Swimsuit Basics

A swimsuit, also known as a swimming costume or bathing suit, is used to wear when one goes swimming. A swimsuit can be skin tight, or can have a loose fit, according to your preferences. Whether you want to hide as much as you can, or reveal as much as possible, there is a swimsuit for every kind of taste.

A swimsuit is lined with a fabric so that it is not transparent when it becomes wet. A swimsuit is made so as to cover genitals and women's breasts. A woman's swimsuit can be a one piece, or a bikini or even a thong. A man's swimsuit can take the form of shorts, thongs, jammers, briefs, jammers, bikini, g string or broadshorts.

A monokini is a type of swimsuit which leaves a woman's breasts uncovered, although in the US there are strict laws against monokinis. A special kind of swimsuit is worn by those who participate in competitive swimming, which reduces skin drag. This swimsuit can resemble a unitard. A particular kind of swimsuit called diveskin is worn for special kinds of swimming and also for diving.

A diveskin swimsuit is made of spandex and does not provide protection from heat, but does help to protect the swimmer against cuts and abrasions. A swimsuit can also be designed for competitive swimming in the form of a jammer or racer back, all designed to improve speed while swimming. People not comfortable with wearing a swimsuit use t- shirts, underpants or trousers.

A swimsuit can also be used in beauty contests to show off the contestants' bodies. Some sports magazines feature sports personalities and models wearing a swimsuit.

A one piece swimsuit for women can also take the form of a leotard or tank suit. A tank suit style swimsuit inspired the popular tank top, which many women wear today. A monokini is simply a bikini swimsuit, but without its upper half.

Monokinis are common in Europe and South America, but only acceptable for very young girls in the US. Otherwise, monokinis are acceptable in the US in areas which have very high European tourist counts every year. Sometimes, a sling bikini type swimsuit is also known as a monokini. A thong swimsuit for women is a one piece swimsuit with the buttocks exposed.

A slingshot type of bikini swimsuit is even more revealing than a bikini is. Other types of the swimsuit include a pretzel suit, burqini, halter neck, stringbody, plunge front and maillot.

A two piece swimsuit can be a g-string, a thong or a t-back. It can also be a tankini - a tank top worn with a bikini bottom, and freedomware, which sits on the hips when it is folded up.

A swimsuit is sometimes done away with, in favor of swimming in the nude, often known as "skinny dipping" which is a slang term for swimming without the swimsuit on. There are many variations of this useful garment and it has evolved over the years to what we now use and see through the world.