One Woman's Bikini Selfie Sums up What's Wrong With the Swimsuit Industry

THE REALITY OF BIKINI SHOPPING AS A PLUS SIZE WOMAN. I was really inspired when I saw a YouTube [...]

By Libby Birk

THE REALITY OF BIKINI SHOPPING AS A PLUS SIZE WOMAN. I was really inspired when I saw a YouTube video of @dj4jay speaking on his experience helping a plus size gf look for a bikini, and this Is the reality of it. I used to get so disheartened when I would go shopping for swimwear with my friends who had no issue finding them. I've always had too much boobs/ass/hips to wear straight sized bikinis and instead of punishing myself and my body for not fitting into this narrow ideal of sexy, I just look elsewhere. I remember getting a bikini from @gabifresh @swimsuitsforall collection and not feeling like I had to change myself to look ok, because it came fitting every curve on my body. Massive thank you to all the brands who don't forget about us curvy girls 💜 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 #bodypositive #allbodiesaregoodbodies #chooselifewarrior #bigandblunt #belly #plussizemodel #plussize #plussizefashion #theresnowrongwaytobeawoman #goldenconfidence #effyourbeautystandards #embracethesquish #gainingweightiscool #confidence #beauty #instagood #beyourownkindofbeautiful #loveyourbody #loveyourself #fatbabe #rolls #curves #curvy #thick #thickthighs #bbw #selflove #recovery #anorexia #eatingdisorderrecovery

A post shared by Aliss Bonython (@alissbonyt) on

One British blogger is getting real when it comes to bikini sizes. YouTuber Aliss Bonython posted a series of mirror portraits while trying on a bikini in a retail store fitting room, saying that most retailers have forgotten to include sizes for women who don't fit into a narrow sizing chart.

"THE REALITY OF BIKINI SHOPPING AS A PLUS SIZE WOMAN," she titled her post, before laying out details some women might be familiar with.

"I was really inspired when I saw a YouTube video of @dj4jay speaking on his experience helping a plus size [girlfriend] look for a bikini, and this is the reality of it," she wrote in the caption. "I used to get so disheartened when I would go shopping for swimwear with my friends who had no issue finding them."

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Bonython went on to explain that she was always too curvy to "wear straight sized bikinis."

Eventually, she made the decision to not punish herself and her body for not fitting "into this narrow ideal of sexy," she admitted. "I just look elsewhere."

She turned to retailers like Swimsuits For All, which serves customers beyond the limited extra-small-to-extra-large range and designs with different fits and body types in mind.

I remember getting a bikini from [Gabi Gregg's collaboration with Swimsuitsforall] and not feeling like I had to change myself to look [okay] because it came fitting every curve on my body," Bonython wrote. "Massive thank you to all the brands who don't forget about us curvy girls."

Judging by the overwhelming amount of comments agreeing with Bonython, we'd say it's time for major retailers to rethink their sizing process.

To shop some of our favorite insanely flattering one-piece swimsuits, just click here!

[H/T Instagram / @alissbonyt]

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