Swimsuits 2017.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about my swimsuits from years past. 

My normal go-to was always Victoria's Secret. 

I loved their patterns and suits, and nearly every year I would get one new suit. 

I'd wear that suit out or until it faded or the elastic no longer stretched, and then I'd get a new one the next year. 

While I do still love the patterns of Victoria's Secret, I no longer feel like their bottoms fit me the best. 

It's no lie that my chest isn't the biggest, so I can still wear their tops, and I've found myself mixing and matching tops and bottoms in the past few years. 

In the last couple of years I've been wearing the same one pair of black bottoms that I found with a bunch of different bikini tops. 

It's just been so hard to find bottoms that fit that I nearly gave up. 

That was until last weekend when I stepped into Athleta for the first time. 

I've heard about Athleta before, but I never tried any of their items on. 

It was a coincidence that my aunt kept saying let's go into Athleta because had she not, I wouldn't have gone. 

In addition to needing some swimsuit bottoms, I've also been on the look out for some yoga/running leggings. 

Most of my running/work out clothes I've had for years and years. 

Some tops I can recall running in when I was a freshman in high school (that's nearly 12 years ago!). 

I love some running clothes pieces and don't want to ever give them up. 

Some of them are still looking and wearing great, others recently got cleaned out of my closet when I put some of my winter items away. 

I've narrowed myself down to just a couple pairs of running leggings, so I've had that on my list to find as well. 

Athleta was having a sale, and I was able to snag a pair of leggings for under $20!

In addition, I got to glance at some of their swimwear. 

We didn't have much time, so I couldn't try any one, but I decided to browse online later that weekend. 

Here's what I've found...

 I was looking for at least one black bottom, so I decided to order all of the bottoms in black.
It was an easy comparison color, and I knew I would end up keeping at least one of them.

Athleta Aqualuxe Strappy Bottom



The strappy sides were really cute, but I didn't feel this one had enough coverage.
On Athleta's site it is listed under medium coverage.
I nixed this bottom right away.

Athleta Smocked Medium Tide Bottom

I really liked the smocking on the sides of this suit, but I felt it made my hip bones stick out too much.
Even though this suit looks super cute, I didn't love it on.

Athleta Shirred Bottom

I thought this suit was very similar to the one above.
Both had super cute sides, nearly similar.
However, I didn't love how the plain/flat front made my hip bones stick out.

I was down to two.

Athleta Aqualuxe Twist

If you can't tell, the front of the suit is twisted.
It adds a little umph to a basic bottom.
I really liked this bottom.


Athleta Shirred Band Bottom

This suit had a little gathering all the way around.
It's almost like it has little pleats or gathering in a couple spots around the entire band area of the bottom.
Ultimately, this was the bottom that I went with.

I will ship the other four back, but I'm really debating on getting a different one in another color.
Which suit bottom do you like best?
Do you guys have favorite places to shop for swimsuits? If so, let me know where.
I hate paying tons of $ for a new suit, but I want something that I feel comfortable in!