If You Show Me Yours...by AMY

(So you don't get bored of us, every week we post something sent to us by a reader or coerced out of friends and family. Could be a question, a letter, a poll, a picture...we're flexible. See below for this week's If You Show Me Yours post, and see the sidebar for info about how to participate!)

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Hi ladies!

First, I'm a huge fan of your blog, and I'm so glad it's out there!

Now, my question: I have an 18-month-old, delivered by C-section. I am now facing a trip to the beach, which is exciting, yet scary. I have managed to avoid wearing a swimming suit since I had my daughter and the bikinis (bought at Target for $30) I wore back when I had abdominal muscles simply will not cut it anymore.

What do I do? Wear a one-piece? I picture those as hopelessly frumpy, but there have to be options beyond those with skirts or those that professional swimmers wear. Your children are older than mine, so I'm hoping you can offer some advice in this area. We all can't look like Heidi Klum or Padma Lakshmi!

Oh, and if it helps, Jess, I think my body is more like yours - I'm about 5'8" and 150 lbs. (fighting to lose those last 10 pounds...)

Thanks!

Amy

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Dear Amy,

We hear you, sister. The post-baby beach experience is not super fun, what with all those teenagers prancing around. But their time will come (and since ours has clearly arrived!) let me reassure you that are definitely some options to get you to the sand.

Denise and I, as much discussed, have different body issues, but since she's on vacation I get to be the one to tackle this issue, pictures and all.

So - like you, I'm 5'8" and weigh about 140 pounds. I never had a kickin' stomach, but my abs reacted to pregnancy by totally giving up the ghost. I always look about 4 months pregnant, so bikinis have been off the table for me as well.

With bikinis gone, I looked into monokinis, which sounded like an interesting middle ground. Regard:

It's like the most heinous cross between the bad parts of a bikini and the bad parts of a one-piece. Teenager-wear. Avoid like the plague. Moving on.

Then I tried a one-piece, which Denise wears with great style. I think this can be a lovely option, though you have to be willing to spend some dollars to get a good one. Target has pretty boring ones, but these from J.Crew, $80 each, are not at all professional swim-wear. I think the trick may be in the unusual necklines and shirred details on the body:

But then, I discovered the magic of the tankini, that wonderful cross between a bikini and a one-piece, and I had my new post-baby beach style. There are a few tricks to getting them to work for you. The most significant is sussing out the tops that are LONG. Lots of them, particularly at J.Crew, stop right below the belly button, which for me is a no-go. You all know my love-hate with Target, but they do it right when it comes to tankini tops that don't cling and are long.

(Oh man...I did add pictures. It seemed wussy not to. So here they are.)

Big lesson with this one - large patterns and good necklines make your difficult parts look smaller, or less noticeable, or something. This was a Target find for about $30.

It is unusual that I buy a set, though. Bottoms that don't go with everything irk me, so I have a million black bikini bottoms. I'm a big fan of the J. Crew ones that tie at the side - I do NOT like tight bottoms...muffin top...whole other post.

So buy a bunch of bottoms in your favorite color, then you can more judiciously find tops that are interesting, fit well, and are fairly cheap. Every top I own comes from Target, though Old Navy has a few good ones, too. I think Gap bathing suits are terribly boring, and anything beyond that is too expensive for to pay for a suit.

I put this last one in for some humility...this is actually a top I wear regularly, and it turns out to look bad. Why? It's too tight, and not flattering in the bust. Black is usually quite slimming, but not if it's painted on like spandex. And it's good to accentuate whatever you've got goin' on, like your bust or your butt or whatever it is, which I am really not doing here. So, lesson learned.

There you go! Hope it helps - let us know if you find anything fabulous.

Jess and Denise