Products made in India, sport my new "Fashion Tiger" label and those made in Illinois, my traditional "Mrs. Emily" label. 

Putting in the work pays off.

What I've found, is that when I don't feel good about myself, I start focusing inward, and only think about me. But when I'm feeling confident, my focus turns outward and I am able to enjoy myself and think of other people. This has been a really helpful realization as a mom, at the pool, because I want to have fun with my girl, and I can't do that if I'm wrestling with being self-conscious.

Knowing I'd be spending a lot of time at the pool this summer, I prioritized buying a suit when thinking about my monthly wardrobe budget. And knowing that the right swimming suit can make a huge difference, I spent my time and looked at/tried probably near 50, both online and in store. This may seem a little crazy, but it was so worth it. Because the 50th suit I tried, look at that! It was lovely!

There are infinite body types out there and infinite suits. And first I was trying what looked super cute on other people (or the version of me that exists in my head) and then being disappointed when those suits didn't look good on me. When I expanded my search to include all the suits, and just started trying a million different fits, I found that certain things looked better than others.

I'm not sure if specifics are helpful, but they might be: I was trying one piece suits, thinking the more coverage, the better, like the illustration above. But they worked like a dress that was too tight and showed every lump and bump. When I started trying on (the right kind of) 2-pieces, I was very surprised that they were more flattering.

For me, the halter top offers a lot of coverage, which for a smaller-chested lass, is great. As for the bottoms, I've been a big fan of the high-rise vintage style for a long time but I actually have found them to be really difficult to wear, because they make my rump look like it's reallllly tall. A lower rise bottom worked better on me.

I spent a little extra effort and figured out a cover-up solution that worked with my suit too, because I know the getting to the pool and the coming home from the pool sometimes includes a stop at the local ice creamery or perhaps, less exciting, the grocery store. In my case, a cover up was as easy as digging in my closet to find a high-waist skirt (notice that it's black and white? read more about that trick here), throwing it over my suit and VOILA! 

My epic-suit-search is such a good illustration of the effort needed in tending a closet. There's some natural artistic feel to this fashion stuff, sure, but more than that, it's just plain going to every store and trying tons on. It's like any other learned skill, it's about the time you spend practicing. You get back what you put in.

If you spend the time and effort finding a suit that flatters, then it gives you a boost of confidence so you can get out there, enjoy some pool time, and more importantly, enjoy your family and friends.  

You're such a lovely thing. 
XO
Mrs. Emily

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