All you guys out there, bear with me. There'll be a swimsuit shot at the end.

Back when I was skinny enough that a strong wind could blow me over, I bemoaned the fact that the only place I could shop for non-children's clothes was 5-7-9. Oh, how young and naive I was.

I'm not sure if you guys know or not, but a little over a year ago, I had a baby:


Well now that baby is almost 16 months old, and I'm still suffering from Wait Whose Body Is This? Disease. Right before I got pregnant, I bought an adorable bikini from Victoria's Secret: colorful yet tasteful, bikini-ish but not a-string-and-two-handkerchiefs-ish. But now, at this moment in the history of my life, I am not comfortable wearing it. Will I be again in the (hopefully not too distant if I can just get that Dove chocolate thing under control) future? I'm sure I will. But sometimes, a bikini just doesn't work. Sometimes, a one piece (which I prefer to call a maillot) is in order—both for confidence levels and practicality.

Lucky for me, really classic, retro maillots are available in spades this year. So on my lunch break I went to Dillard's and checked out their supply. And I came out with this little beauty, a Janzten "Vamp Maillot" in black:

I snapped this photo in the dressing room.

So, obviously I highly recommend the Jantzen 2009 collection for anyone who adores 50s-era swimwear for its elegance and figure-friendly coverage.

*Of interest: If you go to the Jantzen website, click on "our heritage" and then "icon." Notice how the Jantzen diving girl has lost significant amount of weight since 1920. Discuss.