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It's bathing suit season...
what's a girl to do?
By Teri Trophie

Here we go again!

If you're like me, you hate bathing suit season. It's that time of year you go out to find a bathing suit that not only looks good, but looks good on you.

I do the same thing every year. I buy every magazine that has a woman on the cover that is a size-four, and flip through ridiculous amounts of ads to find the five pages of the magazine that contain even more size-four models in the smallest bathing suits that are in for the summer.

Without going any further, I must mention that I myself am no where near a size 4 anymore. Age, childbirth and the lack of desire to starve myself have pulled me away from the size-four that I once was at 18.

This is why I dread the beginning of summer. For one, I am about as pale as a person can be without actually being covered in flour! I would go to the tanning salon, but we've all heard how bad that is. On a further note, I am admittedly not in the best shape of my life.

Not that I haven't tried to correct that. I did the gym thing. I am one of many who joins, goes religiously for about two months, then wakes up one day and says, "Oh, that's right , I hate going to the gym!" But continues to pay the dues because they're sure that they'll want to go back again some day.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm grossly out of shape. I get plenty of exercise walking and running after my kids! I'm just not as physically fit as one of those Hollywood actresses who has the ability to hire a personal trainer and work out non stop for four hours a day and have someone else cook low-fat healthy meals for them. I'm just your typical, every-day working mom.

So how do people like me find a bathing suit that's going to make us happy and not want to hide under a huge beach umbrella with our towel conceiling most of our bodies? We could elect to put all fashion sense aside and wear one of those one piece deals with the little shorts with big floppy hats and sunflower thong sandals. But I think I'd rather just stay inside.

I've seen a lot of guides to bathing suits that provide the standard information about body type . For example, If you are pear shaped, they say to wear a one piece that draws the attention to the upper half of your body.

Short of wearing a big hat with a flashing light on it, I can't think of anything that's going to draw the attention to the upper half of my body. I've come to the realization that I am a small breasted, large hipped woman, and when I wear a bathing suit, people notice my hips.

So what's a girl to do?

Create your own style. There are many great pieces out there that can be mixed and matched!

If you have a great upper half, but not such a great lower half, get a tank style top and pair it with a cute pair of surf shorts. Those are so easy to find this year and they really do look good.

The fact that this combination isn't your traditional bikini bottom really does draw attention away from your hips. If you are bigger in the chest and smaller down below, try a tank that crosses in the back with a built in bra for extra support and a traditional bikini bottom.

Find your body shape and look for a few ideas that you can take to the store with you when you go on that great hunt for the perfect suit. You can start by visiting Njshoreguide.com's article The Key to the Perfect Fit.

And if you're lucky enough to be a perfect 10, don't hide it ! Go get yourself a string bikini. Look what it did for Bo Derek!