Swimsuit Spending

Although American Eagle at the Tanger Outlets and Urban Outfitters in California don’t seem like they’d have much in common, they share one common characteristic; they each charge outrageous amounts of money for swimsuits. While swimsuit shopping for the upcoming Utah Spring break, it was noted that swimsuit prices have skyrocketed. In order to buy the full swimsuit you have to purchase both the top and bottoms, and most cost about 40 dollars each! Most consumers find themselves asking the question, “But why do they cost so much? Swimsuits are covering less of someone’s body than regular clothes, and are made of cheap latex?” The answer might be more complicated than some would think.

Swimsuit prices are due to fit and material. Swimsuits also give a person confidence. So it’s important that they fit right. They have to hide certain places while showing others and make a woman feel good about her body. They also need to fit right so they don’t fall off when in the rough waves of the ocean. Another problem is since suits are such a smaller canvas to work with, they’re harder to make perfect. Spandex, which is very expensive, slippery and stretchy, requires a special sewing machine to stitch them. Swimsuits are in high demand so people are willing to pay a lot to get them. Since some places are only warm in the summer, swimsuit demand goes up very rapidly when it gets warm. The issue of why companies started selling bikini tops and bottoms separately is simple; some people have larger thighs and gluts than chests or vice versa.

Overall, there are many factors that go into a swimsuit that make it cost so much, so while cringing at the price tag of that new Victoria’s Secret swimsuit, remember all the effort that goes into creating a it.

By: Cami Burke and Hali Weaver