Last summer a friend of mine showed up to the beach in a really good bathing suit. It fit her extraordinarily well, and when I asked her where she got it, I thought it had to be expensive — most nice bathing suits tend to hit the $80–$100 mark.
But she just answered: Amazon. The same site that sells everything from scissors to seltzer was the last place I would attempt to seek out a cheap bathing suit, but after doing some investigating, I’ve found plenty of trendy suits that don’t break the bank.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: Everyone’s body is complicated, so if you’re wondering, I do not have the type of body that would make string bikini bottoms and a bandeau top work. I discovered, though, that many of the bathing suit vendors on Amazon have sizing that goes from XS up to 18 (and sometimes even beyond). I found plenty that look great on my normal (even plus-sized!) body, and now I’m sharing them with you.
Super simple, and for an unbeatable price you’ll get flattering bottoms and a somewhat supportive top. Just make sure you check the sizing, because it’s slightly tricky. I bought two sizes and kept the one that fit the best — I’d say it runs a bit small. (And they didn’t quite break the bank at $10 a pop.)
When I’m feeling something a bit more colorful, I go for these high-waisted bottoms paired with a halter top. Check the comments for photos, to see how the suit fits other people around your size for a sense of how it might look.
This one may seem a little low-key, but it got me a lot of compliments over Memorial Day weekend.
I was immediately attracted to the flower pattern, but I ended up also loving the way this vintage silhouette fit.
My latest purchase, and I am obsessed. This suit has all things a $23 bathing suit from Amazon should: It’s flashy, on-trend and, yes, I even had to re-sew those lil boob straps a little tighter so that they weren’t flopping around. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it fits great and the “night” pattern is fantastic.
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