The Great Swimsuit Search

I have a daughter close to age 13. She is tall and thin. She is no longer a little girl, but she is not all grown up either. She needs a new swimsuit. And I couldn't find one!

The girls' sized ones just don't fit her. They are too wide, but not long enough. The junior sizes are skimpy. Women's sizes are too big.

I spent hours searching all the major retailers online for an answer. I saw more tummies, and cleavage than I ever wanted to. I felt like I had been searching soft porn sites. It really made me sad to see how much we expose our young girls. I don't want that much skin revealed on my daughter.

What are we saying to our young women when we only market to them clothing that doesn't cover them modestly. Do we really want them to show their bodies off like that?

I want my daughter to have a healthy view of her body, but I also want her to feel respected and valued beyond her body. I want her to dress comfortably and confidently. We were at a waterpark recently and so many of the young girls in their skimpy suits were pulling and tugging to keep the suit in place. It was embarrassing all around. The attention they got wasn't all positive. I felt sorry for them.

We did finally find some more modest swimsuits and they were expensive! But what choice did I have?

What we finally did was try on every top in every store that had swimsuits (tiring!) until we found something we could tolerate and almost like... :-) We even went back to stores more than once. we finally found a ladies' top in a small or extra small and then we took it to the girls department and found some athletic shorts that went with the colors in the top. We purchased some expensive liner type quick drying underwear for underneath and put it all together to create our own suit. It works, was way more than I wanted to pay, but she can be sure of the fit and comfort. Hope it lasts all summer! But I am guessing she will need another one before summer's end...