One size fits 2-10? Four editors try out the $175 cult favourite YouSwim swimsuit

It may still be chilly across most of Canada — but warm weather is allegedly right around the corner, which means swimsuits are on our minds.

As editors, we often stumble upon a variety of interesting new fashion brands — and one that really caught our eye over the past year is YouSwim.

Our editors started noticing the “one size fits 2-10” swimwear brand on Instagram this past summer, seeing their crinkly one-piece Aplomb swimsuits in bold hues and an apparently universally-flattering shape. The brand quickly amassed a cult following of influencers and fashionistas.

YouSwim originally offered only the Aplomb One-Piece suit, but has recently expanded to include two bikini options. The suits are available in six colours: black, white, crimson, sage, marigold and french navy. The interesting thing? The innovative design allows anyone from North American size 2-10 to wear the suit (we know, we know, that’s not one size fits all – but fingers crossed for an expanded offering soon). According to YouSwim, the “luxe, ribbed, and seamless” fabric allows it to perfectly expand to fit five traditional sizes.

The Instagram favourite suit is clearly a hit — it’s almost always on backorder (right now, though, five of six colours are in stock, and you can sign up to be alerted when sage is back in stock, as well).

But how does the Instagram-favourite suit hold up IRL? Four editors from Yahoo Canada put the Aplomb suit to the test.

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Elisabetta: Most things that claim to be “one-size-fits-all” usually get an eye-roll from me so I must admit, my expectations for this swimsuit were pretty low. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised when I actually put it on. As a woman who has a particularly difficult chest size (usually 30F), finding a one-piece that fully covers on top and still fits the rest of my body is next to impossible, but this suit did the job. Whether I was laying by the pool, swimming or walking, I never felt like I was going to spill out of the top of my swimsuit. The material is quite thick and super soft, so it’s actually very cozy to wear and it dries fairly quickly. It also looks great underneath a pair of shorts if you need to make a pit stop on the way to the beach or the pool – I was in California when I tried this out so that came in handy.

Even though YouSwim generally exceeded my initial expectations, there are a few things that weren’t necessarily ideal for my body. As a larger-chested woman, I would have felt more comfortable if there was some sort of lining that provided a bit more support on top. I have a true hourglass figure (biggest through my chest and hips/thighs) so this high-cut, cheeky style wasn’t necessarily the most flattering because I don’t love to accentuate the biggest part of my lower body. I did find that there was some sagging if I tried to pull the bottom below my hip bones, which was at its worst when I was getting out of the water. The swimsuit held up well in the wash but I think I would need a different style, that’s more flattering for my body type, if I’m spending $175.

Elizabeth: Second to jeans, shopping for a bathing suit can be a nightmare. A fan of bikinis, when I first opened my YouSwim suit, I had serious doubts about liking a high-cut one-piece. I decided that if I was going to wear a one-piece, I was going to do it right, and chose the Aplomb one piece in crimson to live out my “Baywatch” dreams.

I tried on the suit and to my surprise, really enjoyed the high cut ribbed style of the suit. While I was initially afraid of things falling out of place, the bottoms covered what needed to be covered but shows off plenty of cheek.

My only gripe with the YouSwim one-piece is the lack of chest support. A 34D, I typically opt for bikini’s to have some kind of cup or lining, but with the one-piece there was no insert to keep my girls in place. Although it didn’t work for me as a swimsuit, I would definitely consider throwing it on as a bodysuit in the summer with a bralette and a pair of cut-offs.

Hilary: Like some of the others on the team, I was initially skeptical of the high, hip-baring cut of the swimsuit, but once it was on, I actually loved its ’80s vibe. It did give a bit of a wedgie, but I found it’s high cut to be quite flattering, butt issues aside. I did find that the one size fits North American 2-10 sizing was great in theory, but since I’m on the smaller end of that scale (and with a short torso/longer legs), I found that the fabric sagged a bit at the bottom and I had to keep pulling it higher and higher to avoid a diaper effect. But once I adjusted, I really liked how it looked, and found the ruched fabric and gorgeous colour (mine was sage) to make me feel pretty damn good. My one takeaway with the fit was that I wish it had a bit of a different top – I’m usually a 34C, so not hugely chested by any means, but I did find the straight across cut the top to be a bit too confining. Support aside, I would love to see YouSwim expand to different necklines – I think a scoopneck would be ultra-popular.

I wore the swimsuit to a Scandinavan spa, where I was largely sitting in hot or cold pools, and not doing much movement. While I was pleasantly surprised with how the suit looked and felt in water (the ruching looked really cool and kept it from hugging too close to the body which some swimsuits are guilty of when they’re wet), I was disappointed when I took the swimsuit off after just a couple of hours and noticed there were several snags in the fabric, just from sitting in the pool. I assume the tile seats in the pool was to blame, so this might be a swimsuit better suited for relaxing on the beach and dipping your toes into the ocean (or posing for your Instagram fans), not a tiled pool. That said, I wish that for the cost, the suit held up better.

Paulina: This is a swimsuit built for long-torsoed ladies, because let me tell you, on a petite woman like me that thing stretches out. The backside isn’t full coverage either, so think of it more as an “let’s party in Ibiza” suit, and less “Canada Day BBQing with your elderly grandpa” suit. However, if you are willing to chip in an extra $10 for alterations, it’s a great purchase. The material is thick, the colours are vibrant, and after my tailor “shrunk” the length, it looked great!

The YouSwim Aplomb One Piece retails for £99 ($175 CAD). Do you think it’s worth the price? Let us know in the comments below.

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