I now have a collection of suits, circa 2012, 2013, and 2014. None fit.
I suppose I keep the suits from year to year as motivation or inspiration. Which, by the way, winds up being neither of those but rather, instead, puts me in a depressed mood. That’s when I make my annual declaration. “I will never wear another swim suit again.” Heck, I don’t even know how to swim.
“It’s ridiculous,” I complain to Ross. “A woman of my maturity (ha!) shouldn’t be wearing one of those things anyway.”
But we live near the beach, have a pool in our community and I’ve been going to water aerobics.
I have given up “in store” bathing suit shopping. (I do bathe.) I cringe when I stand in front of one of those horrible fun house dressing room mirrors.
That’s why I have been online shopping for suits since 2012. I have the garments shipped to my house.
It works out nicely. I can try the suits on in my own bedroom. The mirrors here are much more forgiving. Besides, I keep the lights low and the shades drawn.
So, yesterday, I spent several hours browse shopping online.
Lands End, LL Bean, Macy’s Jc Penny’s and Nordstroms all carry similar styles. But, I was looking for something more unique.
While I was browsing on Amazon, though, I stumbled across a manufacturer of vintage retro style bathing suits called Cocoship.
First of all the prices are incredibly cheap. That’s right, not reasonable, not inexpensive, CHEAP!
They range in price from $18.99 to 28.99.
Secondly, there is a varied selection.
A slight glitch is that the sizing is not the standard US sizes. However, there is a conversion chart. But even with the conversion chart, I was unsure about what size I should choose. I was also hesitant about the quality of a $24.00 bathing suit.Fortunately, there were over 1,200 customer reviews, some with photos. They were rather entertaining to read and helpful, especially about the sizes.
I don’t know about you but when I read customer reviews I read the single star reviews first.
For example:
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
ByKatie Anyanon July 8, 2014
This swim suit is very cute, but poor quality. As soon as I put it on the first time I heard threads tearing (not because of the fit).
I’ve worn it twice and the panty line seam is already stretched out even though the bottoms were actually too large.
The bottoms also come up VERY high- all the way up to the top. If you want a 1-time-wonder, then by all means, go for it,
but I would not recommend purchasing this particular brand.
Then I go on to the five star reviews:
58 of 64 people found the following review helpful
on January 9, 2015
I really liked this suit. it came after about 10 days, it seems to have quality construction, and fits me pretty well.
The sizing seemed confusing with mixed reviews, but I decided to go with my gut and get the small.
I am 5'6" 110 lbs and have a pretty straight up and down body type. The bottoms fit well but are a little loose at the top.
I may take them in a bit. But they fit my butt well and that is what really matters.
From the photos it was hard to tell the coverage level of the bottoms, they are full coverage front and back,
keeping true to the classic style of the suit.
The top is a little strange. It is padded, not push up, but the cups are a little far apart for me, like others had
The top is a little strange. It is padded, not push up, but the cups are a little far apart for me, like others had
mentioned in their reviews,
but it would be easy to tack it together or possibly knot it.
I have a relatively small chest and I was worried that the large coverage bra would shrink them more.
This is sort of the case, especially as the bra is fully padded, it looks like it would be a push up, and it is not.
So you are left thinking, where is the cleavage? I would rather have an un-padded bra or a push up.
But hey, small chest problems.
All in all it is a good, well made suit that happened to fit well. I am happy with it.
All in all it is a good, well made suit that happened to fit well. I am happy with it.
Since there were over 600 five stars and only 40 with one star I decided to give the suits a try.
I chose three styles. I ordered the items yesterday afternoon and Amazing Amazon will be delivering them tomorrow and the shipping was free.
I like this retro look. They seem to fit my ahem, maturity.
I’ll be adding my own review here once I get my delivery. No photos though.
Do you read customer reviews? Do they influence your purchase? Do you write reviews?
Depends on the item. I'm terrible at writing things, so if I can just give stars and leave it at that I'm happy. You'll have to tell us how they worked out.
ReplyDeleteI have never written a review. But, now, since I found the swim suit ones to be helpful I think I’m going to start reviewing things I purchase.
DeleteI like the first one of the pictures. Good luck with them; I hope one (or all three) work. I do write reviews and I do read them. Not so much on products but restaurants and books. Both good and bad reviews. I take the reviews I read at face value but if the same thing shows up a lot on them, like slow service, dirty restaurant, expensive prices for what you get, I then kind of believe those reviews and stay clear of the place.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your review after you try them.
betty
I like the first one too.
DeleteI have to admit the restaurant and hotel reviews do influence me. One time a customer wrote that he got sick after eating at this one particular place. Sorry, but even though there were plenty of positives, I would have to stay away from there.
I find reviews very useful, especially if a lot of them make the same good or bad points. I recently left a review about a suitcase I bought. It was perfect for me. But anyone over 5'4" would have to stoop to reach the handle which doesn't pull up very high. I wonder how many sales my review has stopped. Hey ho.
ReplyDeleteWell, if I were taller than 5’4”, (which I’m not) then your review would be very helpful. And I am sure the manufacturers and retailers read the reviews also. They might take your review into consideration and make an improvement.
DeleteI can't imagine trying to order a swimsuit online. I think I try on 40 before finding one I'm happy with! But I'm like that with any article of clothing.
ReplyDeleteI read the most recent comments, but will also look at one stars, just to see what the biggest beef was.
Ugh, I can’t imagine torturing myself by trying on 40 suits. But, if I were in the store, I’d probably do the same thing.
DeleteYou really do have to read the comments. Some people are just complainers, you know. Especially reviews of hotels or restaurants where the customer should have brought their issue up with the owner. It might have been easily remedied.
I like the first one. Very retro. I rarely write a review for clothes. I use stars for books and Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear a swimsuit to the beach...shorts and tanktops since I usually walk. Lands End supposedly makes good swim suits.
I have a Lands End tankini and I do like it. I think I might wind up going back to that site.
DeleteI've not tried buying any articles of clothing online other than a T-shirt. And I don't even recall when I last bought a bathing suit. The last one I bought still looks like new since I've rarely worn it. It try it on every year and it still fits so I pack it up when I go on vacation and then I don't use it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of cavorting in the water though swimming would be good exercise for me.
That reminds me. I need to dig out that old swim suit that looks like new, try it on, and then pack it in my suitcase for my summer vacation. Just in case.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Wrote By Rote
I never learned how to swim. Our community pool is only 5’ deep. Seniors, you know. We mostly just want to hang out and gossip about the neighbors or compare our ailments. :)
DeleteThat’s pretty impressive that you fit into your suit year after year. You must be doing something right!
I hope the cherry one fits...it's my favorite! I'm still wearing my suits that I purchased for my retirement trip to Hawaii...6 years ago! The fabric stretches to fit whatever size I am. I've gotten to that point in my life that I don't really care what people think. If I want to swim I will...even if people are reporting whale sightings when I hit the water!
ReplyDeleteYou are funny! When considering the possibility of being seen in a bathing suit I guess my own vanity gets in the way. I should lighten up!
DeleteI always read the reviews because I think they can tell you about potential problems that maybe you hadn't thought about. I will also write a review - especially if something has been very good because I believe in praise and as you say if there was a problem then it should have been sorted out rather than moaned about :) Special Teaching at Pempi’s Palace
ReplyDeleteWhat I especially liked about the reviews on these suits was that reviewers included their height, weight, and what size they would normally take. Then they put in their recommendation as to whether the customer should buy a smaller, larger or exact size than they normally would wear. That info was very helpful.
Delete