Hey y'all,

This is part 1 of the second installment of my Modesty for the Active Woman series. Any suggestion by me is purely from my personal experience, which is fallible.

This may be one of the most controversial topics in modesty that I have ever encountered.

A lot of modesty advocates actually look down upon the idea of public swimming, and there is a good reason for that. With widespread immodesty and bad company on the public beaches, the air is ripe for scandal. But there is a flip side to that. We, as modest swimmers, can be a shining example for those poor girls. Who knows what good we could do by simply letting our dress speak for us!

And besides, swimming in itself is not bad! There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a dip in a pool, ocean, pond, whatever body of water that is near you, especially with family and friends. Just costume and conduct yourself appropriately.

So...how do we do so?

First and foremost, start with the Vatican standards of modesty. High neckline, sleeves, knee length skirt. Easy enough. I would heartily recommend that you add leggings/shorts to that. I'll explain why later on.

There are a couple of different ways to supply yourself with a modest suit: buying one and making it yourself.

Some companies have created ready-made modest suits, including Sea Secret, HydroChic, Undercover Waterwear as well as several small businesses. Use the image search on Google for the best results, and follow the links attached to the images.
Commercial modest swimsuits/swim dresses have the following characteristics:

1. Shirt - cap to elbow sleeves, high neckline
2. Skirt - mid-thigh to knee length
3. Leggings - most stop at the knee.

There are a few cautions that I would like to pass on:
1. Not all "modest" suits fit Vatican standards, as the characteristics list above will prove.
2. Many shops that sell modest swimwear are affiliated with a faith group, (Jews, Muslim, and evangelicals are the most common). Each of these faith groups has a different standard of modesty than Catholics do. I would review these products on a case-by-case basis, seeing if they fit Vatican standards.
3. Modest swimsuits and swim dresses tend to be a bit pricey (by pricey, I mean over $50).

For ideas to help you get started on your search for modest swimwear, please check out my Pinterest board
When I began looking for modest swim options, I quickly discovered that buying one was not a good option. Since I was handy with a needle, I looked at the second option: making one.

Believe it or not, there are patterns available to make modest swimwear. Fresh Modesty has one here: http://freshmodesty.com/shop/creating-custom-swimwear/

However, I had a unique problem come up right around the time I was thinking of making one...check out my next blog post to find out what it was!

Old-fashionably yours,

Catherine