Vintage Bridge Swimsuit Edition: 4th of July Curvy Girl Bikini in Red(dish Pink) & Blue Plus Size Two Piece Swimsuit from Old Navy

Vintage Bridge Swimsuit Edition: 4th of July Swimsuit in Red and Blue Retro Paisley Pattern, Pus Size Bikini from Old Navy Clearance *Bohemian Budget Alert*

Happy Birthday, America! I really do love this country, because you know what? We may be the country of Donald Drumpf (heaven help us), but we're also the country of Elizabeth Warren. And my US Senator is the best. (See my twitter feed, in which I retweet her about every other week if you don't believe me!) And it may be less cool among us super duper ultra lefty librulz to say so, but I love Hillary, too. For she is a bitch, and bitches get shit done. 

I mean, I do call myself a "political pinup poet" so expect these non-fashion oriented digressions here sometimes. (And get LOTS more on my online notebook, "Bridget Eileen's Commonplace Book.")

Bohemian Budget: Clearance Bikini from Old Navy  in Size L on top, XL on bottom

I'm a big big fan of the clearance rack. In fact, when I shop, I usually have in mind what I want. In this case I was looking for a bikini top and bottom that can mix and match with what I already have. I had at home a blue top and pink bottoms. 

OMG guess what I found for $7 bottoms and $8 top at Old Navy? Yes, the above bikini. How did you guess? You are a regular Jessica Fletcher. (Google it, youngins'.)

The top goes perfectly with the vintage cut bottoms I got from SammyDress.com. I posted that excellent retro style plus size bikini ensemble last week here. 

Picking Out the Most Flattering Tops and Bottoms for a "Plus Size" Bikini

Alrighty, so, here's the thing. My hips and bum are way bigger than my shoulder and torso. And, of course, my boobs are pretty darn big. So, with a body that can range from size 12 to size 16 depending on the cut and maker of the clothes, how do you pick out the most flattering style swimsuit to wear? In this case, I really like two pieces, because you can change up the sizes. For instance I got a size XL bottom. With no "spillage" at the waist line, this looks very flattering. And for the top, one can either go exactly the right size, for maximum support and shapeliness, or do what I call the "distraction" technique. What's that? It's like slight of hand, only it's actually giant of boob. That is, I purposely wear a top with a much smaller size cup than what I am and let the Ladies have a nice show at the beach. Because it's the beach and that's more than acceptable. Also it's like "Wow look at my nice ample bosom," and that distracts from my tummy which isn't my favorite thing, but I still love it because it's me and I love me.