Something about bathing suit shopping can really do a number on a girl's self esteem. (No, I'm not calling myself "girl" in a coyish attempt to seem young...I'm referring to my daughter, Caroline.) She is a beautiful young lady who will be turning 13 in the fall. Perhaps you remember what that's like. She's out of the Children's Department, but not quite a woman. There's a Juniors Department but from our observation, it's Victoria Secret-type Junior, not "I'd still be shopping in the Kids Department if I could" Junior. What's a girl to do????



Last year's bathing suit shopping with Liney-Belle ended just short of tears. We made it out of the mall with a bag in hand, but it was a tricky assignment. Maintaining modesty while looking cute...it's a pretty tall order. We ended up getting a tankini seperate top from Juniors and a cute little skirt bottom from the Petite Women's Department. Caroline says, "That was the most awesome bathing suit EVER...it was perfect!"

Note the past tense...it WAS perfect...that is, until the straps on the top broke mid-summer last year. We rushed into JC Penney's for another top but of course, there were no comparable tops available. The agony, the disappointment. It had been the perfect bathing suit.



This year we got a jump start on the bathing suit discussion. We made Virtual Models on Land's End.com. Turns out my 12 1/2 year old daughter has the body of a Size 6 Woman. (This made me feel fantastic about being a Size 10 woman! After all, Size 6 is the same size as a little girl!) We mixed and matched suit tops and bottoms to wile away the hours on snowy winter afternoons. But the prices...ouch! Is it really necessary to spend $100 on a bathing suit for a pre-teen? I think not.
Imagining I had her size figured out, I did what any cheapskate mom would do. I looked for a Land's End-ish style bathing suit at other retailers. I found a modest tankini on Old Navy.com. (Interestingly, the modest suits are only available online for them...their store is full of teeny weeny bikinis). I ordered the suit for her and sat back, satisfied that it was a job well done. Bring on the hot weather! Today is about 90 degrees and sunny so Caroline said, "Mom, where is that bathing suit you got for me?" Optimism buoyed her sweet voice. Until she tried it on, that is. It was cut for...a child. The suit didn't fit. She went out to run in the sprinkler with last year's swim skirt and a t-shirt on.



I got back on Land's End.com and scoured the Overstocks, looking for just ONE! MODEST! TANKINI! TOP! SIZED! 6! Is it all that difficult? Apparently, it is. Meanwhile, while I was online, I tried a few suits on my Virtual Model. Although she's lost 25 lbs since last year, she still looks hefty in most of the suits. You can turn her around, if you care to, and see her from all angles. It's enough to make me long for the olden days when women swam in their dresses.

Caroline wandered in to reject the suit tops I had saved in our online shopping cart. (Thankfully it was for the cause of modesty that she questioned some of my choices...she's such a good girl.) She noted that my virtual model looked like she'd had too many baskets of chips at the new Mexican restaurant down the way. We did a little research and it turned out that I was using the sample woman....my very own model had disappeared sometime over the winter. (I think she went South.)

This was thrilling news! My Virtual Self is not hefty afterall! Voila, with the point and click of the mouse, I adjusted her hips, her bust, her waist and gave her a cute new haircut. For the sake of legitimacy, I clicked "more mature features" which is why she looks a bit haggard yet swimsuit-ready. (See above!) Naturally she is haggard...she's trying to find appropriate bathing suits for two lovely pre-teens!