Swimsuit shopping

It's almost time for summer! No school. Sunny days. Bike rides. Picnics. Beaches. Pools.

If you haven't gone swimsuit shopping yet, now's the time to hit the stores (sooner is always better than later). But before you spend days searching for the perfect, modest (according to therebelution.com/ModestySurvey) swimsuit, take a look at these stores (the names are links to where you can buy the suits). They are sorted by modesty grade.

SwimModest
Style: A-
These swimsuits are, for the most part, in prints and styles that are amazingly trendy while staying modest. The downside is that there is not a huge variety of prints, so if you don't like floral prints (which happen to be very in-style right now), you don't have much to choose from.

Modesty: A+
These swimsuits could practically double as normal outfits.

Price: D
Ladies' swimsuits cost $75, unless you fit into a $50 girls' size. Better than expensive stores, but still quite a lot.

Overall grade: C
It's worthwhile, if you can swing the cost...but if you decide not to pay $75 for a swimsuit, I don't blame you.





Upstream Girl

Style: A-
Pants, shirts, and skirts are available in floral prints. They're really cute and really in-style.

Modesty: A+
Upstream Girls' swimsuits could be worn as normal outfits.

Price: B
Prices are a little less than double department store prices, at about $20 for a bottom and the same for a top...but believe me, it's worth it.

Overall grade: A-
These are some of the most cost-effective very modest swimsuits available!





Dillard's Swimwear

Style: A+
Whether you're looking for a one-piece, one-piece dress, or two-piece, Dillards has your style, print, and cut. They're pretty snazzy, too.

Modesty: A-
For a secular store, their modesty is superb--from long swim shorts to skirts to dresses, to tops that come to your collarbone, these swim outfits are definitely as modest as you can expect outside a Christian setting.

Price: F
The pictured swimsuit is $60, and that's about normal. Some get up to over $100; I noticed one that was over $200!

Overall grade: C+
A great union of modesty, style, and try-on opportunity (you don't have to order these online--you can go to the store and see if you like how they fit); that is, for those who can afford the suits.

Kohl's Swimwear

Style: C
Modest swimsuits come in just one style: halter-top shorts-bottom two-pieces. And with fewer prints than you have fingers, Kohl's drops the style meter waaaay low. However, they're not devoid of style, so they're worth a look.

Modesty: B
Halter tops, low backs, plunging v-necks, and short short shorts characterize junior swimsuits, but they're much more modest than many suits...women's suits have a little more modesty on top than juniors, and a few of the bottoms are more modest than junior bottoms as well. Overall, it's not ideal, but it's much better than most (getting a pair of long swim shorts to wear would probably be the next step after shopping at Kohl's)

Price: A+
If you'd like an affordable swimsuit, Kohl's is the place to go. They have a sale going on right now, so swimsuits are about $20 for an entire suit (both pieces)

Overall grade: A
Not as immodest as many; not as modest as some; definitely a good price. You decide.

Nordstrom's SwimShop
Style: C
In immodest, they have great style. In modest...not so much.

Modesty: B-
They do have modest items, and some of their skirts are much longer than other stores' skirts, but they don't have a great selection.

Price: D-
Well, they're not as pricey as Dillard's, but many of their suits are $100+...so they're still pretty "up there."

Overall grade: C
Without much selection, and with high prices, Nordstrom's stands as yet another shop you might go without--if it weren't for the fact that the few modest pieces they have are, for the secular world, quite modest (though for Christians I'd say they were simply "acceptable")


So there you have it--now go out and buy a suit! ;) Keep safe, keep modest, and have fun this summer! :)
God bless!