Swim Obsession

Lately, I have been obsessed with finding the perfect swimsuit.  I haven't bought a new bathing suit in a few years.  At that time, I was living near the beach in Northern Florida.  I wore bathing suits fairly often so I had quite a few.  (There were a couple of awesome outlet malls near my house.)  However, since I left Florida, I've only found myself needing a bathing suit a few times per summer, so I didn't seen any reason to go out and buy a new suit.  Now, its been at least three years that I have been wearing the same old bathing suits!!! (My basic go-to suit from Victoria's Secret is even older that that!)  Even though I will probably still wear some of my old suits, I want to get a new one this summer.  I have been on a mission to track down the cutest and trendiest one out there!

These are a couple of my old bathing suits that I'd like to replace.  (The pics are from Google, and not mine, but these are my exact suits)

I have been shopping extensively, and it has been so hard to figure out what I want, because there are just so many cute styles out there.  I have narrowed my choices down by focusing on a few of the trends that I like the most.  I also made polyvore sets that showcase a few of the styles that stand out for me.

  

Fringe

Fringe bikinis by artaslife featuring a strapless swimwear



Tribal

tribal by artaslife featuring asos



Geometric, Chevron, and Stripes

geometric by artaslife featuring a halter top swimwear


Bustier Styles

bustier bikini by artaslife featuring hurley bikini

I also thought I'd share with you a few of the stores that I think have a good selection of swimwear.  

Asos has a really large selection, and tons of things are on sale.  Especially, if you have a larger bust, right now they have a bunch of larger-cup sizes that are adorable and on SUPER clearance.  (Great, yet another reason for me to want bigger boobs!) But they have so much variety on there, you are almost guaranteed to find something great in your size and price range.  Another great thing about Asos is that shipping is free!

Topshop has some really nice suits, although they are a little pricey by my cheapo standards.  Still, a quality suit is a good investment.  They have some really trendy and cool stuff.  I really like their caged suits and high-waist retro styles, but don't know that they would flatter me.

The 15dollarstore is a fun little online shop that offers some department store brand items for only $15.  Their swimwear is not the trendiest, but they carry some nice styles from designer and department store brands at $15 for a whole suit! Currently they have a lot of Kenneth Cole and Hobie suits that retail for waaay more than $15! The shipping cost isn't outrageous either, even if you factor it into the price, the suits end up being about $20.  If you like something on there act fast, though, all the suits I was watching are gone now and its only been about a week. 

Zumiez is the store I have been shopping most, and quite a few of the styles from my polyvore sets can be found on that site.  I never shopped Zumiez much in the past.  I was reminded of the store while randomly searching for certain styles of bathing suit.  They sell outdoorsy, surfer girl brands, which I feel are a good choice as far as quality and fit. They are having a Memorial day sale, a lot of swimwear is on sale, and a lot of it is even buy one get one 50% off!  Even better, they currently have an offer of free shipping on everything!!! I have a feeling I will be buying from them this weekend.  They also had a few really sweet surfer-chic sundresses on clearance that were running $15-$20. 

Other stores worth mentioning are Forever21, Delias, Alloy, and American Eagle.

So, what is your must-have swim trend for 2013?  Are there any stores you especially like for swimwear?