One of the most exciting parts of losing weight is selecting new styles of clothes to wear that you wouldn’t dare try on before. A 2-piece swimsuit was one I dared to try this summer. I was contacted by Free Country to choose a some swimwear to review on my blog, and it was the first time I looked at a site at said “I don’t need to order from the plus size section anymore!”

Because this is my first two-piece, I feel like the review needs to be in two parts. One is for the experience with the Free Country website and ordering process. The other is about what it’s like to go from an industrial-strength shaping swimsuit to a cute little two-piece.

From the tag on my swimsuit:

“Free Country. Where fashion meets function. Free Country’s designs express individual style wherever your spirit moves you. Active fashion and performance quality reflect your lifestyle and ensure comfort under any conditions.”

The pieces I selected are from Free Country’s Inter-Changeables line: Interchange our swim separates for endless styling possibilities. I selected the beach bonfire racerback tankini in citrus and cloud grey in size XL. The tankini has elastic under the bust bands for extra support, and removable soft padding in the cups. The tie-front accent swim skirt in cloud gray aqua was my choice for the bottom piece. This swim skirt design has a little slit with a contrasting color tie-front accent, and built-in brief that matches tie. The combo seemed like a cute and sporty look for the beach or poolside.)

With all Free Country swimwear, the tops and bottoms are inter-changeable for fun styling possibilities. You can mix and match to find your unique style! I love the aqua, lime, and gray combination. My order was processed quickly, and I had my shipment within a week. The garments are well made, with attention to little details (like how the stitching on the bust lies flat and doesn’t add any unwanted bulk). The racerback top is very comfortable, the straps fit in place, and I think it’s a pretty flattering design. The swim skirt didn’t fit me quite right…the rise wasn’t high enough and didn’t cover all the parts I needed covered. It’s a cute design, but doesn’t work for my body.

Now for my review of going from a one-piece to two-piece swimsuit.

I’m used to wearing swimsuits with a ridiculous amount of compression. I’m used to throwing down $80+ to get a suit that is so tight I can barely get it on. I don’t like my body to jiggle, especially when there is already so much exposed while I’m bathing. So while I was in the upper echelons of plus-size swimwear, I bought the one-piece suit that was the most flattering (without much attention to my personal style). This suit by Free Country felt like a whole new experience because IT SHOWS OFF MY BODY, whether or not I’m ready for it to show. The cups have a very thin removable padding to help hide any nipple-showthrough, and I don’t think I’ll ever remove the pads. The part that blew my mind is that the midsection of the tankini was only one layer thick. One layer of print and stretch material between modesty and baring my belly. My body is long, and and extra 2-3 inches in length would have made me more comfortable. But I would have been okay with wearing the top if the bottom worked.

With my massive weight loss, I have a pretty significant pannus (squishy belly skin overhang). I rarely go out of the home without underwear or Slimpressions or some other clothing item that gives me some tightness in my belly. Despite the “skirt” of the swim skirt, the rise just wasn’t high enough to cover all my bits and pieces comfortably. I thought of how I could find a compression garment that could probably work well under this swimsuit, but it kind of kills the whole reason of having swimwear – having something that’s easy to play around in the water with.

I REALLY like the pattern and colors of the tankini, so I looked all through the swimwear sections at department stores through the summer to find some swim bottoms that would work with the top. For anything with the coverage I want, I either need to invest in a fatkini (and all of the styles and colors I liked clashed) or I’d have to go with black. There’s nothing wrong with black. I’ve worn lots of black in my life. But I really wanted something fun and spunky, and I didn’t have any luck with it this summer. There are other options that Free Country offers that look cute with the tankini, but I’m fairly certain they won’t work with my body. That’s a flaw of my body and my self-consciousness, not of the swimsuit 🙂 I wore the suit out with some black bike shorts (thrilling I know) and will continue looking for the perfect bottoms for the suit.

Free Country not only offers swimwear, but a lot of options for winter outdoor wear. I’ve seen a lot of their clothing at Kohl’s and plan to try on a bunch next time I’m in store.

Have you tried Free Country swimwear?

FTC Disclosure: I was given swimwear from Free Country with the express purpose of completing a product review. Estimated retail value of product is $84.00. No additional compensation was given for my review. All opinions are my own.