Swimwear personal shopping services Bespoke fitting tried and tested - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Fashion Swimwear personal shopping services Bespoke fitting tried and tested By You Magazine - June 30, 2019 Finding The One (or two-piece) is easier when there’s an expert on hand. The YOU team (plus fashion director Shelly’s mum) make an appointment with a swimwear personal shopper. Lucy Coghlan BOOKINGS DIRECTOR Visited Eres, London SW1; booking not required but recommended. TOP PICK: Swimsuit, £345, eresparis.com The Eres store is everything you would expect from a luxury swimwear brand – super swanky. However, visiting it for a fitting wasn’t the intimidating experience I was expecting. In fact, with the fitting team’s support and expert guidance I was converted from a lifelong bikini fan into a swimsuit wearer. While the price point of the one-piece I fell for is high, it is beautifully cut, managing to walk the fine line between sexy and a Love Island wannabe. Due to my small bust, the plunge at the front manages to be tasteful and it is counterbalanced by the lower legline and fuller brief – somehow managing to be sophisticated without being frumpy. Paired with linen trousers this swimsuit could realistically take me from beach to bar. Yellow swimsuit, £460, eresparis.com Khaki swimsuit, £360, eresparis.com Grey swimsuit, £360, eresparis.com Chloe Gallacher FASHION INTERN Visited Boux Avenue, London W1; booking not required but recommended. TOP PICK: Top, £32, bottoms, £20, bouxavenue.com When trying on swimwear the lighting can make or break the experience. Thankfully Boux knows this and its changing rooms offer three flattering light settings: day, dusk and nighttime. After measuring me, my fitter brought me a choice of designs. Although Boux’s swimwear doesn’t go down to 28in (my bust size) she showed me how if I went up to 30in and down a cup size, I’d still get the perfect fit, which she checked using Boux’s ‘Five Faithful Features’ (cup, centre front, underband, straps and wires). I really appreciated her honesty when it came to what suited me and, to her credit, every style I tried that she suggested looked better than the ones I would have picked. The bikini I chose was her bright idea – I love it. Green swimsuit, £30, bouxavenue.com Bikini top, £32, and briefs, £16, bouxavenue.com Floral swimsuit, £35, bouxavenue.com Stephanie Sofokleous FASHION ASSISTANT Visited John Lewis Style Studio, London W1; for an appointment visit johnlewis.com TOP PICK: Swimsuit £59, johnlewis.com Tucked away from the bustle of the main store, the Style Studio didn’t only score points for its calm setting but for the glass of fizz on arrival. Its stylists also do their homework – before my appointment my personal shopper called to get my sizing and swimwear needs and so had a selection of designs all ready for me. After asking me to try my favourites first, she encouraged me to give styles I wouldn’t normally pick a go. Having a big bust, I’ve always felt ruching and bold prints weren’t for me. However, she showed me how these details can really flatter and smooth. Having her on the other side of the curtain to advise me helped me feel more positive about how I look in swimwear. In the end, thanks to her recommendation, I chose a ruched number. Blue swimsuit, £39, johnlewis.com Bikini top, £28, and briefs, £16, johnlewis.com Floral swimsuit, £39, johnlewis.com Shelly Vella FASHION DIRECTOR Visited Beach Cafe’s online style advisors, beachcafe.com TOP PICK: Bikini, £128, Jets, beachcafe.com This was the first time I’ve tried to nail the perfect swimwear via an online chatroom and it was surprisingly successful. After first establishing my style preferences, size and shape, they made suggestions based on my feedback and we drew up a shortlist of three, which I ordered. It’s a testament to Beach Cafe’s team that the bikini I ended up picking was spot-on in terms of proportions, cut and overall fit. Also, despite me still not being comfortable with my middle-aged body, when I looked in the mirror I felt that this bikini would up my confidence. Its bright coral distracts from the areas I’m self-conscious about and the style of the top evens out my pear shape. It’s a departure from my normal choice, but it works and that’s the skill of the fitting service. Swimsuit, £234, Melissa Odabash, £234, beachcafe.com Bikini, £80, Seafolly, beachcafe.com Swimsuit, £319, Marysia, beachcafe.com Jackie Hunt SHELLY’S MUM Visited Nicola Jane Fitting Clinic, Chichester; booking not required but recommended. As well as fitting services at its Chichester and Leeds stores, Nicola Jane runs fitting sessions in hospitals, clinics and support groups throughout the UK, which are by appointment only; for further details, see the fitting clinic calendar at nicolajane.com TOP PICK: Tankini, £42, nicolajane.com I had a mastectomy a few months ago and this is my first foray into post-surgery swimwear, which Nicola Jane specialises in. My fitting was a really friendly experience, which started with me being asked about my personal circumstances and the operation. After that the team explained the importance of getting the correct fit and how some costumes were more suited to my shape than others. In my case a prosthesis was going to be necessary and they showed great skill in finding the right match for me. Nicola Jane’s brochure is excellent, too, and once you have attended a fitting they hold your details on file, which makes ordering online really easy. The tankini I chose was perfect – my fitting team really knew their stuff. Blue swimsuit, £36, nicolajane.com Floral bikini, £36, nicolajane.com Floral swimsuit, £39, nicolajane.com Charlotte Page INTERIORS COORDINATOR Visited Debenhams, London W1; for an appointment go to debenhams.com TOP PICK: Swimsuit, £28, debenhams.com Debenhams has an overwhelming choice of swimwear, so it was great to have fitters Ros and Charity on hand to guide me. I was expecting swimwear personal shopping to be pretty scary but the girls put me at ease instantly and after measuring my bust to get the perfect fit – I’ve been wearing the wrong size of bra for years! – they recommended various styles. Sadly, as is often the case when I shop on the high street, although I found designs I liked, none was in stock in a tall size – I’m 5ft 11in with a long body. While it was disappointing not to buy anything, when I got home, following their style advice, I went online and found this cute asymmetric number with a pretty tie detail – in my size! So it wasn’t a totally wasted trip. Floral swimsuit, £28, debenhams.com Green swimsuit, £39, debenhams.com Purple swimsuit, £42, debenhams.com RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Rochelle Humes has launched a gorgeous new edit with Next Shop the YOU Magazine Instagram YOU picks the best new-in buys from M& S Popular in Fashion Laura Jackson has teamed up with Next for the chicest knitwear January 22, 2020 Holly Willoughby’ s birthday dress is another Zara bargain February 10, 2020 The Instagram-famous & Other Stories wool blazer is back in stock August 31, 2022 Lorraine just wore Emma Willis’ Next collection from head to toe March 17, 2020 The prettiest spring dresses under £100 March 1, 2022 Everyone is buying Holly’ s gorgeous gingham Oasis dress May 14, 2020 13 bargain dresses to buy in ASOS’ s extra 20 per cent June 10, 2020 This £20 H& M dress is set to be the social media June 26, 2020 Stacey Solomon x Primark is back for a third collection with July 20, 2020 Searches for this perfect heatwave summer top style are up 5000% August 10, 2020 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. 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