Designer Advice: Pick The Right Swimsuit For Your Body Type

Summer has rolled in bringing with it our biggest, annual sartorial dilemma: picking the right swimwear. Well, fret no more, since we’ve got your swimwear woes taken care of for good. Swimwear and resort-wear designers Shivan Narresh and Dimple Varma, the creative head for Turquoise Gold (India’s first luxury designer resort and beachwear online portal) are tailor-made to help make these vexing decisions. To make the task simpler, they’re using the top trending styles for the season as references.

So, first things first. What’s in? “Surreal prints and a colour palette bursting with blues, terracotta, pink, electric greens and an emphasis on textural details such as leather fringes for pizzaz,” says Shivan, as Dimple adds, “Tropical inspiration is continuing to be a strong theme, both optimistic and adventurous”

Before marching into the know-how of picking the right style for the right body type, we ask the experts to shed light on another intimidating aspect of wearing a swimsuit: the confidence factor. Am I revealing more than I should? Are those curves carefully tucked in
The designer duo put those concerns to rest once and for all, stating, “Indian women probably have the most suited body-type for swimwear. For that confident look and feel, wear cuts that accentuate features such as legs, collar bones and upper abs or the under-bust.”

These are the golden rules for picking the right swimsuit per body type.

1. Pear Shape
Pear-shaped women are torso heavy. Shift the focus to long legs and beautiful shoulders, highlighting either of the two. Anything from a diagonal-cut maillot to a one shoulder or a boat neck is most recommended. In addition, colour blocking with high contrast colours would suit this body type. Support your bust and if fuller in this area, buy as you would when choosing lingerie. Underwire and slight padding work to give you a lift and a more youthful silhouette.

2. Curvy or Hourglass
Most Indian body types fit into this category and it is best suited for a swimsuit. Women with hourglass figures can pick bikinis to emphasise their waistlines, or a halter to underline the bust. Choose high-waisted bottoms and bralets as the roaring 60′s are back in a huge way. If you are slightly heavier on the bust, avoid bandeau tops as they don’t give much support.

3. Athletic
Women with an athletic frame should choose bikinis or trikinis. Usually blessed with strong and broad shoulders they have a parallel body type, hence, the idea is to give an illusion of a thinner waistline. Trikinis (a one piece with cut-outs at the waist) are the ideal option. Avoid halters and bandeau styles as these make the shoulders look broader.

4. Straight
Women with a straight body type should select necklines that help to accentuate the bust and create curves. Halter bandeaus and triangular bikinis work the best for them. A trikini would also be a great option as it gives an illusion of a lean curvy figure. Cut-outs at the midriff help the eye to presume a more slender waist.

Now that we committed this to memory, let’s take a look at what “not to do” while buying the ideal swimsuit. Dimple advises, “Don’t ever buy a swimsuit or bikini that is a size too small. There’s nothing worse than a style that cuts into you.” Shivan and Narresh opine, “Curvier women often misconceive the boy-short style to be slimming, while it only makes them look more stocky.”

There you go girls! You got all things going for picking that fabulous swimsuit and flaunting what you’ve got!

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