Okay, I’m ALLLLLL about the cheap bikini. Maybe it comes from my dad who says it’s a triangle of material and doesn’t cost that much to make. No matter the cost, I’m still particular on quality and love the luxurious feel of throwing on a well-tailored bikini. But when you’re the type of girl who likes to wear it once and you’re over it and on to the next one, paying over $100 for a bikini isn’t gonna cut it.
In comes all these companies from China, offering dirt cheap prices for clothing. I’m looking at you Romwe, Chicwish, SheIn, and the only place I’ve ventured to order from, Zaful. They are normally dupes of more expensive brands – like L*Space, Acacia, and Frankie’s Bikinis.
SHOP //Palm Print Bikini (wearing size small)
SHOP // Mesh Cut Out Bikini (wearing size medium)
The major red flags for the cheap prices and ordering directly
from China are the quality and delivery time. Here are a few tips to make sure
you’re expectations are in line with the actual experience:
1.I’ll start with the obvious
tip – read reviews!
This usually can sum up all of your questions, especially the
ones with customer pictures.
a.Sizing: Find reviews that describe their body type, height, weight, etc,
and how it fit them/what size they ordered. Even if they aren’t my size, I
still have a better guess of what would fit me. Pro tip – MOST run small, but
it still depends and it’s best to check reviews first.
b.Color Accuracy – check all the reviews with pictures first. That way you see
how the color, and again, the potential fit if they have a similar body type
2.Look for items with
adjustable straps.
I’m normally having to size up based on fit
reviews, the straps are ALWAYS too long, and I’ve had to hand stitch the
bikinis without adjustable straps to shorten them. I’ve also braided straps
(palm print bikini) to make them shorter. See detailed picture below.
3.Know that most bottoms
fit “cheeky” style.
If cheeky isn’t your
thing, order a size up. See fit pictures below.
4.Look for items without
elastic around the trim.
Bikinis that have smooth
edges are SO much more flattering than those that have tight elastic hugging
all your curves.
5.Replace the Removable
padding, or remove all together.
The padding in these bikini brands are low
quality, weirdly shaped, and show through the bikini. I choose to remove them and wear none, but if
you prefer padding, steal them from a different bikini. For the ones that come
with padding, there will be slits.
6.Order in advance for a
trip.
This is hit or miss. At
Zaful, one of my packages started tracking the next business day, and used DHL
carrier, which had 3-7 business days. The next round of packages took 9 days to
process, but with the same ship time of 3 -7 business days. Ordering 2 weeks in
advance is pushing it, 3 weeks timing is most likely, and 4 weeks is max you’ll
wait.
7. And if it doesn’t fit….resell.
I resold all of the bikinis
that didn’t fit successfully on Poshmark for $15-$20, and pretty much got my
money back. I would say buyers actually prefer buying from Poshmark instead of
the actual website, because ship time is faster!
Overall, my experience with Zaful has been worth the wait. The quality wasn’t terrible, for the price. They won’t last as long, but its fun to switch up to different styles and prints all summer anyway!
Oh! And here’s one more picture of me wearing a bikini from Zaful from 2 years ago – yes, I dyed my hair a reddish/brown…..never again.
SHOP // Pink & Palm Print Swimsuit (wearing size small)
Have you ordered from them before? What’s your experience? Comment Below!
