American Apparel sales are usually naff and not worthwhile. In fact American Apparel (referred to as AA throughout the rest of the text), in the UK, is not worth your time at all. The staff are so rude and elitest and the apparel is highly overpriced. However a few months ago when i saw this bikini on a girl's instagram feed i went looking for it everywhere and it wasn't available. Fast forward to a sponsored tweet letting me know AA were having an online sale and all my prayers were answered at a discounted price!
Behold the the newest addition to my swimwear family
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I chose the colour "blush" which is a dusky pink but it comes in white too if that's more of your thing (i should not be allowed to own anything white, my white macbook is evidence of this). If this bikini hadn't been such a bargain (and i wasn't a swimwear addict) i wouldn't have bought it because of how ridiculous AA are. For example: the website advises not to expose this piece of swimwear to chlorine or salt water, so only for use in the Bath or fresh water lakes? So excuse me if i'm a little scathing of a product that is so pretty. The Bikini top was £12 reduced from £25 and the bottoms were £8 reduced from £30. The shipping was over £4 and it took a week to arrive so i'm not too pleased with that either. I've had free shipping arrive within 3 working days, so maybe i've been spoilt.
The Bandeau top can be worn three ways (very AA) as displayed and all three ways are useful for different things. The top image shows how i'd wear the bandeau for sunbathing, to reduce tan lines (they'd most likely be covered by a bra) and eliminate strap lines. The middle image shows how i'd wear this for swimming (in all those fresh water lakes I visit...) with the halter neck to keep the bandeau from moving around and revealing too much. Finally the last image is how i'd wear this bandeau in an actual outfit. It would look gorgeous on a night out with a high waisted skirt, or under a sheer top.
Now on to the fit. I purchased the bandeau in a size S and the bottoms in a size XS/S. For all the love i have for this bikini it actually doesn't do much for my body. In fact it accentuates all the things i hate, which i won't list here but i'm sure anyone with body issues knows how that feels. I spent a good while looking in the mirror poking, prodding, sucking my tummy in and adjusting the bikini in the hopes that the feeling of self loathing would disappear.
Now the bottoms as you can see are a little small, this looks horrendous to me but i've been assured by others that it isn't so bad, so i do intend to keep them. But when AA say XS/S they must actually mean prepubescent. I may be a small figured girl but i do have hips and an arse and unfortunately an untoned tummy so i'm not the most confident when wearing this bikini. I'd suggest to anyone who did want to buy this, and it is still available on the UK website if you search for "3D flower mesh", to size up on the bottoms. The top however fits fine and suits my small chest, probably not a good bikini for someone with a much larger chest as i can't imagine it would give much coverage or support.
A bit of a mixed review for this one. On one hand i adore it, it's the most perfect, delicate, girly bikini and on the other hand it's a body confidence nightmare. A serious Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde affair!
Lamb