I was looking in the mirror, and instead of feeling confident about how I looked, I felt horrible and disgusted. Millions of insults popped into my head, about myself. Do my legs really look this big? Why does my stomach look all bulgy? Why does this top make my breasts non-existent?
Just a few minutes before, I was walking confidently into the Gallery’s Victoria Secret with my boyfriend. I had carefully picked out bathing suit bottoms and tops that I felt would look great on my body. With my boyfriend by my side I was able to pick pretty patterns that he thought would look great on me. I was excited to be trying on some new things, and waited confidently in line before it was my turn to go back into the dressing room. My boyfriend wasn’t allowed to come back with me, but he waited outside the dressing room while I tried on my bottoms and tops.
My confidence went to disgust about 5 seconds after putting on the first bathing suit. I just wanted to cry, looking at myself in front of that mirror. The crazy part is, I am usually very confident about the way I look in most of my clothing. So, instead of blaming myself, or any clothing store, or just making any excuse in general, I’m going to make a list of steps to help any girl who may feel the same way as me when trying on bathing suits.
Rule #1: ALWAYS bring a friend or a significant other with you. Bathing suit shopping can be done alone, but having a friend there can definitely increase your confidence. Why, you must ask? A friend will always be there to point out the things that you don’t see, like how amazing your curves look, or that the color of the bathing suit brings out your skin tone. If you can’t see how great you look, a friend will be able to point out that you do. Her advice will enable you to see your body differently, and you’ll then be able to see the good things, not the bad things about your body.
Rule #2: Choose bathing suits that you know will look great on your body, not the ones that won’t. When shopping, I had picked a top that I thought would look great on my body, only to find out that it looked horrible. I realized that I should do more research on what type of bathing suits would look good on small-breasted women (like me) and now know what is best for my body type. Doing research before bathing suit shopping, or simple trial-and-error can lead you to knowing exactly what you want when shopping.
Rule #3: Remember that lighting sucks in changing rooms! Do you really think that the sun brings out fluorescent lighting when summer comes along? No. So remember that how the bathing suit looks in a changing room is completely different than on the beach or at the pool. Unfortunately, fluorescent lighting brings out things that you don’t want to see in the mirror. However, you should remind yourself that you are beautiful no matter what, that you can rock the bathing suit your trying on, and that you won’t let the stupid lighting in that changing room change your mind about how awesome you look.
Rule #4: Ignore the ads and photos of models while shopping for bathing suits. Yes, we all know that models are gorgeous and flawless, but they are human. First, they are paid to look beautiful and work out all the time. It is great that they are doing this for themselves, but as college students many of us don’t have the time to work out 24/7. Another point, even though these women are beautiful without being enhanced, their photos are edited like crazy! Photoshop and airbrushing techniques are used constantly on these women to make them look flawless and perfect. However, everyone has flaws and I think it would be good for every girl to remember that those photos are not the real deal. Remember that every girl has something beautiful about herself, and that they don’t need photo editing and enhancement to be beautiful, so love yourself for being you.
Rule #5: Go bathing suit shopping when you feel your best. Don’t go right after eating a bacon cheddar cheeseburger and fries, you’ll feel bloated, tired and won’t be happy while shopping. Go shopping right after acing a test, or after working out. You will feel much better not only about you body, but your overall self. Shopping when happy boosts your confidence and allows you to notice the good things versus the bad things about your body. Make sure you do this, so you don’t end up judging yourself too hard, allow yourself time to consider the pros not the cons.
By following these rules you will not only be able to buy awesome bathing suits that look great on your body, but you’ll also be able to feel confident and happy with yourself! Bathing suit shopping should help gain self-esteem, not lower it. So take the pledge to follow these rules! By doing so you are leading yourself to what’s most important, a happier you.