If you're on Instagram, you've undoubtedly heard of Fashion Nova. The online fast-fashion giant bills itself as affordable and inclusive, dedicated to making cool style accessible for every girl. With a wide plus-size range and body-diverse models, it's widely thought of as a body-positive brand.
Earlier this year, Jess and I tried Fashion Nova's clothing line to see what it was really like β and spoiler alert, it was…Β not good. But everyone deserves a second chance, so there was only one thing to do: Spend $300 and try out Fashion Nova's extensive swimsuit collection.
Would Fashion Nova's swimwear make us feel as confident and ~sexy~ as a celebrity on Instagram? Or would we be filled with regret?
We started out optimistic. "Fashion Nova's swim campaign is pretty body diverse," said Jess. "I don't see anyone with a body JUST like mine, but they're trying. It would be great if plus-size women could get bomb swimsuits like this that are cheap."
Fashion Nova has a pretty decent plus-size swimwear collection that's available up to a 3X. It's not as extensive as their straight size collection β but it's a start.
When the swimsuits arrived, we were surprised by the decent quality. That quickly turned to despair when we realized how SMALL the suits ran.
"I ordered a 3X in all the suits, the largest size Fashion Nova offers. Nothing fit," said Jess. "This one-piece was panties on me; it fit like a really tight XL. The suit wouldn't go up over my belly. Fashion Nova's size guide said this would fit and it didn't. I felt embarrassed and upset."
"Fashion Nova says that they want to make cool clothes for every woman, but women with bodies like mine are STILL excluded."
"I liked the design of this suit," said Jess. "I wish I could have sized up. But if your brand's 3X is so small and that's the largest size you have, I'm out. Women with bigger bodies are screwed."
And there's the little matter of Fashion Nova's return policy, which explicitly prohibits returns or exchanges on swimwear β even if the size guide has misled you.
The return policy as stated on Fashion Nova's site is that "bodysuits, swimsuits, and/or undergarments are non-returnable" and "We do not accept returns on bodysuits, swimwear, undergarments, or final sale items."
So even if your suit doesn't fit, you can't return it β or exchange it for a size that DOES.
The Fashion Nova exchange policy ALSO doesn't seem to apply to swimwear. "Because we can't ensure our #NovaBabes will be issued the style/size they desire by the time their returned items come back to the distribution center, we are unable to accommodate exchanges by mail." I've reached out to Fashion Nova to clarify this policy, and I'll update if and when I hear back.
I've bought a lot of swimsuits online, guys. I've NEVER seen a brand make it this hard to get a bathing suit that fits.
Jess was unable to wear these suits, and she wasn't able to exchange them for a size that would fit her. So I called in a ringer to help me model these bathers β and Nicola was also stunned at the bizarre sizing.
In her normal, non-Fashion Nova life, Nicola wears between a size 12 and 16. She is, statistically, an average size woman in America. Fashion Nova's 3X swimsuits fit her perfectly β "I would have never thought to order up three entire sizes, based on the size charts," said Nicola.
I'm wearing the Sun Goes Down one-piece in a medium, thank God I sized up ($39, Fashion Nova). Nicola is wearing the Gaia swimsuit ($33, Fashion Nova).
As fierce as she looked in this bathing suit, Nicola was hideously uncomfortable. "The torso on this suit is SO SHORT," she said. "I have to tie it up around my neck so tightly, I feel like I'm being strangled.
"The color is cute, though."
But that wasn't all. "This is so tight!" said Nicola. "Yes, my boobs look great from the front, but they're flattened into pancakes. If I tried to swim in this, I would probably drown."
"I wanted to like this suit, but I don't," she said. "It's just BAD. I feel disrespected from all sides."
Meanwhile, I was suffering in an incredibly constrictive, weirdly laced up number.
I normally wear a small in swimwear β but something just told me to order the medium. I'm so glad I did because this suit ran SO small. Seriously, it was like wearing a corseted wetsuit. The suit is lined, which should have been nice, but really just added what felt like another layer of elastic agony.
Plus, the majority of the ties don't do anything. WHY ARE THEY THERE?
While my breasts were being squashed to death in the front, the suit still managed to be too loose in the waist.
I just… I don't understand. How can a bathing suit be mammogram-tight at the top, but Saggy-Baggy Elephant around the waist?
Plus, my entire ass was out. I love my ass, but HOLY SHIT, THIS IS NOT OK.
My majestic butt looked like a canned ham trussed up in butcher's twine. The bottom CUT INTO my bottom. It felt like having a really painful wedgie.
Overall, we were not really happy with Fashion Nova's one-piece swimsuits β but we were VERY happy to release our bodies from Spandex boob-jail.
"I just don't understand," said Nicola. "Who designed these? Had they never seen a human body before? Nothing about these suits makes sense."
As we peeled off our weird bathing corsets, we both felt a lot more vulnerable than we usually do in these shoots. Trying on swimwear is already a stressful experience β to have pieces fit this poorly made us ALL β myself, Nicola, AND Jess β feel like the issue was with our bodies, not the swimsuits.
Next, we both tried on racy cobalt blue bikinis β one of the ~edgier~ styles Fashion Nova makes.
This is the I'm Every Woman two-piece in dark blue ($35, Fashion Nova). I'm wearing a medium; Nicola is wearing 3X.
"I was really excited about this suit," said Nicola. "I like the cage bra-style top, and the bottoms are really cool. But the fact that I have to size up to a 3X is insane."
"I wear a size 16. That's the average. This is NOT where your swim sizing should stop!"
"That said, the bottoms fit me like a dream," said Nicola. "But the top was so padded, and the cups so wide-set, my boobs were SPILLING out."
"If you could mix and match your tops and your bottoms, that would be ideal. Not everyone is the same size on the top and the bottom. This top made my breasts point out in different directions. It was awkward."
I was experiencing a similar problem with the sizing. The bottoms were adorable, and the material was a surprisingly good quality. I even liked the color!
And honestly, from the front, you can't tell that anything was wrong. But from the side…
Yep. My itty-bitties aren't even close to filling out this top β something that immediately made me feel self-conscious.
I agree with Nicola β if Fashion Nova sold these bikinis as separate tops and bottoms, I'd be delighted. I'd have bought this top in a size small (or extra-small, let's be real), and I'd feel awesome. But the brand doesn't give shoppers that option. So I was left feeling like a really uncomfortable teen who doesn't fill out her prom dress, which is OBVIOUSLY NOT AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STORY NO WAY NOPE.
Nicola and I agreed β the bottoms of these bikinis are adorable, but the ill-fitting tops made it a no for both of us.
Womp womp.
Finally, we tried a classic black bikini β something we'd both voluntarily wear to the beach.
Bonus: It's super-affordable. We're wearing the Go My Own way bikini ($21, Fashion Nova) β I'm in a medium and Nicola is in a 3X.
"I was excited about this," said Nicola. "This is something I'd actually want to wear myself. But the material was really thin, and the top didn't give my boobs ANY support."
"Plus, those ties in the front. What do they even do?"
"Biggest problem: Again, my cups runneth over," said Nicola. "You're meant to be able to take the ties off this top and wear it as a strapless, but if I did that, I'd flash the whole beach. This top is NOT made for larger breasts!"
"It honestly feels like they didn't make this plus-size swimsuit for a plus-size person," she said. "It's like they took their straight sized bikini and just made it larger, without actually addressing any of the issues of a bigger body."
The top also managed to be, confusingly, too small AND too big β the band had enough room in it for a whole other person, with no way to tighten it.
"Am I not built right? Why am I being disrespected like this?" Nicola said.
Meanwhile, I really liked the high-waisted bottoms β even though they were A) tiny, and B) sheer.
Again, I sized up, and I still felt like my entire lower body was being strangled by a Spanx snake.
And once again, the top was determined to small-boob shame me.
I could fit my hands in these cups.
I could fit my hopes and dreams in these cups.
Hell, I could fit a boiled ham in these cups.
THE TOP WAS HUGE, is what I'm saying. And because Fashion Nova doesn't let you return or exchange swimwear, I'm stuck with it. My boobs had clearly been found wanting; I guess I'm just not shaped like a Fashion Nova girl.
There was room for an additional boiled ham in the band of this bikini, leading me to wonder what Fashion Nova wants its shoppers to actually DO.
Do you want your straight size customers to size up so that they fit into your teeny tiny bottoms? Or do you want them to size down so that their boobs are not exposed to the entire world? YOUR SIZING IS CRAZY, YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.
So, what did we learn from our Fashion Nova swim-stravaganza?
We learned that Fashion Nova's size guide should be taken with an absolutely MASSIVE grain of salt.
We learned that just because a cheap bikini looks great on the 'gram, there's no guarantee that it will look good β or fit well β in real life.
We learned that just because a brand advertises itself as being body positive and hires some plus-size girls for its swim campaign, it doesn't mean that it actually IS.
But mostly, we were reminded of the most important thing: The problem was with the swimsuits, not with OUR BODIES.
Jess, Nicola, and I were willing to give Fashion Nova another chance β but we didn't feel like Instagram babes, we felt like misshapen lumps. Swimsuits should make you feel powerful and confident, not like you don't measure up.
Perhaps Fashion Nova should spend less on sponsored influencer #content and more on making quality swimwear that makes ALL of its fans feel good. After all, summer style has no size or body type.
