I recently linked to this post from The Space between My Peers about swimwear materials on my Facebook Page. When going through my own swimsuit collection I noticed most are made of polyester and polyamide (nylon), with the exception of the Freya Soda, which is 20% Lycra (Spandex or elasthane). The Freya Soda behaves really differently from the rest of my swimsuits that I wanted to write about it.
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| via Asos for 30.56€ |
The special thing about the Soda is the fabric it's made of: I called
it
memory fabric until I checked the label and realised it's Lycra. If you think of the usual swimsuit fabric (polyester), it is usually
very elastic and tends to snap back; stretching taut from breasts
to crotch, flattening the breasts if there are no underwires. The Freya
Soda fabric is not like that. Lycra conforms to your body. There is no pulling and no bunching. Lycra is also very soft and comfortable, so there is very little chance that anything will chafe.
The first time I put on the Freya Soda, nothing fit, and I was
devastated. I couldn´t realise how is it possible that absolutely
everything was wrong? Finally, I tried it on again, and realised that
the material needs to be
pulled and placed exactly into the places you want it to be. Once
"styled", the fabric stays magically put and does not bounce back.
Magic! It does take a few minutes longer to put on, but is absolutely
worth the effort.
The downside of Lycra is that it does start to pill and show signs of
wear. I have heard that if you swim frequently in chlorinated pools,
Lycra will last 6 months, comparing to 1,5 years of polyester. I have
read that there is a new variety called Xtra life Lycra which is
supposed to last longer.
Because Lycra swimwear looks and
feels better, I'd suggest investing in one pretty piece as your "good" swimsuit, the
one you would wear to pool parties or on vacations; and keep a polyester
one for swimming workouts.
Review: Freya Soda Halterneck Swimsuit
The Freya Soda is an old model, however you can still get it some places online for a very cheap price if you search. it comes in several models including bikini tankini and halterneck, and in several colours. I'll be reviewing the red halterneck. It is very possible that newer Freya swimsuit models use a similar fabric.
The amazinmg stretchiness of the Lycra
means that the Freya Soda would work for short and long torsos, fuller
and less fuller butts, higher and lower placed breasts.
The swimsuit is advertised as being slimming, however I did not notice that kind of effect. However the way the suit is cut out of several vertical pieces is quite flattering. So is the halterneck style. The length of the strap is adjustable.
The underwires of the Freya Swim are hidden. They are sewn into an inner layer and so the underwires are not visible from the outside. The underwires and the Lycra means that the breasts are not flattened by the suit. I found the cups supportive, although I cannot say if the same goes for bigger cup sizes.
The cups run true to size. The
underwires of this model are on the narrow side. One issue that I had with this bra is
that only half of the cups are lined (weird, I know), so there is always risk of some
nipple show. However, it is possible that this was a defect that only my piece had, since I bought it very cheap on Ebay.
The Freya Soda doesn´t fit me any more in the cups, still I hang on to it because I want to try some sewing experiments with it.
Do you have any Lycra swimsuits? Or do you prefer Polyester?
