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- Verified Buyer
I didn't give 5 stars ONLY because it hasn't been in the water yet, so I haven't assessed how the suit soaks and 'drags' or holds up yet. But it looks excellent and I really would give it 5 stars I'm sure once I've swum.Now...as to sizing and fit...I'm 5 ft 6.5 inches and approx. 195 lbs (recently ~215, so I wasn't leaping to fit smaller just yet, in case who knows...). In addition, my fitting issue is that my chest is always an inch bigger than my hips proportionately, while all the women's sizing charts show the reverse, ie hips a bit bigger than chest measurement. That being said, I was looking for some level of comfortable/sporty chest support and compression in this suit because I want to lap swim, and I don't need an additional pocket of water between my boobs dragging down my suit, slowing me down, and needing me to yank up and remove said water every lap or so. So, I was happy to roll the dice on a smaller chest size suit for a better swim fit. On a side note, for this purpose, I do wish the neck was cut a bit higher. Please note that it's a little more scoop-y than sport needs would dictate.I first ordered the 42, based on the measurements in the bust-waist-hip sizing chart (I'm 45.5-38-44.5) that Baleaf provides in this listing, but the suit felt too big...the crotch fell a little lower, there were a few folds between the boobs, and the thigh openings seem to fall lower than my thigh crease and turn into some sort of boy short thing. I did a little more investigation, and found this other chart that I'm attaching which I dug up somewhere on some reviewer's site, and boy, was it helpful. It shows sizing by height and weight, rather than by B-W-H measurements, and of course, YMMV but I think it should be taken into account for size. The suit stretches both ways, so some people might use the stretch horizontally if needed, or those with short or long torsos should take this into account as well. I have long legs, hence I needed less stretchy torso length if that makes sense. That's why the 42 crotch was falling lower for me.I ordered the 40 and it fit just right. Which, if I had gone strictly by the B-W-H chart, I wouldn't even have tried (because note that my bust measurement would have been 4" bigger than the suit size maximum! I didn't even need to re-try the 42 but I did since I had both in the house, and there was no comparison. I would even say I'm hovering on the edge of 38. Like if I was a competition swimmer getting the classic tight fit, I would be able to go with 38. I'm content to get started with the 40 though. It's snug enough, but comfortable, easy to get on and off (dry so far haha), but when/if it stretches after some use, I can see it getting less efficient.I went into this detail because the other reviews helped me so much, and I hope this adds to someone's insight (or further confusion!)The cup liners are annoying and have weird folds out of the package, and I may pull them out to lap swim, because I basically do not care if nipple outlines offend lol! But I'll try them out anyway to start. If they add soggy drag, then they'll come out. But, otherwise the bust fit is nice, the shelf band hits in the right place, and there is no side spillage.Overall...I'm very pleased with this suit and look forward to using it, and will come back to Baleaf for more if it works out.Update: It's performing great in the water, so I'm changing to 5 stars. I never bothered with the liners and it was fine. There is a little more pouching around the stomach with excess material when wet, but not noticeable at my level of swimming. I am really happy with this suit.
