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Beating beachwear blues

Helen Tither
14/ 7/2008

NEVER mind how confident you are, it's every woman's fashion nemesis - finding the perfect beachwear to suit your body shape.

Whether you're super slim or fabulously curvy, we've all got a part of ourselves that we love to hate.

Bingo wings, muffin top tummies, cellulite thighs - all the areas we spend the whole year hiding away underneath flattering clothes. Come the summer, however, and they are all the bits you have to bare on the beach in your swimming cossie or bikini.

It's enough to bring you out in a prickly heat panic.

But never fear, Style is here to help with all those holiday woes. We caught up with Beverley Jamieson, head of marketing for Manchester-based home shopping brand Marisota, to get her top tips on swimwear to suit your shape.

Feel good

Set up a year ago, for online and brochure fashion, Marisota is aimed at women who want to look and feel good whatever their age, size and shape. With many customers in the 45-plus age bracket, and size ranges from 12 to 32.

Beverley, who turned 50 herself last year, says she was frustrated by the lack of high street ranges catering for women over 40. Not to mention the limited number of retailers stocking over a size 16.

"This brand is my big passion - I used to hate going shopping," she explains.

"There's a fear when you get to 50 that you are mutton dressed as lamb if you try the latest fashions.

"From a style perspective I don't feel any different to how I did when I was 30, I love the latest looks - at the moment I love maxi dresses - but I couldn't find them to suit me on the high street.

"You don't have to stop being fashionable when you are 50. Nor do you have to stop wearing fashionable clothing when you are a size 16 or above."

Best-sellers

Carrying out a survey of 1,000 women, Beverley found nearly half of women struggle to find dresses that suit them and over half would wear more fashionable clothes if they could find them to fit.

And so Marisota the brochure - not catalogue sweetie, that's so passé - was born.

Featuring on-trend looks in sizes and cuts to suit every figure, with designer names for fuller figures including Anna Scholz.

For summer, best-sellers include bright and bold kaftans, linen trousers and patterned dresses. But it's in swimwear that Beverley says most women are desperate to find something that suits.

"We are all our own worst critics and we all have body issues in one form or another," she says. "But buying the right fitting clothes for your shape can make a real difference.

"The trick is to hide the areas you don't like and accentuate the ones you do!"

Beverley's top holiday wardrobe tips...

BINGO WINGS: You can still wear a sleeveless dress, just accessorise with a wrap of cover up for the tops of your arms.

Or, cover your arms with a kaftan that is cut to make the most of your other features, like your cleavage.

TROUBLESOME TUMMIES: If you can't bare a bikini, go for a longer length tankini instead to hide those tummy wobbles. Or, buy a one-piece costume with detail around the waist - like this brown and blue cossie, from £28 (above left) to draw the eye in and make you look slimmer.

BIG BUSTS: Support is the key here, so whatever style you choose go for thicker straps.

HIDING HIPS: If you hate your hips and thighs, choose a cossie with skirt detail - or a long kaftan or sarong to hide them away on the beach.