Well, you saw the title, so you know this post is gonna be a doozy! Yes, it might be the end of summer for some of you, but here in Southern California, it will be summer until about Thanksgiving. I’m a little late to the swimwear trends party this summer, but better late than never. It actually may shock you to find out that this is the first time I’ve done a post like this…I literally never post photos of myself in swim suits because I just honestly never feel 100% great about it. As I think a lot of women struggle with body image and self acceptance, I just wanted to take this time to not only discuss some cute suits, but also open up about my own struggle with my appearance.

Honestly, I’ve never really been happy with my body. As a figure skater, I’ve always been pretty athletic. Growing up, I was constantly training and was in really great shape, but I always had really muscular legs, for which I had a healthy disdain. After I quit my competitive career, I did nothing but cardio, cardio, and more cardio and literally did not pick up a weight in order to try to lean myself out. I was addicted to cardio; it was a total obsession. Soon my obsession with working out spread to an obsession with what I ate. I ate less, and less, and less. And you know what? I was really skinny, too skinny. The thinner I got, the more determined I was to lose even more weight. My obsession kind of took over my life. I’m not going to say I was completely anorexic, but I was really close.

While at the time I thought I looked amazing, I wasn’t healthy, mentally or physically. I definitely wasn’t happy. Looking back at photos of myself, I looked sickly…let’s just say, it just wasn’t a good look. It took a long time for me to get out of that, but oddly enough, when I moved to California I managed to break out of this unhealthy cycle. Now, I still workout and eat healthy, but my focus has shifted. I work towards being fit and strong rather than working myself to the bone in order to fit into a size 2. I wish I could say that after all of this I have a fanstatic body image and love the way I look, but I don’t! I always manage to find something to critique or beat myself up about.

While its not easy, I’ve really been making an effort this summer to combat these thoughts and feelings, be more gracious to myself, and practice more self love. The latter idea was a concept I really gave zero thought to until recently, probably because all I do is criticize myself constantly. Yes, I always want to try to improve and get into better shape, but I believe its important to not beat yourself up along the way. Its one thing to set goals for yourself, and its another to put yourself down until you reach those goals. That’s the least productive way you could spend your time! Here’s my advice: focus on the positive. For me, this means being proud of how strong I am and how healthy I feel. Maybe I’m not a size 2 anymore, but I also don’t look like you could snap my arm in half, which I’m going to call a win! I’m not going to say I’m absolutely perfect at this whole body positivity thing. I have my days when I’m still awful to myself, where I make myself feel so guilty for skipping a workout or eating a piece of pizza (the horror!) but the point is to keep training yourself to stop those thoughts in their tracks and replace them with ones that build you up, not tear you down.

Ok, now that we’ve wrapped that first half up on an upbeat note, let’s talk swimwear trends! The two suits I’m wearing in thi spost are from Albion Fit, which is a great place to score some gorgeous swimwear that you actually don’t have to be afraid to swim in! Their suits are just as cute for lounging as they are for playing in the surf, beach volleyball, or chasing after stray umbrellas. I also love that I can wear this swim top as a crop top so that I can throw on cutoffs and go from the sand to margaritas in no time flat!

Another one of my favorite swimwear trends this summer is the one piece. Seriously, I would’ve never thought I’d be happy to wear a once piece. I remember going to summer camp in high school and literally hating life when they wouldn’t let us wear our bikinis. Fast forward to today, and I don’t hate it so much because there are some seriously sexy one piece swimsuits out there. I love this plunging, classic black number because its super flattering but also doesn’t make me feel matronly.

Swim look 1: Top, Bottoms, Sunglasses

Swim look 2: Suit, Sunglasses, Earrings

Use code MISSMOORE15 for 15% off your order at Albion Fit!

What are your favorite swimwear trends this year? Let me know what you are loving down in the comments below, and also what you thought about this post, it is definitely something new and different for me!

These amazing photos were taken by Rachel Marie Photography! Make sure you check out her awesome site for more of her work!

Let’s Get Social! >> Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

2017 swimwear trends albion fit beach style beachy style bikini post bikini styling body image body positivity California blogger California fashion California Style lifeguard tower Los Angeles blogger Los Angeles fashion Los Angeles style self love summer fashion summer outfit summer style swimwear swimwear trends Venice Beach