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Summer Swimwear Trends for 2015

Summer is fast approaching, and you know what that means. BATHING SUIT WEATHER!

I am pretty persnickety about my bathing suits. I want a good quality suit that covers what should be covered and supports what needs to be supported. You know what I mean, yes???

Lands' End Swimwear for Women

I have a few go-to places where I always buy our family’s swimwear. Lands’ End is always the first place I look. I usually get my kids’ swimsuits either there or at Kohl’s. For my suits, I have been most successful in recent years at Title Nine and Athleta.

Right now Lands’ End is running a 30% off sale on all of their Swim department. This is an awesome time to stock up! (I also love their beach towels and beach bags.)

Lands’ End has the quality I love, and this year I’m pleased to see more variety in their women’s bathing suit styles than ever before. They have a myriad of style solutions for various body shapes including high-waist tummy control bottoms, modest swim shorts, cute skirts, and tops that provide support and enhancement, depending on what you need.

As a mom with adolescent girls, I also love Lands’ End suits for their modest kids’ styles. My girls love them too. The suits they wore in Arizona were from Lands’ End last year, and they are both asking me to order more.

So what ARE the swimwear trends this year? Let’s discuss.

Swimwear for Women

Let’s start with swimwear for women. More specifically, I’m talking to moms like me who are probably starting to see the effects of gravity and might want a little extra help from their swimwear.

2015 Swimsuit Trend for Moms

A few years ago, when tankinis and skirted bathing suits became a thing, I fell in love. I thought they were cute and fashion forward, and I loved the coverage they provided. Fast forward a few years to 2015, and the skirted tankini suit has become a bit of a mom uniform. It used to be cute, but nowadays it seems to be a bit of a copout. HOWEVER. I’m not ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I think skirted swimsuits can be cute IF they are designed in a way that is fashion forward. Hint: no voluminous black skirts, please!!

This Adjustable Mini SwimMini Swim Skirt with Tummy Control from Lands’ End’s Beach Living collection is perfect. It provides just enough coverage without being frumpy, and it also has the added benefit of tummy control. The tie on the side makes it look almost look you slipped it on as a coverup.

Women's Beach Living Adjustable Mini SwimMini Swim Skirt with Tummy Control

If you’re still worried about looking frumpy in a skirted swimsuit, try to find a swim skirt in a print, rather than a solid color.

mini swim mini

My only question is, if it doesn’t come high enough to cover the tummy, how does it control it? I guess you’d need to pair it with one of their tankini tops with tummy control. They have a lot of options for tops with tummy control, and they offer plus sizes as well.

Women's Beach Living Adjustable Scoop Tankini Swimsuit Top with Tummy Control

Now, let’s stop right here and talk about those polka dot boy short swimsuit bottoms. I LOVE THOSE!

Boy short swimsuits are my new favorite, and they are my solution to the possibly frumpy swim skirt. When I was running, I went back to wearing regular bikini bottoms, but right now I’d prefer to have a bit more coverage. These bottoms are the perfect marriage of modesty and style, in my opinion.

In fact, I stepped out of my comfort zone and posted my new swimsuit in my Daily Mom Style post this week. This suit is actually from Title Nine, another one of my go-to swimsuit retailers. Unfortunately they rarely run sales, and they charge for shipping, but I suck it up because I really love their swimsuit tankini tops with the built-in bras.

Title Nine Swimsuit with Boy Shorts

Lands’ End also has boy shorts for women in solid colors, if you want to order a pair to go with a top you already have.

If you REALLY want tummy support, take a look at their ultra high waist bikini bottoms. I have been saying for YEARS that a brand should make something like this!!!

Ultra High Waist Bikini Bottoms

Looking for a top with a bit more coverage on top? I love the cut of this Scoopneck Tankini Swimsuit Top, and the print (Colorful Island Batik Strip) is super cute. I just wish it had the underwire bra cups in it. Those are a must for me.

Women's Beach Living Scoopneck Tankini Swimsuit Top - Colorful Island Batik Strip

One-piece suits are also a nice choice, and they are becoming more and more popular again. The secret to making a one-piece not-so-frumpy is to go for a fun print, and then, of course, make sure the fit is perfect. I love the orange trim on this navy-and-white printed suit.

Women's Tugless Tank Soft Cup One Piece Swimsuit

Their Slender Suits help hold everything in where it’s supposed to be, giving you added confidence.

Women's Slender Grecian One Piece Swimsuit - Crystal Paisley

They also have a wide selection of rash guards and coverups.

As for the kids . . .

Swimsuits for Girls

The older girls get, the harder it is to find modest, age-appropriate suits that are affordable. I did okay at Kohl’s last year for my girls, but at the end of the season, I purchased a Lands’ End swimsuit for each of them. I absolutely love the quality and the styles of those suits, so I am taking advantage of this sale to get them each a couple more.

2015 Swimsuit Trends for Girls

My 12-year-old daughter liked my boyshorts so much when she saw me wearing them in Arizona that she asked to have some of her own. I checked Lands’ End, and I was thrilled to find this adorable tankini swimsuit with boy shorts. It comes in a pink pattern as well, which is nice because my girls never want to match. I ordered one of each so each of my daughters can have one.

Lands' End Girls' Smart Swim™ Boyshort Two Piece Tankini

Like all of Land’ End’s kids’ suits, it is made with quick-to-dry fabric, modesty linings, and a UPF rating of 50 (the highest possible) so harmful UV rays are blocked.

Here’s another really cute set for girls. I like the higher neckline for modesty.

Lands' End Girls' Sea Garden Floral Tankini Set

If your daughter prefers a one-piece swimsuit, they have a ton of those as well. I like how they offer styles with skirts for those who prefer a more modest suit for their girls.

Girls' Smart Swim™ Skirted One Piece Swimsuit

As well as more traditional styles.

Girls' Anchors Away Tie Back One Piece Swimsuit

Swimsuits for men and boys at Lands’ End are also included in the 30% off sale, as well as beach towels, rash guards & cover-ups, water shoes & sandals, and totes & beach bags.

Another place I always check out is Athleta. They also offer bra-sized swim tops, swim shorts, and on-trend one-piece styles.

Athleta Luminate One Piece Swimsuit for Women

I’ve never been gutsy enough to wear a bikini, but if you’ve got the body for it, there are tons of cute styles to choose from at all three of these online retail outlets.

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Join The Conversation

15 Responses

  1. Jolynne.
    I am really surprised to see that you would use the first picture of the 3 girls on the beach with the stick figures. As women in today’s society we are trying to promote health and positive self image and you choose a picture like that. I have 2 girls who are now in their 20’s but both of them suffered from eating disorders just to “measure up” to girls like that. So disappointed.

    1. Hi Leslie. As for the picture choice, I just grabbed it off the Lands End swim page. I didn’t think twice about it. I can understand, if you have loved ones who suffer from eating disorders, how that picture might make conjure up different feelings than it does the rest of us, but I think we need to be careful with these kinds of comments. I have a friend who is a “stick figure” as you call it – not because she has an eating disorder, but that is the way God made her. In fact, she is very self-conscious about it because of the assumptions people make. Thin shaming is just as hurtful as fat shaming; it’s just more PC, but it needs to stop. I think we need to realize that health and positive self image comes in all sizes.

      That said, I do wish magazines and catalogs would feature a group of women like the one in this post in a variety of sizes, rather than the one-size-fits-all as in this picture. Hopefully we will get there some day.

      1. Jo and Leslie,

        There are many other diseases that make people thin; and many times this is the way God made you. I’m so grateful to see Jo’s comment. The comments are hurtful on both sides of the fence.

        Jo, I love the boyshorts/boardshorts. They are hard to find at times. I like to have a very modest, but sporty suit and I have a small frame. I’ve even strolled into the boy’s section and grabbed their boys trunks on occasion and just paired it with a cute tankini. My husband just laughs. Thank you for the link up. Blessings to you.

      2. Totally agree, Jo-Lynne! You’ve seen a picture of my daughter. She’s 5’11”, weighs 120 lbs, AND she’s in ballet, so people automatically assume she’s not eating. Her bones show everywhere, but you should see her eat! She can out -eat her teen brother any day. We all have to stop the judging!

      3. Very well said Jo-Lynne! As someone who could never gain weight no matter what I did or how much I ate I find it very insensitive to use terms like stick figure. Growing up and even as an adult I was very self-conscious about being so thin and not being able to do anything about it. Comments like these only made it worse for me! It goes both ways , don’t complain about body shaming and do it yourself!
        Love your blog, by the way.

  2. Your pictures are fine.

    Me shopping for swimsuits: walks around the racks feeling for underwire! My husband says it looks creepy the way I’m feeling the bra area of the suits !

    I have a beach trip in a few weeks and still don’t have what I need! ackk I love the style of the Lands End suits but sometimes the prints are just kind of off!

  3. I am a total fan of Land’s End for swimsuits! I have the “slender suit” you have pictured in two solid colors that I’ve had for YEARS and it is still the most flattering suit I’ve ever owned! This year I ordered one of the skirted tankinis and feel like it is equally flattering. I definitely am NOT a stick figure, but still like to feel good in my suits! BTW, I tried the high-waisted one first and it kind of bunched up under the tankini, so I ended up going with the regular height one. May work for others, though.

  4. First off, I want to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog. I bought 2 Lands End tankini tops and bottoms for spring break and love them. They fit well and I know they will hold up for more than one season. Also, I bought the same coverup as you, except in coral. I didn’t realize it was dry clean only and my sister washed it while we were on spring break together and it shrunk so much.

  5. Lands End for the win!! I’ve had nothing but success for the past few years with them. And with 4 kids on swim team, I basically live in my bathing suit during the summer.

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