Fitting guide: The best fit for body length

A golden rule for body confidence is to remember that when it comes to trying on clothes, there's nothing wrong with your body - its uniqueness is to be celebrated, and it's about finding the right clothes.

With this in mind, we strive to design our swimwear to make women of as many shapes and sizes as possible feel confident. The joy of no wires and stretchy fabrics makes our swimwear truly versatile. Because we get that no two size fourteens are the same - and that your body can change shape over the course of a month - it's really important that our swimwear accommodates our differences, cycles and changes. So, we make swimwear that not only caters for different tastes, but also works on different bodies. In other words, if one D&B swimsuit doesn't quite fit you perfectly, another style may fit like a glove.

One of the many ways in which our bodies vary from one another is in length. When it comes to swimwear, we’re talking about torso length – that’s the length of your body from crotch to collar. And even within that measurement, there are different things to consider like length from crotch to waist, bust size and the shape of your torso. For example, if you have a large bust, you'll need more length overall, so we always consider body length in our designs.

The beauty of our unique curve sizing system is that if you need to size up or down to accommodate a longer or shorter body, then you won't throw out all the measurements. In other words, if you are normally a size 12 and wear a D cup bra but you're very long in body, we would recommend trying a 14 Hepburn instead of 12 Monroe to give you more body length without having a baggy bust. Your swimsuit should fit like a second skin without pulling down on the shoulders, so you may need to play around with the sizing.

To help you choose the best swimsuit to fit your body, we’ve put together this guide.

Two-piece simplicity

Of course, the easiest way to get a good fit whatever your body length is by picking a bikini or tankini. The important thing here is that you choose a top that fits your ribs and bust – use our curve size guide to help you.

Our bikini bottoms come in two fits: High Waister or Regular. Again, you can play with the size to get the fit you want. For example, you might go up a size for more bottom coverage or if you’re longer from crotch to waist.

Rowan and Ellie both wear a size 16 Hendricks

Long bodies

As any tall woman will know, buying a one-piece that doesn’t pull on your shoulders or give you a wedgie can be tricky. Our swimwear is, generally speaking, quite generous. But some styles are especially suited for women with longer bodies.

The Signature Swimsuit is our top recommendation for tall women. The mesh panels not only look fabulous and give extra flexibility for movement, but they also stretch more for a bit of extra length.

The Essential Swimsuit is also great for tall women for the same reason – the mesh is just that little bit more giving around the shoulders. Similarly, the Essential Tankini is designed to have a longer fit and you can pair it with High Waister bikini bottoms for a one-piece look.

Lindsay wears the Essential Swimsuit in size 14 Monroe and Chantelle wears the Signature Swimsuit in size 18 Hendricks.

Short bodies

When you’re on the petite side, having a swimsuit that swamps you is no good. You need the right level of bust support and a good fit to make you feel confident. Our mesh-free styles provide the right level of tailoring and structure to give you that support and comfort to move with confidence.

The X-Back Swimsuit has the shortest body length of all our one-pieces. It’s beautifully tailored to fit smoothly around your curves, supports you in all the right places and allows for a full-range of movement.

The Plunge Swimsuit is also a great choice if you’re looking for something a bit lower cut. Again, it’s smooth, supportive and beautifully tailored. 

Adya wears The Plunge Swimsuit in 12 Monroe and Ebbi wears The X-Back in 10 Monroe.