Retro Swimwear

We recently received some retro styled swimwear from American Apparel. I use the word “retro” to mean any style not of modern day, because the mens swimtrunks were early 80′s style, while the ladies bikini was more of a throwback to the 40′s.

Our teenage guy friend tried the unisex tri-color swim trunk in pink/grey.
The Look: He liked the kitschy/retro style but admitted it’s not for everyone.

The Fit: He liked the shorter length of the shorts because they were easier to move in & they don’t wrap around your legs & stick when in water, but he found the hips to be too poufy/feminine. The pink was kind of girly for a guy, and although they are unisex the gray might be too bland for a girl. (We noticed the current colors and photos on the site make the trunks seem like they are geared toward men now.)

The Feel: The lightweight outer shell felt cool & dried fast; the inner cotton lining was soft but stayed wet too long.

The trunks wash & dry great when laundered.

The Women’s Retro bikini was tried by a petite adult female. High-Waisted Brief Bottoms with mesh front panel insets were paired with a criss-cross bikini top.

The Look: “I’m not sure what era they are retro-ed from – the top is too tiny for all but the ’90s, the bottoms are full cut like from the ’40s. The bottoms have cute, flirty mesh inserts but have a low leg opening that is not flattering on most female body shapes. I look like my granny in her undies… Plus the narrow seams dug in.”

The bikini top was kind of confusing. “It took 4 people just to figure out how the top goes on – not a good thing. And tying it on oneself is almost impossible because of the need to wrap from the back – it kept flipping around & getting twisted. The cups did not provide enough coverage, even on small B size boobs. The narrow triangle shape of the cups was not flattering, even if you like your boobs out at the beach. And no support is offered.”

The top ties around the neck and another tie criss crosses around the back to wrap and then tie. We realized later the top can be worn multiple ways, so it was confusing to us, but might be unique and offer options to others.

The pieces wash & hang dry well.

The best thing about the American Apparel web site is that you can choose an item and see photos sent in from real shoppers of themselves wearing the item. Learn ways to mix and match, and see how the item might look on a body type similar to yours.