How To Spice Up Your Swimwear This Summer

In recent years it has become more and more common to see women wearing mismatched swimwear on the beach or at the pool. The reasons for wearing mismatched swimsuits can vary, from simply having no other items on hand to wear, to just wanting to have some fun and make a statement and why not?

This year, why not get on board and choose your new swimsuits with the following tips in mind. If followed, these tips will ensure you stand out when wearing your swimming costumes at the beach or poolside. You may even inspire other women to let their hair down and encourage a bit of mismatching of their own.

1. Stripes don’t go with dots…or do they?

The answer to this question is, of course they go together! Whoever said they didn’t? The only thing you need to be careful about here is your colour scheme. Try to choose colours that complement each other, i.e. blue and pink, red and yellow, navy and red, and of course, strong and steady black which basically goes with any other colour. You can, of course, choose separate items for your top and bottom halves, or you can find many one piece costumes that now use this mixed pattern too.

Swimwear

Wearing stripes on your top half and polka dot bottoms, or vice versa, will give your swimming outfit a bit more life. You can also use the stripes/spots combination to your advantage. Horizontal stripes will make you look larger, so if you wish to emphasize your bust and minimise your hips, you can wear striped top and dotty bottoms. If you wish to minimise your chest and maximise hips, you just wear them the other way around.

2. Mismatched tops and bottoms

The swimsuit market first introduced separate tops and bottoms into stores because it enabled women to buy the costume they loved in the correct size, for instance, a size 12 bikini bottom, with a size 16 bikini top. However, it has now become a popular fashion statement for women to choose a variety of bikini tops and buy a variety of different bikini bottoms to go together.

Not only does doing this mean you have a greater choice of bikini to choose from but it also means you can team different styles of costume and colours together to better suit your body. For instance if you are small on top but larger on the bottom, you might want to choose a strapless bandeau top alongside some boy-short bottoms. Mismatched tops and bottoms gives you a lot more flexibility and means you can also ensure your own comfort and style.

3. Introducing skirts and shorts

One of the great things about not being forced to buy a complete set is that you have the ability to team up your separate purchases with whatever you want to wear. For instance, many women, when sunbathing or walking by the pool or on the beach, don’t actually want to completely strip off to just their bikini bottoms. Many prefer to just relax in their bikini top, whilst wearing matching shorts or a pretty skirt.

Without the pressure to buy both the top and bottom parts of the bikini or costume, you not only save money but don’t have the added pressure to strip off and show the bottom half of the swimsuit. Many women are self- conscious about their bottom half, so teaming bikini tops up with skirts and shorts that match is a simple and convenient way to maintain dignity and style when on holiday, without fear of looking out of place.

4. Animal prints with block colours

Another mismatched style very much worth trying out is buying a mixture of animal print tops and bottoms and teaming them up with tops and bottoms that are a single block colour. Animal prints are very in fashion right now, however, having an entire costume of animal print may be a bit too much. It’s therefore a good idea to keep animal print just on top or just on bottom, alongside a top or bottom of block colour, as this is friendlier on the eye and therefore more flattering to your body.

5. Neon and plain

Before trying out this style, it is important to check your body tone suits neon. You can get a huge variety of neon colours and they tend to suit darker skin tones, so lighter skin toned people need to beware, in case the neon colours leaves them looking a bit washed out.

With this in mind those with a darker tone may wish to try wearing bright greens, blues, yellows, pinks and oranges, alongside neutral, plain colours. This will certainly make you stand out and also complement your tan. Those with a lighter tone should look for neon separates that have a few splashes of darker colours (i.e. black), as this will break the neon up a bit. You can then choose another separate to complement the splashes in the neon.