This spring break, I found myself on a beach in the Dominican Republic, much like thousands of other college students from the United States. Between sipping fruity mixed drinks and tanning by the pool, I noticed the swimsuit trends that dominated the resort I stayed at.
Swimsuit trends have changed pretty dramatically within the past couple of years, so I thought I’d discuss my observations for this week’s column.
This first thought I had about women’s swimwear in Punta Cana concerns the bottom half of the female form: butts! Just hanging out more than usual, it seemed.
Brazilian swimwear, characterized as more revealing when compared to more conservative tastes, dominates the current swimsuit market. This leads women to choose cheekier bottoms over traditional granny panty styles.
A lot of the college women at my resort chose thong-style bikini bottoms for their spring break wardrobes, and I 100 percent support! To me, this reflects a growing body positivity movement that allows women to be more comfortable in their own skin. After all, it’s just a butt. Everyone has one, right?
There’s another trend relating to bottoms that I noticed, but I’m not necessarily a fan of it. Since when did high-waist bottoms experience a surge of popularity? It appears that time is now. I don’t understand why women feel the need to go back to mid-20th century swimsuit styles, and I’m not here for it.
I don’t know, something about them just throws me off. It’s almost like you were trying to make a one-piece and then just decided the middle bit didn’t serve a purpose and, therefore, didn’t make the cut.
Which brings me to my next point: one-piece swimsuits. Love them! For the longest time, I feel like one-pieces were viewed as the go-to mom style. This is no longer the case! One-pieces now feature designs that appeal to younger crowds.
While your tan lines might suffer from an intricate one-piece style, I think it’s worth it. These new swimsuit designs promote maturity without the sagginess that historically comes attached to most one-pieces.
One last trend: Zaful swimwear, or just cheap swimsuits in general. If you haven’t heard of Zaful yet, I regret to inform you that you live under the world’s largest rock. Zaful is a Chinese fashion brand that sells cute styles at a fraction of mainstream brand prices.
While this sounds great, cheaper brands like Zaful are also known for not being true to size and having poor shipping.
Nearly all the girls I went on spring break with had Zaful swimwear on. I’ve personally never bought one, but I’m kind of so-so about supporting them. I think it’s wonderful women don’t need to pay an arm and a leg to look cute at the beach, but at the same time, you pay for what you get.
While the swimsuits themselves align with today’s trends, it’s clear the quality of the pieces sits relatively low. And because the sizing of the suits can be off, a lot of girls end up buying at least one suit they can’t use.
I’m from Hawaii, so I’m used to seeing girls pay upwards of $200 for one swimsuit. This norm leads me to believe it pays to invest in swimwear. I’d rather buy an expensive piece and get years of wear out of it than buy a $15 two-piece that may not last the season.
To finish, I’d say Zaful is fine for a short-term trip, but if you’re going for something that’ll last, invest in a higher-end brand.
