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Community Corner

Swimsuit Season at Freehold Raceway Mall

How to make the most out of the dreaded swimsuit hunt.

Memorial Day has come, and with it comes the unofficial start to summer. With the temperatures high and the sunsets late, you know what time it is: bathing suit time.

I know swimsuit shopping is akin to Chinese water torture for most people. It makes the ever-elusive search for the perfect jeans look like a cake-walk! However, when the sand is hot and the water is cold, everyone is going to be so consumed with joy that insecurities, like sunscreen, will melt to nothing. Best to get the dirty work of shopping for swimsuits over with now – when the selection is plentiful and summer sales abound – so you have the whole summer ahead to spend in them!

California Sunshine is a major player in this game; they deal pretty exclusively in swimwear. They carry women’s designer swimsuits that run the gamut of styles and sizes; there’s something to be found here for just about everyone. The salespeople are also very helpful and accommodating; the perks of shopping in a smaller store shine here, where we could all benefit from some expert advice. By the same token, beachy PacSun (which has apparently transcended the longer name from whence it was abbreviated) is now in season, with lots of surfer-chic concepts.

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On the other hand, larger department stores also have the advantage of being able to feature a wide range of swimsuits, whereas most of the smaller clothing chains don’t even dabble. Designer names can also be found at , Nordstrom, and , and more affordable options are available at and . I’m not usually a fan of the department store atmosphere, but in this case it pays to have a lot to choose from in one place.

If you’d rather save your money for a beach pass, cheaper options are all around.  has suits for the whole family at cut-rate prices, including rare cute, young, one-pieces for women. The usual suspects (, XXI Forever, and H&M) are all fair game. I would especially recommend H&M, which has made swimwear a big part of their summer campaign and has a lot of bold, fun options for women and men. A male friend told me this was the place to go for trendy, “European” (read: shorter) styles. 

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Whatever level of temporal, fiscal, and emotional investment you plan to make in the search for a new bathing suit, the mall has all the tools at your disposal. Now get out there and buy them before all the good ones are gone, and so that you get the maximum wear out of them this year!

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