Leg bindings makes big difference

[JamesSwim]

Many of you probably know this, but I realize that leg bindings makes a big difference in the fit -- so it's not just the waist size of suit.

Even if the waist fits, if the leg openings and bindings are too loose, the suit doesn't fit, and if it's too tight it just isn't comfortable. Even some square legs like the Speedo brand nylon square legs have too tight of a leg opening for me, even if the rest of the suit is not.

I guess this is one of the reason why the fits differ.

I believe other things like a center seam in the back or the front (for a coutoured fit) makes a difference too.

[NJHunkguy]

Agree with you, leg bindings makes a big difference.
A few times I bought square cuts which the leg openings and bindings were too loose. Open my legs a little could expose the jewels.

[Byron]

You find a stunning print, the color and style suits you well, the quality of manufacture is good, the fabric has just the right amount of stretch for a comfortable fit, the front/back seams emphasise neat contour lines, the stated waist size is precisely what you want, and the price might even be on discount - and then.............
I sometimes feel a little sorry for the speedo stockists - how big a warehouse is needed for every combination of male body configuration in the world to be accommodated ? (and will they sell more than two suits in a year?)
Bodybuilders (with their massive thighs) I believe can rarely buy off the shelf for their posing suits and custommade therefore becomes essential for best presentation.

[Byron]

Going brief here but a little evening-up on leg openings required perhaps:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwp4iu0WsT1qbgdqbo1_500.jpg

[Torchwatch]

When a suit pattern is designed it is assumed that the fabric will stretch by 70%, (this is adjusted when the actual fabric is tested} there is also an assumption as to the stretch of elastic.
12mm - 15mm elastic may be used for the waist, while 6mm is often used for the leg bindings. The thinner elastic is the more likely to cut into you if it is too short. Cutting the leg elastic too long will of course make a loose floppy suit.
The designer should match the length of the waist elastic against the length of the leg elastic taking account of the style. The resulting suit should fit an average body perfectly and adjust to the skinny and muscular bodies with the same waist.
Unfortunately clothing factories make mistakes, elastic may get cut to the wrong length, be wrongly labelled or just mixed up. A 32" waist suit may get leg elastic from a 36" suit or vice versa.
If your body shape is very different to average and you keep getting this problem it may be best to buy only after trying suits on in shops, mail order is not for you.
Remember always to try a new suit on in the shower before gong public, you can never tell what the fabric and elastic will do when wet, and light suits do tend to go transparent.
As a suit ages the fabric and elastic will permanently stretch and become looser, being thinner the leg elastic will wear faster than the waist, as this happens it is time to get an exciting new suit and place the old one in your personal museum.
If you own a special suit replace it before it is obviously worn and keep it for special occasions.

[JamesSwim]

When a suit pattern is designed it is assumed that the fabric will stretch by 70%, (this is adjusted when the actual fabric is tested} there is also an assumption as to the stretch of elastic.
12mm - 15mm elastic may be used for the waist, while 6mm is often used for the leg bindings. The thinner elastic is the more likely to cut into you if it is too short. Cutting the leg elastic too long will of course make a loose floppy suit.
The designer should match the length of the waist elastic against the length of the leg elastic taking account of the style. The resulting suit should fit an average body perfectly and adjust to the skinny and muscular bodies with the same waist.
Unfortunately clothing factories make mistakes, elastic may get cut to the wrong length, be wrongly labelled or just mixed up. A 32" waist suit may get leg elastic from a 36" suit or vice versa.
If your body shape is very different to average and you keep getting this problem it may be best to buy only after trying suits on in shops, mail order is not for you.
Remember always to try a new suit on in the shower before gong public, you can never tell what the fabric and elastic will do when wet, and light suits do tend to go transparent.
As a suit ages the fabric and elastic will permanently stretch and become looser, being thinner the leg elastic will wear faster than the waist, as this happens it is time to get an exciting new suit and place the old one in your personal museum.
If you own a special suit replace it before it is obviously worn and keep it for special occasions.

Thanks for the suggestions & info. I don't have too many problems with bindings cutting into me, but noticed it makes a difference in overall fit. I think shape of bindings & leg opening makes difference too. Here's one more observation:

When a brief-style suit is laid flat, I see that the front is smaller than the back and the front part of leg opening makes a curve to the side.

Some suits have the front leg opening that curves sharply from the bottom to the side seam, making for a narrower pouch in front. Others curve less, making the front and back closer in size. The former makes the front fit more contoured, latter makes the front feel flatter

The seam at the bottom between the leg openings differs too -- some are range from 2 1/2" up to 3 1/2". And that makes a difference too.

So as you said, one needs to try it on. The waist and side seam size just gives you just a hint on the fit.

[NJHunkguy]

Going brief here but a little evening-up on leg openings required perhaps:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwp4iu0WsT1qbgdqbo1_500.jpg
Love that suit ;)

[Torchwatch]

James, if ever you get to make a suit you will notice that you are taking flat 2 dimensional fabric and creating a 3 dimensional object from it, that is defined by the male body. That is the excitement of the process.
The hardest part of making a suit is sewing in the waist and leg hole elastic so it is of equal tension all the way round. Get that wrong and the suit is ruined.
Your observation that the front of a suit is smaller than the back is correct. A suits back panel covers not only the back but also the sides and creeps around to the front to meet the front panel. I once accidentally sewed 2 back panels together, the resulting suit meeting at the sides and flopping at the front. Having a smaller front panel keeps the stretch fabric nice and taunt.
Adding rear stitching to a suit stops it sagging, the stitching thread cannot stretch while the fabric can, paper lycra suits tended to have rear stitching.
A seam up the front of a suit allows the 2 front panels to be cut on a convex curve creating a pouch. A subtle pouch effect adds more space for the well endowed in a brief suit.

[JamesSwim]

James, if ever you get to make a suit you will notice that you are taking flat 2 dimensional fabric and creating a 3 dimensional object from it, that is defined by the male body. That is the excitement of the process.
The hardest part of making a suit is sewing in the waist and leg hole elastic so it is of equal tension all the way round. Get that wrong and the suit is ruined.
Your observation that the front of a suit is smaller than the back is correct. A suits back panel covers not only the back but also the sides and creeps around to the front to meet the front panel. I once accidentally sewed 2 back panels together, the resulting suit meeting at the sides and flopping at the front. Having a smaller front panel keeps the stretch fabric nice and taunt.
Adding rear stitching to a suit stops it sagging, the stitching thread cannot stretch while the fabric can, paper lycra suits tended to have rear stitching.
A seam up the front of a suit allows the 2 front panels to be cut on a convex curve creating a pouch. A subtle pouch effect adds more space for the well endowed in a brief suit.

Thanks for the explanations. This is more complex than I thought, and looking at some suits, I now notice how they are made. I can understand how some suits with a separate side panel gives a different fit too.

Now I can understand how some girls fuss over their bras - their fit and how they are made. Same kind of issue -- different people need different fit for clothing that fits closely to the body.

[Byron]

.....more to it than meets the eye and many corsetieres (maybe wrong word) will say that girls get size and fit all wrong in their bra selections.
As for the guys , a suit constructed with side panel(s) may also incorporate a fabric different from front and back and so a varying stretch factor has been introduced to complicate the process of producing a good fit (as I say, a BIG warehouse needed for all.............)

PS for NJH: Came across you yesterday (Flickr I think ) in a colorful little bikini posing on white sand with arms raised, in one of your sunny resorts.

[NJHunkguy]

PS for NJH: Came across you yesterday (Flickr I think ) in a colorful little bikini posing on white sand with arms raised, in one of your sunny resorts.
By posting photos on Flickr, some of them may end up circulating on the internet.
Which colorful little bikini photo did you come across?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/njhunkguy/sets/72157594304128101/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/njhunkguy/favorites/
:)

[Byron]

...didn't know you had so many - it was Behind the Scene Prevailsport Calla Lilies in your swimmers photostream.

[NJHunkguy]

...didn't know you had so many - it was Behind the Scene Prevailsport Calla Lilies in your swimmers photostream.

Oh! That one. It was the Prevailsport "Capri" Bikini, with Calla Lillies pattern.
Either my body shape is weird or the cutting of each swimsuit, not all swimsuits fit me good.
This one is fitting me quite perfectly in comparison, I thought!

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3363/3620627855_a251f5b55d_z.jpg

[Torchwatch]

"Either my body shape is weird or the cutting of each swimsuit, not all swimsuits fit me good."

That is exactly what this thread is about; how the design, cutting and sewing of a suit can make it fit one guy perfectly and look just wrong on another. We all have favourite suits where the colour, print patten, design and execution just hit the spot, that is the suit that gets taken on holiday and to the pool until it loses it's shape then worn as underwear or just treasured.

[NJHunkguy]

That is exactly what this thread is about; how the design, cutting and sewing of a suit can make it fit one guy perfectly and look just wrong on another. We all have favourite suits where the colour, print patten, design and execution just hit the spot, that is the suit that gets taken on holiday and to the pool until it loses it's shape then worn as underwear or just treasured.
Oh Yeah! That's true, you are right...
Sometimes I just replied without knowing the title of the thread :o

[Byron]

LOL - you are forgiven, for submitting a good pic of the lilies (and the Capris were usually a good cut I thought).We all wander a bit (I should know) but that is good for a forum because one post prompts thoughts to express in another. What I want to know is how you get a good quality large pic straight on to your post without the medium of a link (in which the quality cannot be controlled by the poster and is not always of the best).

[NJHunkguy]

http://www.mensswimsuitboard.com/forums/images/editor/insertimage.gif

Instead of insert link to link a photo with an URL. Choose the insert image icon http://www.mensswimsuitboard.com/forums/images/editor/insertimage.gif
Enter the URL there. Then the photo will be straight on the post.

Is that what you were asking?

[Byron]

Excellent thanks - it's that icon I need to find.

Btw I thought I would add this - I guess a trunk call has come through !
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_x9k1tyr3B7g/TPtdstqRx6I/AAAAAAAAAHw/V20NpzXt00E/s1600/DSC02107_1+-+small.jpg

[NJHunkguy]

Excellent thanks - it's that icon I need to find.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/8004544212_a5ff80bcf2_b.jpg

[Byron]

:) :) brilliant assistance, thanks.

[louis]

Excellent thanks - it's that icon I need to find.

Btw I thought I would add this - I guess a trunk call has come through !
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_x9k1tyr3B7g/TPtdstqRx6I/AAAAAAAAAHw/V20NpzXt00E/s1600/DSC02107_1+-+small.jpg

LOL CANT YOU SEE THAT TYHEY ARE ON THE STAND BY TO RECEIVE AN URGEENT CALL SUPPLY D BY THE PHONE COMPANY FOR THOSE THAT NEED URGENT SPEEDO SEX THE NO BY THE WAY IS S P E E D O 7
7-7-3-3-5-0 THEN YOU CHOOSE THE GUY YOU WANT TO HAVE SPEEDO FUN WITH..LOL I CHOOSED TTHEM ALL, WITCH ONE WOULD YOU LIKE.

[Byron]

LOL - has to be far right guy - white heart on blue (interesting symbol - haven't worked out which club for that w-p team)
Btw that number you give is permanently engaged.

[louis]

yEAH LINE ALLWAYS BUSY, PROUVES TTHAT SINNING AGAINST THE 6TH COMMANDMANT IS VERY FREQUENT, SPEEDOWISE OF COURSE. DRINGGGGGGGG OPS ITS MY TURN MMMMM OH YEAHHHHHHHH IM HARD ALLREADY LOL

[Byron]

http://www.toimg.net/managed/images/10152306/w482/h298/image.jpg

It's the London Orca w-p team and here they are out of the box and dry-land posing as they had a call from Tower Bridge it seems (though where they've been
banging their knees is a mystery).

[louis]

Did the forst one with the ball loose his speedo during his last match.

[Byron]

:D No, but what's the guy behind doing with a thumb down the rear waistline of his black speedo ?

[MuscleSpeedo]

[QUOTE=JamesSwim]...The seam at the bottom between the leg openings differs too -- some are range from 2 1/2" up to 3 1/2". And that makes a difference too. QUOTE]

Personally, I have found this to be one of the greatest factors in the comfort of a suit. Many suits are too wide in the groin. Most guy's legs meet at a pretty narrow point at the top, don't they? Forcing a lot of fabric to bunch up there makes a suit less comfortable. A narrow groin on a suit makes it much more comfortable, and most guys don't even realize why. ;)

[Byron]

:) OK - what's the groin-comfort assessment on post#4 ?

[MuscleSpeedo]

:) OK - what's the groin-comfort assessment on post#4 ?

That suit probably has a v-cut or Rio-back seat which would be about a 2 to 2.5 inch groin....very comfortable. If it is a thong or T-back suit, most likely a 1 to 1.5 inch groin.

These are fairly common dimensions for posing suits. What most designers of mainstream men's bikini swimwear have not yet realized is that these groin dimensions would make a 'standard' bikini suit much more comfortable. I have a Speedo with a 3.5 inch groin. That is ridiculously wide.

[Byron]

:) Agree - just shows we need a ruling body to which all speedo manufacturers must belong and therefore a central point of attention to which all customers' expectations can be addressed (and enforced).
It won't ever happen of course but some don't have a clue about what they make and so many forums contain pleas by speedo-wearers to say "Why don't they make this as...............................?"

[JamesSwim]

That suit probably has a v-cut or Rio-back seat which would be about a 2 to 2.5 inch groin....very comfortable. If it is a thong or T-back suit, most likely a 1 to 1.5 inch groin.

These are fairly common dimensions for posing suits. What most designers of mainstream men's bikini swimwear have not yet realized is that these groin dimensions would make a 'standard' bikini suit much more comfortable. I have a Speedo with a 3.5 inch groin. That is ridiculously wide.

I just noticed that I also have a Speedo brand brief with a 4 inch wide groin. So the leg bindings pulls up into the thigh and bunches up. I guess that's why people tend to stick with their favorite brands when they tend to use a pattern or cut that fits.

[Torchwatch]

The wider the groin in a suit the less likely you are to drop out by accident, those with larger balls will need a wider suit at this point. What fits one person may be less comfortable for someone less well endowed.
Although exercise builds muscle and overeating builds fat we don't have control over the size of those parts of our bodies determined genetically. Find swimwear that suits you are wear it confidently whatever your body type.

[MuscleSpeedo]

The wider the groin in a suit the less likely you are to drop out by accident, those with larger balls will need a wider suit at this point. What fits one person may be less comfortable for someone less well endowed.
Although exercise builds muscle and overeating builds fat we don't have control over the size of those parts of our bodies determined genetically. Find swimwear that suits you are wear it confidently whatever your body type.

I agree.....but it would also depend on where you carry that equipment. Some guys are able to wear a cockring and pull it up front, where other guys' equipment may not move very far...if at all...from where it is attached.


This guy is wearing his Speedo backwards in order to have enough room for his monster bulge...


http://videos.monstercockland.com/files/7569196acd5ffb21.jpg

[Byron]

The internet has strange ways - never seen that warning before.

[Torchwatch]

If you have a monster bulge then wear a suit with a pouch front and a suitably high waist to avoid pop outs.

[MuscleSpeedo]

The picture of the guy with his Speedo on backwards will only show up if you are logged into monstercockland.com

If you copy and past this URL into your browser, it should work. Clicking the link without logging in, won't work.

http://monstercockland.com/media/9448/MONSTER_pumped_BULGES/

[Byron]

LOL - "pumped stripper getting ready" in the vids must be the guy from Air Force Tech. School !

[MuscleSpeedo]

LOL - "pumped stripper getting ready" in the vids must be the guy from Air Force Tech. School !

Close....not quite that big! LOL

I'd like to see "pumped stripper getting ready" with his suit on...so I could check out the monster bulge. You gotta start with that and work your way down. ;)

[Byron]

He's out there somewhere wearing red - a video in a backstage dressing room with other performers I believe (haven't retraced it yet but it's a tribute to the fabric strength and the suit-maker !)

[Dooley67]

I know that this is an old post but just last week I found a way to transform a suit to tighten the leg openings. I have a black Tactics bikini with about a 2" side seam which I really like, but the leg openings were just too big for me to swim laps in it. I had even bought a size Small since the Medium that I already had in white was way too loose, probably not even appropriate for the beach.

So I came up with this idea. I took about a 2" tuck in the bottom seam which served 2 purposes. First, the leg openings became much tighter and were now suitable to wear for lap swimming (I wore it today); and second, by taking that tuck, it brought the front of the suit lower and it looked and felt really sleek. The low cut front now is comparable to a Euro Sporti. I don't know how long it will hold up, but I've worn it a couple of times and it's been fine.

D67

[PSDave]

i think what it comes down to is every body is different and every swimsuit maker uses a different pattern. Then you have the problem of another design by the same maker may fit different. It is a very frustrating situation when you are getting your swimwear on the internet. The only way to find a suit that fits the way you want it to fit is to try it on. (of course the absolute best way is to find a tailor or costume maker and have it custom made)