The One Piece Of Clothing Barbie Always Got Right
Works equally well on apple waists, big butts, thick thighs, and boobs not impervious to gravity.
Images from Barnabys
by Carolyn Firestone
I was never the sort of girl who wanted to match her doll. Not even when Samantha’s gorgeous green velvet dress appeared in the American Girl catalogue.
I wanted those tiny perfect clothes for my tiny perfect doll. Especially for Barbie.
Even at age 9, I had a good sense that I wouldn’t grow up to look like Barbie in clothes. Not to mention most of Barbie’s frilly pastel tops and miniest of mini skirts were really only meant to be ogled by the bedazzle-and-bubblegum-loving eyes of a child.
But there is one piece in Barbie’s wardrobe that most of us have loooong coveted and desperately wanted for ourselves well into our 40s. And beyond really.
That piece is, of course, her swimsuit.
And it’s for good reason. Barbie’s swimsuits always looked like they were made for real adult women of non-39-18-33 proportions.
Maybe because Barbie herself originated in the in the hourglass-obsessed 50s, her suits were flawlessly designed to look good on curves. And they’ve stayed that way.
Take a skim through the decades of full coverage bottoms, supportive-seeming tops (not that Barbie needed that feature), pretty prints and colors, and chic, endlessly flattering cuts.
They’re all so lust-worthy, we actually went out and found gorgeous dupes for our 7 favorite Barbie swimsuits of all time.
Starting, naturally, with the most iconic…
THE ORiGINAL STRIPED SUIT
Barbie™ x Unique Vintage Black & White Chevron Stripe One Piece Bathing Suit
A flawless replica of the exact 1959 suit that set off the entire “fashion doll” craze. And we can think of no better piece to do just that than a chic, black and white suit with a stacked bust, a smooth, structured tummy, and a full retro bottom. This one comes with detachable straps and sizes into plus HERE. A word of warning though, it sells out or is on backorder ALL the time, so you can also find it HERE or HERE.
Price: $88
2. THE SMOOTH, STRIKING-SILHOUETTE SUIT
Summersalt The Ruched Backflip
A thick strap and a striking neckline are all we could ask for in a swimsuit that requires zero adjustment to look wildly good on us. This suit captures the entire sprit of Barbie’s bold red one-piece in a slightly modernized shape we could easily wear for all time. Summersalt makes their suits with something they call “signature compression,” and all we can tell you about that is it keeps everything (everything!) smooth, secure, and “held in” without exception…and, most importantly, without an ounce of discomfort.
Price: $95
TA3 Squarey
Perhaps you’ve heard about how this suit magically ties at the back and sculpts you into an instant hourglass? But we love the added benefit of its full-bottom coverage and wide, supportive neckline.
Price: $178
3. The FLATTERING SUIT YOU CAN FREELY MOVE ABOUT IN
Shapellx Smart Sculpt Plunge Cutout Swimsuit
We deeply appreciate a pretty suit we can bend over in the sand and build “dream castles” in all day without ever once worrying about spilling out in some devastating fashion. There’s really zero need to be as smooth and “stiff” as Barbie when suits such as this exist. The ruching is unbelievably flattering round our midsection. Plus, this beloved shapewear brand sews in a comfy tummy-smoothing panel, which you can’t see, but isn’t that the whole point?
Price: $69
J. Crew Cap-sleeve one-piece swimsuit in classic stripe
Admit it, the notion of wearing a high-neck, cap-sleeved suit that eliminates any inkling of self-consciousness and is a pair of pull-on shorts away from being your cutest summer outfit is too good to pass up, no? This one also has that classic black and white stripe. And the back is maaaaybe the best part.
Price: $128
4. THE MOST WEARABLE BIKINI
Andie The Barbados Top And Wide Band High Waisted Bottom
We’ve made no secret of the fact that Andie has created the most life-altering one-piece we’ve ever worn. It all comes down to doing smart, curve-complementing things with the fit. And this bikini follows the exact same rules. The supportive top feels a bit like a favorite sports bra, while the bottom is like our most blissfully high-waisted boy shorts. And yet, it has both the chic, throwback sensibility and classic shape of Midge’s Malibu suit.
Price: $72 for the top, $52 for the bottoms
5. THE CUT-OUT SUIT THAT LOOKS EXCELLENT ON CURVES
Eomenie Tummy Control Cutout High Waisted Bathing Suit
Just that itty bit of peekaboo in the most flattering spot possible. Which is pretty much the only way we’ll do a cut-out. It comes in the full color wheel, in case pink isn’t your thing, and it sizes up to 22 Plus!
Price: $36
Free People Ribbed Celine One Piece
Ok, so this one doesss show a little more skin😬, but the Bubblicious hue and supportive ribbed fabric make it incredibly fun to wear. The bottom is a bit cheekier but not in an absolutely-cannot-do-this kind of way. We swear, this suit is deeply flattering, and if you don’t believe us, just look at the real, human photos in the reviews. Where you can also see all the colors!
Price: $148
6. THE ONLY DEEP-V SUIT WE DEEPLY ENJOY WEARING
Andie The Mykonos One-Piece
This might be our favorite skin-baring suit ever. The ruched neckline. The full bottom. It has a long torso option and an excellent size range. You might even see us wearing ours as a top. Possibly with #8 on this very list.
Price: $98
7. THE ONE-SHOULDER SUIT
J. Crew Ruched one-shoulder one-piece
Barbie had the love-it-or-hate-it 80s print, but this one has the ruching., which we’ll keep shouting about, because there’s just nothing that looks better on curves. It sizes up to 22 plus and, once again, comes in long torso. Noticing a pattern? The colors are practically limitless. Pink is, of course, an option!
Price: $40 - $118
Summersalt The Sidestroke
There’s been a Barbie-movie level of buzz around this swimsuit for how smoothing and elongating it is. The trio of colors are its signature, but it fits so well, we feel bold enough to wear it in white, which means we’re a wrap skirt away from wearing it out to dinner.
Price: $95
…AND JUST THE PINK SARONG, PLEASE
Skims Sarong Skirt
We’ve yet to locate a better selection of colors (and sizes) in a sarong. So, yes, we’ll take one in pink. But we remain stuck as to which other shade to settle on. We’ve narrowed it down to 4.
Price: $78
CAROLYN FIRESTONE
Carolyn is the Managing Editor of The Candidly. Her favorite thing to do is to write about her favorite things, especially when they have even the slightest chance of making someone else’s something (mood, relationship, travel plans, or toiletry kit) a little better. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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