Day Two Hundred and Twenty Nine

Claire is wearing a leopard-print bikini [Next, from a charity shop], black and white Doc Socks [Dr Martens shop] and tomato red Dr Martens [Dr Martens shop]. 
Covadonga is wearing a pair of orange sunglasses [free, from a uni promotion].

I'm baaaaack!

And today it's muscle beach, so get your shades on and shimmy your swimming cossie! 

Well, it was only about 15 degrees today, but I did venture to my local open air pool before it closes for autumn. It's one of the oldest in the country apparently and luckily for me it's heated. I never knew how exhausting swimming could be though, a lot harder than power-walking.

Buying swimwear can be nerve-wracking a generally disheartening experience, especially if the changing rooms are badly lit (like Topshop's). It's even harder if, like I imagine nearly everyone actually is, not one specific size. The pear that I am means shops that do not allow for mixnmatch topsnbottoms bikinis can go on holiday and get sunburnt and have a jolly rubbish time. It's heartbreaking finding a wonderful print and shape, but being faced with buying 2 different sizes to get one set. I got lucky with this pard number as it's from a charity shop. It does seem odd to buy swimwear second-hand, but it's all washed before wear, and to be honest, if it's fits I will cling on with all paws.

The main thing is to be comfortable, not just in what you're wearing but in yourself! It's that body confidence thing; feel fierce and you'll feel fine! The thing I've often found and been comforted by, is that in swimwear appropriate walks of life no one really cares about what you look like/are wearing. They're probably thinking about the same concerns as you are, or they're confident enough to just appreciate everyone else having the confidence to be semi-naked. 

Because it is scary, and we should pat ourselves on the sun-creamed back for ignoring society's pressure on women to look and feel a certain way regarding our bodies. I feel that if an alien read all those trashy and nasty celebrity/body/women in general shaming articles, I bet they'd wear as many clothes as possible when they visited Earth.