Suit yourself!

I just bought a bathing suit over the Internet. I did this before, about six years ago, but the elastic on that one was worn out, as I discovered when I dove under a wave in Mexico last summer. The experience this time was a lot more painful and yet inspired much more confidence, thanks to Lands End's Virtual Dressing Room technology. I had read about it in the NYT and even though I am not a young mother or an over-40 woman or someone who has had a mastectomy, I decided to check out their suits. It is absolutely true that they're not as stylish as J. Crew's or the Calvin Klein one I found last time, but really, there's no point in me pretending that I'm stylish. (If low-rise jeans would go away and never come back, I would burn an effigy of Gisele Bündchen in celebration.) I do have a relatively cute bikini for the sunbathing I really shouldn't be doing anymore, but I needed a tank for actual swimming. We're going to Florida in two weeks, and I can't wait to do some bodysurfing.

First I had to build My Model, which involved height and weight and picking hairstyles (they had my current one) and asking Hüsbando what shape I am (triangle, inverted triangle, rectangular, etc). The result looked somewhat like my figure, but not quite, so I decided to get up off the chaise (something I should apparently do more often) and measure for the more advanced option. When I entered my actual bust, waist, hip, thigh, torso and inseam measurements, the result was shockingly dead-on. I had a pretty exact computer model of myself that could try on swimsuits while I sat here in my pajamas! I could make her turn around and check out the butt coverage, the side view -- all of it. It was just like being in a dressing room, all the way down to the "Ugh! Get this rag OFF me!" reaction I had to certain suits.

Now, I can't say that many of the Lands End suits appealed to me, but since I was only looking for a basic solid tank suit, limited choices was fine. I narrowed it down to three and then called in Hüsbando. "Wow, that really looks like you," he commented. "How cute you are!" (This is why I married him, btw: the ability to seem sincere while always telling me what I want to hear when I need to hear it.) He liked my No.1 choice, so I ordered it: alas, the chocolate brown one is back ordered til July, so I ended up with black, as always.

I provide a screen shot of my model here as an educational service. It really does look like me. (Although I would say I am "bulgier" in places, if she were, I probably wouldn't be posting her. I also enjoyed seeing what she/I looked like 10 pounds lighter with more toned thighs, which if all goes according to plan will be me, mid-summer.) Now, why can't EVERY online clothing site have this technology? Or someone make it portable so you could take it with you from store to store? I would never set foot in a mall again if I could try on jeans this way.