How I Stay Confident in Swimwear
I recently returned from a vacation in Oahu! I had the best time exploring the island for a week with some of my closest friends. If you haven’t checked out my Oahu Guide with my Top 5 Can’t miss spots or my 3 minute Oahu Montage Video definitely give those a look.
Anyways, of course with any beach getaway comes the inevitable shopping for a bathing suit. As a younger plus-size girl, moments like these would be ones I absolutely dreaded. Swimsuit shopping was a time where I was faced to show off parts of my body I would spend all year hiding.
Now, as a young adult, and after really focusing on building this skill we call confidence, it’s something I really look forward to! I couldn’t wait to get on the beach and show off my bikini body (aka, my body in a bikini) I know that the feeling isn’t mutual for everyone, so I’m sharing a few tips that helped me start to become more confident in myself when it comes to wearing two-pieces at the beach.
1. Find a cut or color you love
One of the reasons I look forward to sporting my beachwear is because I LOVE the way it looks! While plus size fashion is making strides, it’s still got a long way to go and swimwear is a place that can really be lacking. I’m grateful to places like Swimsuits for All or even ASOS for providing chic, affordable pieces (Like the ones pictured) that I feel confident wearing on the beach. It might take some digging, but I encourage you to check out some online fashion retailers who most likely have SOMETHING you will be drawn to. If you don’t love it off of the beach you won’t be excited to wear it on the beach, so get searching!
2. Try something new + Try something on!
After I receive my adorable swimwear in the mail, I always try it on. It might look great on the model, but that was one photo. I want to make sure it looks and feels right on me. Because I know not everything makes it past the try-on stage, sometimes I will take that opportunity to also get 1-2 new and different pieces that I maybe wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Experimenting with styles and cuts has lead me to some of my favorite clothing items, not just swimsuits. When it comes to clothes, it’s so worth it to play around and test things out!
3. Use Positive self affirmations
As cheesy as it might sound to look at yourself in the mirror and talk about how wonderful you are, that shit really works! Positive affirmations are something that people have been using forever. It’s a way to take a moment for yourself to remind you that you truly are special! Here’s the cool part: It doesn’t always have to look like you standing in front of a mirror professing a monologue to your reflection, it can happen in little ways too! An example of how I like to practice SA’s? Sometimes while taking photos I’ll fixate on the parts of my body that look great! “Dang my smile is looking bright!” “Oh, yes legs! Looking long today!” As an exercise for yourself I challenge you to take a look at your 3 most recent photos of yourself and point out 2 things in each photo that reflect something positive. Trust me when I say, it will become a habit!
4. Step out of the Spotlight
Have you ever heard of the Spotlight Effect? That annoying thing that your brain does where it makes us believe that others notice us and our actions much more than they really do. It has a term and it really comes full force in certain situations, especially in a beach setting where you feel more exposed than normal.
Because we tend to magnify our own insecurities, we feel that everyone else doing the same. However, the reality is: No one truly cares! If anything, your confidence will say more about you than any ”chubby” body part or bit of cellulite ever would. When you are confident in who you are, everyone around you can feel it, they gravitate toward it. So try your best to get out of your own head, you will thank yourself for it!
That’s it for this post! Thank you for reading, I hope this helped you even a little bit on your journey to gaining confidence! As always, feel free to connect with me via Instagram! I post even more Self-Love content over there and would love to continue the discussion with you.
-C
Instagram: @hey.candace
