Disappearance of the Blouson Suit Has Her Seeking Cover
Dear Fashion Police: Whatever happened to the blouson swimsuit? I keep seeing all these “slimming” bathing suits in the stores and catalogs that promise to make one’s avoirdupois presentable, but nothing does that so well as a blouson. Are they just “out” for the moment or gone forever?
--BRING ON THE SUN
Dear Bring: Already thinking about those carefree days by the pool, are we? That’s admirable. We prefer huddling in our flannels, continuing to be in denial that beach weather is coming, thank you.
Those blouson styles are not completely out, but this is definitely not the blouson swimsuit’s finest hour. Swimsuit designers and manufacturers have relied more in recent years on better-performing fabrics and garment engineering to create more support and fit for those who want to camouflage certain parts of their bodies. Blousons are usually preferred by some women who want to hide a less-than-flat tummy.
Moving in on the blouson’s territory is the tankini, which combines a bathing suit bottom with a tank top. That may not sound like it provides much midriff coverage, but some variations do, i.e., modest bathing suit bottoms or skirts with longer, roomy tops that fit more like a tunic, skimming the torso. Companies that carry these looks in larger sizes are Silhouettes https://(www.silhouettes.com, [800] 704-3322) and Junonia https://(www.junonia.com, [800] 671-0175). Lands’ End also has a tankini, as well as a tunic swimsuit with a shirred front and invisible support and boy-cut legs https://(www.landsend.com, [800] 963-4816). Prices for all are in the $58-$90 range.
But the blouson hasn’t disappeared completely. California-based Canyon Beachwear still carries them--and if they’re not in stock, they can be ordered. Stores are in Santa Monica, West L.A., Los Angeles and Pasadena, or go online at https://canyonbeachwear.com, or call (800) 863-6681.
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FROM THE FASHION POLICE BLOTTER: OK, we promise this is the last of the responses to the wearing black to a wedding issue. We’ll let the ayes have the last word:
“If it hadn’t been for basic black, my niece’s wedding would have been a disaster. The bridesmaids’ dresses were ordered from a private dressmaker in the small town where the wedding was held. Two days before the wedding, the bridesmaids [some from out of town] gathered for a final fitting. The dresses were awful, poorly made and ill-fitting. The bride and her friends rejected them outright. With no time to spare, and no decent store in town to find replacements, the group turned to their own closets. The one thing everyone had was a black cocktail or tea-length dress. Each was a different style, but classy. As they walked down the aisle, the bridesmaids looked quite lovely, and the pictures show a group of very elegant young women surrounding the bride. I can’t imagine a more perfect solution to that dilemma.”
“When I read all the negative responses to wearing black or other somber colors to weddings, I had to dig up one of my favorite photos from my wedding. I am wearing a white dress and my lovely bridesmaids are decked out in strapless black evening gowns. I figured if guys can wear black tuxes, then why not have the bridesmaids in comparable attire? I have seen way too many Scarlett O’Hara dresses in nasty Easter egg colors at other weddings. My attendants were thrilled to be wearing black, and after the wedding I saw two of my bridesmaids wearing a shortened version of the dress at company Christmas parties. I borrowed my sister’s gown to wear to my husband’s company party. How many brides can say that? One of my bridesmaids even decided to have her attendants in black at her wedding [I was one of them], in part because she liked how my wedding looked. I have worn that black dress from her wedding a couple of times. Let’s not send black to the back of the wedding closet.”
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Write to Fashion Police, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, fax to (213) 237-4888, or send e-mail to socalliving@latimes.com.
