows enough thigh to elongate the leg without exposing too much butt, and supports the bust so that it rocks your upper body and takes the eye away from said butt. Laughing out loud

    I would rather swim in THAT, and save the "skirting" for a sexy sarong and sandals apres-swim...I would feel like a wierdo Victorian in anything more!

    9 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • wadewifey3's picture
    wadewifey3
    31

    I don't think Marilyn is full-figured at all, she's curvy but when did that become full-figured.

    9 weeks 20 hours ago Report Comment

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