Hi friends. Can I be honest? I am terrified to put these photos out onto the internet. I, like so many women, have a pretty up and down, love-hate relationship with my body. It never looks like people in magazines. It hardly ever even functions like it's meant to. I have stretch marks on my hips and patchy skin. I'm not the person you normally see parading around in swimsuits.

But, this is my one and only body, my one and only brain bag, and I am practicing being proud of it. In fact, I agreed to do this collaboration with a swimwear brand (oh my word, something I would have NEVER done a few years ago!) Because I felt the designs would be flattering to a "normal" looking person like myself who in no way matches magazines and I wanted to challenge myself to give it a go. So, although this is technically a brand feature about sustainable swimsuits, also see this as me sticking up my middle finger to cookie-cutter ideals of human bodies and waving it around like a mad-woman. So let's talk about Emroce Swimwear.

Minimal designs with a twist

The nice thing about Emroce is that the styles are minimal but with a twist. So if you’re like me and want something that’s interesting but not too flashy, you’ll probably find someting you like here. Plus there are several different cuts to choose from so it seems to me that no matter your body shape or what cut you prefer, you'll find something you like. While the swimsuit colors don't vary much (most are navy and/or black like you see here) there are a few types of bikinis, two-pieces, one-pieces etc to check out.

Eco-friendly and fairly made

Emroce Swimwear is made of quality, recycled fabrics often out of zero waste patterns. Scraps are saved and turned into things like frills or ruffles on other designs. I, of course, love the idea of sustainable swimsuits that don't create unnecessary waste, especially with so much talk recently about reducing plastics and reducing our personal waste outputs. I would also like to note that Emma, the mastermind behind the brand, actively sought feedback about the suit from me and was very attentive in making sure it would fit me comfortably. She honestly asked if it's something I would love to wear, and if there were any things that I thought could be improved. Not that that has a lot to do with sustainability, but I just think it's really cool that she puts so much care into the designs. As I grow into myself more and learn to just accept myself for who I am, I don't know that you'll see me all over the interwebs with my skivvies our swimsuit on... but I hope you will see me grow in confidence and strength in a lot of different ways, whatever that might look like. I hope, too, that you will join me. Self-love is an incredibly important part of life.

SHOP EMROCE SUSTAINABLE SWIMSUITS