Fashion + Beauty

Friday, September 5, 2008

Mistakes I've made: The crochet bikini

It all seemed so innocent at the time. I wanted a slightly sexier bikini to wear over Fourth of July weekend. There was nothing terrible about my old suit—just that the bottoms were kind of matronly and made me feel pear shaped. Not the worst thing in the world, not the best either. So, last week, while surfing through the Urban Outfitters website, I came across a slinky, (but seemingly not totally skimpy) crochet style and I thought, "Now that is the bathing suit for me!" It looked so cute and appealing, in that 70s-lady-in-the-Tropics way. And it was on sale for only $30. How could things possibly go wrong? But then they did.

Things you don't think about before buying a crochet bikini (but from now on you should)

1. It stretches. And it is made of string and the string is the only thing between you and "Hey everyone on the beach, here are my breasts!"
This means that you spend a large part of your day a.) re-tying your top and b.) living in fear
2. It's hot. It's a little like wearing tiny butt and boob sweaters.
3. It collects things. How to explain this? Well, a crochet bikini is basically a lined net. So, say you spill a bit of suntan lotion on yourself and then it gets under the crochet part. It is gone forever. This also occurs with sand, hair, small shells.
4. It takes 15 hours to dry. That is an exaggeration, but not so far off. It's soggy. When you are wearing a crochet bikini, you are rarely unaware that you are wearing a fabric poorly suited to the task at hand. ALSO, when it gets wet, it stretches and basically you exit the ocean in a wet, stretched-out sweater.

As a style purchase, the whole thing is complete sadness for you (and your poor boyfriend who had to hear about the crochet bikini catastrophe the entire weekend).
Related:
10 bathing suits that won't make you feel like a (mad) cow
Dear Marimekko for H&M: We are not friends
Goodbye hellish red bumps!
It's exposed feet season! Three ways to make yours look pretty

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From the Community…

Comments 1-10 of 36
  • Girl Rider's Avatar
    Posted by Girl Rider Mon Jul 7, 2008 9:23am PDT

    Yes, I learned that mistake also. But try the top stretching when you have extra large breasts! I actually had to go to a Beach Shop and buy another bikini!

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  • Josie's Avatar
    Posted by Josie Mon Jul 7, 2008 10:52am PDT

    Made me laugh on a Monday morning and remember my "white swimsuit mistake". I was around 3 months pregnant & went on a Hawaiian vacation. I'd purchased a white one-piece suit that would cover my larger boobs and show off the gorgeous tan I planned to acquire. Well...I come out of the water & my husband is horror-struck to see that my water-soaked suit is now transparent. He made me go back in till he brought back a beach towel to cover me up & march me up the beach to a swimsuit store for a new suit. We still laugh about that

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  • popesmom's Avatar
    Posted by popesmom Mon Jul 7, 2008 11:39am PDT

    I think those are just for sitting in the sun....not swimming!

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  • nil9's Avatar
    Posted by nil9 Mon Jul 7, 2008 11:47am PDT

    That's funny. I had a beloved white crochet bikini that I wore every summer in college in a few years after. When it finally fell apart I tried in vain to find another one exactly like it, but no dice. Maybe I was too young to worry about things like flashing and stretching!

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  • mcthomaschesky's Avatar
    Posted by mcthomaschesky Mon Jul 7, 2008 11:47am PDT

    That sounds awful to have a crochet bikini, becuase I crochet things, and yes, they stretch like crazy even when not wet. Also, if one string gets cut in the weave, the whole thing comes unraveled.

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  • nil9's Avatar
    Posted by nil9 Mon Jul 7, 2008 12:39pm PDT

    Now that I think about it, it was because the crochet was layered on top of a lycra layer, which made it neither see-through nor too stretchy when wet.

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  • Strawberry's Avatar
    Posted by Strawberry Mon Jul 7, 2008 1:54pm PDT

    I think they are made for the girls who only suntan and doesnt go swimming, basically for decoration.

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  • angeleyes77711's Avatar
    Posted by angeleyes77711 Mon Jul 7, 2008 4:40pm PDT

    i never thought that that kind of bathing suit would do that. i always thought they were so cute !!!!! i like how you used a sweater as an example.... thanks for the heads up lol

    DANIELLE

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  • jazzz's Avatar
    Posted by jazzz Mon Jul 7, 2008 5:27pm PDT

    it sounds awful

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  • kim's Avatar
    Posted by kim Mon Jul 7, 2008 7:28pm PDT

    LOL!

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Comments 1-10 of 36

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