It’s snowing in Ottawa and most of eastern Canada, the prairies, and Alberta are buried under a blanket of snow. The May long weekend is 12 weeks away. On Vancouver Island, B.C, Horne Lake doesn’t get warm up until July. So why am I out shopping for swim suits now and telling everyone to do the same?

Selection. The swim suits are just hitting the shelves and now is the best time to get them. The Lands End Kid’s catalog arrived on our doorstep yesterday loaded with colourful swim wear. My kids usually swim in a rash guard shirt to protect them against the sun. This catalog is brimming with vibrant short and long-sleeve rash guard shirts that offer 50 UPF.

I did a quick online survey to comparing Old Navy, Gap and Lands End to see who had the best selection and prices. Old Navy emerged the clear winner on price, but their shirts aren’t as colourful as Gaps or Lands’ End. A boy’s surf shirt sells for $14.50 compared to Lands End and Gap whose both sell for $19.50.

I like Old Navy’s selection for boys, but for girls, the Gap’s colours and designs are fun and very girly (see above photo), especially if you’re not into catalog shopping. Lands’ End swim wear is definitely more expensive but when it comes to co-ordinating and accessorizing they beat everyone else hands down. Their white bathing suit cover-ups with bright fuchsia hibiscus are gorgeous. If you like things that match, Lands’ End’s lime green and blue beach towels are colour co-ordinated with kids shorts and tops. They will even monogram them for you. Too much.

I am off to load up on this year’s swim trunks, well ahead of the March break crowd. As for myself, I think I will hold off, at least for now. Bathing suit shopping for me is an entirely different experience.

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.