The retro swimwear rundown: my top vintage inspired swimsuits and bikinis

If you’re a longterm visitor to the site (or indeed, a friend) you’ll know that vintage inspired swimwear is a huge passion of mine. I’ve yet to venture into proper vintage (it’s the fear that it’s been a bit to close to someone else’s ladyparts that stops me!) but I do buy a lot of retro stuff. If it’s polka dotted, ruched and contains the same amount of fabric as at least a dozen tiny triangle bikinis, it’s likely to find its way into my swimwear ‘wardrobe’. I must have about 20 bikinis and swimsuits by now, which is a bit ridiculous given that I don’t go swimming, am not a member of a gym, and have only had one beach holiday in the last four years.

Tried & Tested: True Corset ‘Dita’ corset

With my passion for 40s and 50s fashion, it’s perhaps a surprise that I’ve never really tried a proper corset before. I’ve worn bustiers and cheap alternatives, I’ve sewn plastic bones into the top of a prom dress, and I’ve even given corset shapewear a go. But until True Corset got in touch, I’d never laced myself into a proper steel-boned number!

So I was excited to be offered the chance to try a really gorgeous burlesque-inspired corset that promised to create the ultimate hourglass figure. I was sent the ‘Dita’ corset in black with polka dot panels, a longer line corset that promised to shape without squishing my flesh too much…