Many competitors buy their competition bikini online, but if you are going to an actual competition bikini store then here are 6 helpful tips when going to your consultation / fitting.
We are off to Bilbo Sportswear to design my competition bikini. You can use my name to get a 10% off on your consultation with Bilbo Sportswear especially when you are doing a competition, you want to save money wherever you can.
I wanted to sit down and talk to you about some tips that I feel are not out there or were not available when I wanted to compete. I was in the dark for my first couple of shows, before I got connected with the fitness industry.
Tip number one: I think it’s the best tip which is to get a spray tan before your consultation.
The reason to get a spray tan before trying on that suit is so you can see what suit color matches your spray tan tone.
Spray tans are a thick dark coat and that's going to change your skin tone and your complexion so some colors might drown you out.
Second tip for your bikini consultation is knowing what your budget is.
Don't go in thinking I will ask for a discount or with the thought that it might not be that expensive because the reality is that these tiny bikinis are indeed very expensive.
I had a purple bikini for my last show and I paid about USD$400 for it. My new bikini is costing me $475, which is in my budget as I wanted to keep it under $500.
This was my personal preference, I did tell them up front about my budget. To know your budget is really important, don't go in browsing and you end up liking something, then you check the price tag and your dreams are shattered because it's $900.
The more crystals, detailings on the patterns means more time and effort put into making your bikini so the price of the suit will get more expensive.
Tip number three is to browse through all social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Google and Facebook to view bikini designs and see what you're naturally gravitated towards and screenshot those.
This way you will know what you like before you go in for a consultation. Randy at Bilbo Sportswear did a drawing of my suit with details on color and pattern which I thought was amazing.
When I wear ‘Bilbo Sportswear’ competition bikinis, the judges say that my bikini sparkles on stage. My last two suits were AB crystals which means they reflect the lights as I really wanted it to sparkle on stage.
Tip number four: when you go in for your bikini consultation bring your competition shoes with you.
My shoes are from ‘The Shoe Fairy’, I got these for my last show and they look very beautiful. I will be wearing these again, I really like them.
I definitely have been posing in them so they're really broken in and don't hurt my feet. I brought my shoes with me so that I could practice posing in them and see how the bikini was shaping my body and what my overall look would be for show day.
‘Shoe Fairy’ tends to have discounts especially around the holidays like Memorial Day. They have tons of great shoes ranging from low prices to medium range and also super high end.
You can also get custom shoes if you like, they have pretty much every option available. Most bikini stores sell shoes as well so if you don't want to order it online you could always run to a store and get some.
Tip number five: bring somebody who is supportive. Someone who understands and encourages you. I brought my husband, he is my biggest supporter when it comes to fitness.
Unfortunately, I do see some guys or partners that don't encourage their significant others in competing. This is a passion for competitors because it's fitness, it’s taking your body to the extremes physically and mentally and I’m very fortunate to have my amazing husband be very supportive.
He was my camera person and he helped me narrow down the color for my suit. I really trust his sense of style because he is an artist.
So if you have somebody in your life, whether it's your mom, your sister or a friend who understands and motivates you, bring them with you.
Don’t bring someone who does not understand why you are competing and is not very supportive, it would be better to go alone than go with somebody who's going to bring your energy down.
Picking out your bikini is something that reflects you, something that will make you feel confident and bold on stage. I tested 2 fabric swatches against my skin tone and my hair color to see which one reflects better on me.
I think it’s a great tip to see up against your own skin tone because when you're looking flat on a surface and the lights hitting, it could reflect differently. Put it up against your skin tone, your hair color, that way you can kind of get an idea of what it's actually going to look like on you.
That’s all I’ve got for you today, I am so excited that I was able to get my custom-designed bikini which means no other girl at the show is going to have the same bikini because it is made for me. Thank you so much to Bilbo Sportswear.
If you don't already, follow me on instagram at Bella Hibbs and I will be posting once I do get my bikini. You should get your bikini at six weeks out and I mentioned this in other videos as well, you want to give them time to be able to create it for you.
I'll have a whole week to practice posing in it before my show and if for some reason I shrunk down a lot and it needs to be altered, we would have time to fix any details.
Hope y'all like this video.
