In the summer after 3rd grade, I competed against a girl named Rebecca for the end-of-season summer swim contest at our local country club. For my purposes let’s call it the Tweenie Summer Olympics of 1980. My key race consisted of having to put on a full set of PJs (over our wet bathing suits) and then swimming one lap. I lost and I knew I was going to lose. Second place might as well have been no place as far as I was concerned. Yes, I admit, I have been wildly competitive ever since that sad defeat.

This summer, a new PJ type contest was proposed. Because I’m known to be such a HydroChic freak I was asked if I could go an entire week wearing only HydroChic. You might be thinking, “Oh, easy. Just go on vacation and wear a bathing suit. What is the big deal here?”

Well, what about a public speaking event, out to a restaurant, driving around town, errands? Would you wear a suit then? Is it actually possible as a professional woman to spend a week in a bathing suit?

I was determined and perhaps just a wee bit overzealous to find out. I was convinced if I could do it, it would be my ultimate triumph over the loss of that coveted blue ribbon in the 3rd grade.

So, lucky for me, I was asked in the summer and it was a week of partial vacation. But I did have a speaking event scheduled and I wondered if I would be brave enough to stand in front of a room full of people in a bathing-suit skirt. Was there even a question? Of course, I rocked it.

I’m not embarrassed to admit I have since gone on to wear my black hip-hiding, drop-waist skirt to plenty of other meetings and events. It is my favorite black skirt. Oh yeah, and I also free dived in it to a coral reef, and kayaked and hiked and wore it to the grocery store.

I found out two things about myself/the world during my never-ending week in a bathing suit.

1) Other people notice your clothing and care about your clothing way less than you notice and care about your own clothing.

2) Wearing comfortable clothing that makes you feel good about your body and how you take care of your skin (built in UV protection!) is never a bad thing.

Being able to jump in the water at any time (I do this a lot, not surprisingly) and not worry about sunscreen is a blessing for this somewhat disorganized mom. I had to remember water shoes and snorkels and ear plugs, and so not having to also think about applying sunscreen let us enjoy our days completely worry free. There were no sunburns and we were out and in the water for hours and hours every day. A bathing suit with built in protection doesn’t wear off, wash off, or get rubbed off. No need to reapply! Also, because the suit fabric dries so fast, we hopped from activity to activity without 20 trips to public bathrooms for changing into and out of clothes. Let’s be honest. No matter what country you are in, avoiding those wet suit shenanigans with kids is an added plus to your day! Have you ever tried to change wet twins from bathing suits to dry clothes in a single bathroom stall? I no longer have to do that; my girls happily wore their girls bathing-suit sets all week too!

At one point, they pointed to all of the luggage we had brought and asked why we needed any of it. They were right. I think we could have happily gotten by with just our HydroChics, some PJs, and toothbrushes.

So I proudly present my week in HydroChic. Feel free to ask any questions, or share the craziest place/event/activity you’ve had wearing a bathing suit, or ever tried to change into one. Next time you need to pack for a cruise, vacation, or a weekend away, ditch all of the clothes you don’t really want to wear and just pack your Chic’s. I can promise you won’t regret it.

Bon Voyage.

By Miriam Lottner