Summer half-term is like a seasonal consumer groundhog day for me. I inevitably find myself in one of those large cheap shopping emporiums like Matalan with my daughter and the reason we’re there is to buy a new swimming costume.
For a girl of fourteen there are no swimming costumes. The girls section is hyper-sexualised and frightening and only goes up to age thirteen anyway. The adult section is just awful; garish, fussy and ‘glamorous.’ As she is in the changing-rooms trying on the pair of shorts we didn’t come in for, I find two costumes that look the most normal and take them in for her, and she comes out shaking her head. We leave with a pair of leggings she really did need.
‘That was a long way to drive for a pair of leggings,’ I say on the way home.
‘Yeah,’ she says. She looks a bit down, as I would if I had just tried on a pair of shorts and two swimming costumes.
I have a sudden overwhelming sense of sadness turning to fury that maybe she too will find this one of the most depressing parts of her life from now on.
‘I don’t get it,’ I said, ‘I don’t want to look glamorous on the beach. It’s not a night out. I only want to lie around on the beach reading, and swim in the sea. I don’t want to Look Sexy. Why do they design swimming costumes to make you look like you’re out for a night on the pull.’
She giggled.
‘And the sizes!’ I continued, fuming now, ‘nothing ever fits me. I have what is known as a ‘long torso’ so if I buy my usual size it bloody slices me up the middle, and I have to go two sizes bigger to get the length, in which case the costume comes with two huge tit-buckets which just make my breasts shrink further in embarrassment.’
She laughed.
‘That’s why I wear bikinis,’ I said, ‘because at least nowadays you can mix and match and buy a size 12 bottom and a size 8 top. And get a tankini thing to wear over the top. But what I really want is a baggy long costume that covers up my bum and thighs – like what boys get to wear on the beach.’
‘Yeah,’ she said.
‘I really don’t know why no cool hip young design team has done that for women yet,’ I said, ‘because in most areas of life, in the contest between feeling ‘sexy’ or feeling ‘cool,’ I think ‘cool’ generally comes out on top. In normal life, when you’re just, you know, living.’
‘Oh yes!!’ she said.
My daughter has a talent for design and loves to make things from scraps of material. When, in a few year’s time, that hip young design team presents their first collection of cool beachwear for girls, remember you heard it here first.
Jody
Great blog, I have s similar problem so always opt for vintage styles as I too like to cover my bum up but think they look pretty cool. The bikinis from here have a kind of pencil skirt that can be height adjusted – bought one lest year and very useful! Good luck in your quest! http://www.kissmedeadly.co.uk/shop/category/371/swim
Stephanie Davies-Arai
Thank you so much!! I’m off to check the website now! 🙂
Joanne Mallon (@joannemallon)
I had exactly the same trauma trying to find a swimsuit for my fourteen-year-old recently. You’re right, it’s so hard to find anything that’s either not too babyish or too adult. The only way I could think of to go was down the sports route, because sports swimsuits tend to be much more functional. We ended up with this one which was deemed acceptable because the roses are a bit Cath Kidston and the shape is quite 1950s http://www.peacocks.co.uk/lds-swimsuit-control-printed-dark-blue.html Even then I’m not totally happy that my teen has ended up in something featuring ‘tummy control’ but then brands seem to think that we all want that these days.
Stephanie Davies-Arai
Thank you! This is so helpful 🙂