my everyday style: 3 tips for making swimsuit shopping bearable!

I love hanging out by the pool or beach in a swimsuit... seriously, I could do it for the rest of my life! But I'll be serious - I do NOT care for shopping for said swimsuits. It's just brutal! Am I alone? Sheesh, a girl doesn't have it easy on that front! I have a few tips that I use for shopping for swimsuits... that I will share in case you ever feel the same way:

My 3 tips for swimsuit shopping:

1) Always, always choose multiple sizes. It never fails I'll grab one size, go to try it on and it's too small and I just quit. Done-zo. Finito. I'm outta here! Give yourself options and then don't get too hung up on the actual size. If it feels good on, who cares what actual size it is!

2) Go for a mix of one-piece suits and bikinis. Some people say they will never wear a one-piece and others say they will never wear a bikini. Try them both! I like to have a good mix of both on hand for whatever the summer or spring break day holds and you may never know if it will be the "one" - the hanger is a terrible model, believe me! Try a few styles and be open to trying something new, you may just surprise yourself!

3) This is my own personal rule and may sound weird, but I never, EVER try a swimsuit on in the store. The lighting is terrible, you likely have a million layers on (I mean, who wants to take off all those layers in the middle of Target!?!?) and you may not be in the right mindset. I know from experience that one bad try-on session can really leave a dent in my mental well being. I take everything home, wait until the house is mostly quiet and calm (when the kids are at school is best) then I try them all on. Usually I will weed out the definite "no's" and then show my husband the "maybe's" and then whittle it down that way. Then everything that doesn't fit goes back to the store and I just got to choose a suit in the comfort of my own home.

How do you make swim shopping more bearable!?!? I would love your tips! Seriously!

Now let's talk about this poolside look, shall we!?!? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a good one piece... and I found this lace up cutie for less than $40 (and it's available in a few colors) - just FYI, I went up a size mostly because I tend to have not a long torso, but an 'almost' long torso. Oh, bathing suits sure like to keep it interesting, don't they. haha! But can we talk about this amazing swim cover up!?!? Another great budget buy and it's crazy soft... I can already tell this is going to be a lifesaver for those beach days when you've gotten a little bit too much sun already - oops! - but you are no quitter so you're not going home but covering up instead. Am I the only one that has that!?!?

Also I know you all are going to want deets on these shorts and I have good news and bad news... the bad news is they are from last season, the good news is I found a similar pair. And if you are new around here, I will let you in on my denim-shorts-for-moms tip... I always go UP a size to give them a slouchier fit. No butt cheeks hanging out allowed in these parts! Ahem.