Why Modest Swimwear is Important

Modest swimsuits? You may be thinking now, who wears that and why? Or your mind may, unfortunately, jump immediately to thinking modest swimwear was created for the more mature or plus-size crowd—but you would be surprisingly incorrect. There are many reasons for offering modest swimwear designed by women, for women.

No single body is exactly like the rest. No one has a one-size-fits-all, or cookie-cutter body, and what one person needs and wants from a swimsuit is not the same as everyone else's needs or wants. Why should designers only offer one aspect of clothing to such a large, diverse field of bodies and people? Modest swimwear is important to so many, and here are just a few reasons why!

Inclusivity

In the global market of swimwear, accessibility catering to religious reasons, personal choice, and comfort have often been set aside for more fashionable mainstream ideals. Facilitating the ability for women to have the chance to swim their entire lives, as a daily habit if they wish, in comfortable swimwear suited to them means more inclusivity for all. Creating a swimsuit for women to allow them access to a sport, hobby, and the activity of swimming they love allows women freedom when they may have felt too uncomfortable to even try.

Conservative Culture and Beliefs

No two people are alike in what they are comfortable with and what they enjoy wearing, and cultures, like people, have many varied aspects. Religion and personal beliefs have always played an important role in fashion and should continue to do so allowing all beliefs and cultures to enjoy the water!

Modesty does not equal hiding, as hiding tends to be associated with shame-based reactions and disempowering for women, modesty should be celebrated as a choice as much as any other, a revealing of dignity that is often truth-based and empowering! Modesty is influenced by cultural norms all over the world, but it can be distilled down to personality, comfort, sense of style, values, convictions, or faith.

Modestly for many women isn't to please someone else, nor is it outdated or unrealistic nor does it have to be frumpy! Modesty in its truest form is a choice that empowers many women.

Skin Protection

Modest swimwear offers far more protection to skin from the sun. As our knowledge of the sun's effects on our skin increase, such as premature aging as well as overexposure being the cause for skin cancers—more and more women want safer, better protection than just sunscreen alone. At Lime Ricki, our modest swimwear material offers UV +50 protection to protect your skin.

The most frequent of places we wear our swimsuits and swimwear is outside by the beach, lake, or pool in the sun. It simply makes sense to consider modest swimwear that protects against UV a must for our delicate skin.

UV or Ultraviolet light is a type of electromagnetic radiation, and the less UV protective material your suit has, the more skin is exposed to this type of radiation, causing lines, wrinkles, burns, or permanent damage to the living tissue of our bodies. Our weave structure, denier, and excellence in the selection of materials, fabrics, as well as fuller coverage cuts, safeguards the most susceptible skin.

Comfort

How many times have you found yourself wearing or wish you would have worn an oversized T-shirt, a pair of shorts, or both over your swimsuit? Many women admit that skimpier swimsuits can often ride up, shift, or slip while at the beach simply doing normal activities. Even a simple swim may cause accidental material malfunctions, while other women who enjoy activities such as beach volleyball remark the chance of their suit not staying in place can often keep them from ever enjoying their favorite things.

For surfers, sailors, and other beach sports, the advantages of modest swimwear in the form of rash guards becomes two-fold, as they not only protect from the sun but also protect skin from rashes and abrasions.

It is often not the most glamorous feeling when we leave the water wearing wet clothing over a swimsuit, yet we felt the need to cover up. It sticks to the skin, can get very heavy, may not dry fast, and adjusting everything to dry can simply become a tricky hassle.

Need for Diversity

Whether it is a personal need, a religious belief, a cultural background—modest swimwear is important because there is a lack of representation for it in today's swimwear trends. The category of women searching for the right modest swimsuit that is also easy to style and cute is broad, nuanced, and in most cases utterly underrepresented.

Lime Ricki saw this underrepresentation in its founders' search for the perfect, fashionable modest swimsuits for themselves—that couldn't be found. The lackluster options inspired them to think up the concept of a modest, fun line of stunning swimwear that would be perfect, not just for them, but for all women looking for the same diverse choices in swimsuits around the globe.

More and more women want to see and wear cuts, fits, and styles that reach broader ranges than the industry standard, and as a woman-owned swim apparel designer, we agree. Women should have a much more varied offering when it comes to their choices for swimwear and that is why modest swimwear is so important to us, and for you, too!