WARNING: If you are a man, reading this post may elicit certain… excitement. Read at your own risk.
thetimeisright.com
Guess what? It’s summer and I’m almost 50. Translation: Must I really get into a bathing suit? This is the dreaded question we all ask as the days get warmer, the nights get longer, the grills are ‘a cooking and the water is glistening. Damn, is it that time again?
It’s not like we don’t have 9 months to prepare for this inevitable event. We know it’s coming. We can mold and sculpt our bodies in preparation for the big reveal. But, who the hell wants to do that?
After summer has passed, we welcome the fall with open arms. We can cover up our skin more, eat apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream (my fave) and all the other seasonal autumn (starchy) foods. Then, we gorge during the holidays, to then fail at our new resolutions we set on January 1st and gorge some more to keep warm during the winter months (at least that’s my excuse).
At a blink of an eye, May rolls around and….SH@&*!!! It’s here again. Darn Summer.
Don’t get me wrong, I love summer. Everything about it EXCEPT for the bathing suit part (oh and the mosquitos).
Well, I found myself bathing suit shopping this past weekend. There were racks upon racks of vibrant shiny sexy wear, for all shapes and sizes.
< These two were my favorites. Especially the patriotic monokini, just in time for July 4th!
You wouldn’t believe the ingenious marketing that takes place to sell these tiny pieces of lycra. Slenderizing. Miraclesuit. Spanx-Slimming. Contour. Control Top. Look 10 lbs slimmer. Color contrast to give the illusion of slimness.
The sad thing is that I believed it and fell for it. I marched right over to the fitting room, cart chock full of miracles, to be tried on. Thank God for the fitting room’s special mirrors they have for our benefit – although my paleness blinded me as I looked to see how the suits looked. Shoot, I forgot to shave! I had to pretend that it wasn’t Chewbacca staring back at me.
Boy do I hate this process. Time and time again you must look at your….flaws as you wiggle your way into the too small of a size suit – because you refuse to believe that you are truly, two sizes larger. Fun times!
As I struggled with straps, belts, buckles and cups, I yearned for older days. The days when this was the style:
missstan.com
fashionera.com
I was wishing I could find this suit below, so as to scare away any eyes that would decide to wander over to my less than perfect body. Stay Away!
It was looking like this style was fitting me the best= 
After all, look at how happy and carefree and flowy the models look.
I frankly think, the bathing suit that has fit me the absolute BEST throughout my whole bathing suit career, has been this baby below. Not too tight or loose. The perfect colors for my skin type and quite flattering, wouldn’t you agree?
Well, I am now not so happy to report that I walked out of the store, the proud owner of not one, not two but three skirted suits. Yes, I said skirted. 
(God Have Mercy on Me). Three, because I could not stand looking at myself in the small claustrophobic dressing room mirror any longer and could not decide which lucky suit would come home with me.
I now get to have a fashion show in the privacy of my own messy room to decide which one, is the winner. Sigh.
I laughed the whole way through this. *wipes eyes*
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Glad I could provide a laugh for you, Nia. I tried debuting the new skirted suit the other day but ended up keeping my cover-up on the whole time. Oh well… 🙂
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I understand. In reality, nobody else really cares about what our bodies look like. They just want to have fun and go for a swim with us. 😉
I hope you enjoy the heck out of your summer. And remember, “Eat, Drink and Be Merry!” Because having fun and enjoying life are worth a lot more than perfection.
(I’m the same way, though. It’s hard for me to EDBM because I’m a tad driven.) But sometimes I go for a splash, enjoy myself, and create wonderful memories I long for over the winter months.
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I vote for the black and white stripped suit. It has a great retro vibe and would look fabulous with a big pair of white sunglasses and red lipstick.
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Ooooh! Great advice! With red sandals too. Unfortunately, the horizontal stripes did not do me any favors. 🙂 I had to go for the blue one – but I’ll still be wearing my bright red lipstick.
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They are all three so stylish, but I like the one on the right. You should consider keeping all three, not only are they popular, they are nice looking suits. I’ll enjoy the follow up post about what you chose.
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Thanks! I’ve been avoiding doing the fashion show so tomorrow will be the big day. Hee,hee.
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This post made me laugh out loud. And since the title of your comments section is “let it all hang out . . .” well, that describes me in a swimsuit. I would love the suit with the shark!!! 😀
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Thanks, L.Marie! I hear you about the letting it all hang out, and I don’t mean the brick house. The shark suit would be perfect for us. 🙂
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Hmmmmm. I like them all. The striped one looks like a tankini. Very trendy. And the two on the right should make your skin glow! Good luck. You need to think like the Germans. They don’t give a S@#$ what they wear! 🙂
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Hey, Shelley! Don’t know about my skin glowing…the paleness is blinding, but glowing? I should think like the Germans! Good idea. 🙂
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I’m with you – I love summer – but in the privacy of my backyard where no one else can see me in my bathing suit. I have a skirted tankini which seems okay – but really no one looks like the pictures of any of the swimsuit models (skirted or bikini)
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I’m thinking of ordering the Shark suit, Pam! 🙂
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You bought three, now you have to wear them all.
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I don’t know if I can handle 3 skirted suits! hee,hee
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The striped one gets my vote. It’s actually quite cute…sorry.
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That’s ok. They make the skirted ones pretty fashionable and cute now a days. 🙂
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HEY! Embrace the skirt… LOVE the skirt! That little striped number on the left is super-cute!!! Swimming to your 50s never looked so good-n-skirty!
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Thanks, Lee! The problem with stripes is that they show a little too much. 🙂 I’ll try them all on again. 🙂
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The ones you bought are cute! I wish it was summer here, I’m feeling quite jealous!
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I do love summer, minus the suit thing. 🙂
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The striped one – very 50s – love it!
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That one seems to be getting the most votes. 🙂
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I hope you’ll post an update with your final choice, Maria. Having just flaunted my pot belly around a pool with a bunch of twenty-somethings, I don’t have any advice………
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Ay! That is rough. Although I doubt your pot belly matches mine. 🙂 I’ll let you know which one is the keeper.
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You talk about the “coming of summer” like I think about the coming of Christmas….
…just a thought and…only 6 months away…..
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You are right!!! Ugh!! Not Christmas – although long parkas are sounding good to me right now. 🙂
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I love your sense of humor, Maria! That shark suit is hilarious! I think you made some good choices; all three look cute. You were smart to bring them home; the lighting in the dressing rooms is hideous. Good luck with the final selection!
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Thanks, Jill! It was a torturous process. I’ll let you know which one is the winner, if any. 🙂
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So no fashion show? I love my little girls in their skirted suits. I guess i always will! ; )
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Sorry, no fashion show to share. Little girls look adorable in their skirted suits! If only…:)
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Excitement is not the response skirted bathing suits elicited from me.
Tho the 2 flowy models did make them look very cute.
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LOL! I thought the first picture would lure you in – for sure! 🙂
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My thunder thighs have appreciated skirted suits for years now.
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Ha! I should have been wearing skirted suits long ago. 🙂
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