I wrote an article a while back on Ashley Graham, a plus-sized model who's taking the industry by storm. I began to follow her on Instagram because of how intriguing and inspiring she is as a person, and as a model. It is here that I then discovered SwimSuitsForAll, an online retailer for women's swimwear that has partnered with Ashley Graham. The site sells suits for women sizes 8 and up, and is currently selling a beautiful swimwear collection designed by Graham.

I decided to check out the swimwear collection as well as the website. I was blown away. I saw first that they were running this campaign, #MySwimBody where they encourage women of all ages to post pictures of themselves in their suits, in turn challenging their friends to do the same. Going through the pictures of all these beautiful women, all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, and even some men too, gave me so much respect for this company. Through this campaign, they are spreading the message that all bodies are beach and swim worthy, and therefore should be celebrated. I loved this movement they started, all these people posing confidently, looking comfortable in their own skin.

I went on to view the actual products next, because even though their message was empowering and excellent, that did not necessarily mean they had high quality products. And as someone who is suspicious to online shopping, I was ready to be disappointed. I was not.

The website had a clean and easy to maneuver feel, and I explored each of the different sections of swimwear. All the models were gorgeous, and all of them had curves. Even the ages and ethnicities of the models were more varied than most websites I had been to. In addition, a pop up kept showing up for different sales and specials, helping me to find the best deals. When I had thoroughly looked through all the swimwear, I decided I couldn't help but fave my fears. I was going to order a bathing suit online.

Now mind you, bathing suit shopping, as I'm sure everyone is aware, is one of the most frustrating, horrid and long processes, especially for women. So yes it was great I could skip this and just click on a suit and pick a size, but I had no idea if the picture would match what I would get in the mail, or how the suit would even look on my body and my curves. What helped tremendously here were the reviews. Women everywhere had taken the time to post real reviews, with write-ups and explanations and pictures. The majority of suits had at least 50 or more reviews! I scrolled through them for the suits I was looking at and finally settled on two.

One was a one piece, best seller, with a pretty blue design that I felt was attractive but with a cut that would allow me to be active as well, something somewhat difficult when you have curves in certain places. The other suit was a high waisted bikini, and seeing as I love high waisted shorts, I felt hopeful I would like this cut in a suit. Both suits did cost me quite a bit, about $80, but I thought with how much money I have spent on suits in the past that end up not being comfortable or shrinking in the wash, I figured I would go for it. Especially since I was already buying a swimsuit online--again, crazy!!

Below are what the suits look like on me, and I couldn't be more pleased. They're comfortable, give me room for movement (shout out to those suits out there that are so constraining all you can do is sunbathe), and look darn adorable too. I decided to join the #MySwimBody movement as well, and have even written my own reviews on the suits I bought so that others can make a better decision for themselves.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with the quality of both the products and the company. I especially love that they say their favorite curve on a woman is her smile. This suggests that not only do they value customer service, but they value the person over physical physique. What a refreshing message and surprise it was to find these suits and this online retailer. And I really have Ashley Graham to thank for this, so thank you, Ashley.