We’ve all ‘been there, done that’. We’ve felt the tears well up when tackling the challenging of finding the most amazing jeans, the best bra or, worse still for many of us gals, the perfect swim suit—one that flatters our figure, hides our nasty bits, stays in place and doesn’t require us to cover ourselves from head to toe in a sarong and hide under a tree.

Swimsuit companies are getting smarter, and that includes the Aussie designers behind Sirens Swimwear, now available in Canberra through Assemblage Project in Braddon. We’ve talked about Assemblage Project before – it’s an upmarket women’s clothing shop owned and operated by the designers behind the labels Karen Lee and 4minutes33.

Their timeless range of vintage-style cossies tucks you in in all the right places and Francesca Altenburg, from Assemblage Project, promises you won’t have to be constantly adjusting your panty line, which is enough to cause stress levels to soar about the temperature on a scorching hot summer day.

Sirens Swimwear takes you back to the glory days of the 1950s and 60s. It fills a gap in the market—style, fit and quality meet hip and fashion forward. The one-piece and two-piece suits are great for all body shapes, including petite and fuller figures.

Gemma Jameson and Karen Lee, from Assemblage Project, stumbled across Sirens Swimwear in Adelaide at some markets and they watched women flock to the stand and squeal with delight at the designs, the quality fabric and the construction. They did some research and found the swimmers matched the design ethos of Assemblage Project perfectly—clothing real women love to wear.

All suits are made of tightly woven micro nylon, which feels luxurious. They’re fully lined with straps that are feminine and a nice width. The bikinis have an underwire bra. And on construction, the swimmers work like body shapewear so you wriggle yourself in and then stay in.

‘People love the vintage look,’ say Gemma. ‘This isn’t a trend. It’s design that really works.’

Assemblage Project has swimmers in a range of patterns and colours, including leopard print, floral, solids and polka dots. Jordan Duncan, one of the HAUS Models wore a Sirens Swimwear piece for this story and said the comfort is amazing and the pretty suit made her ‘girly and feminine’.

So what are some of the styles Sirens Swimwear has designed? The ‘Grace classic’ is a divine fit for all shapes and sizes, with its soft, flattering overlay, gentle side boning for a lovely bust line, and halter neck straps. The beautifully hugging ‘Tiffany ruffle’ is guaranteed to turn heads with its small frill detail, great tummy and bust support. The Eloise bikini is ‘sweet as’ with its sweetheart neckline. And the Monica Frill screams frilly, flirty and fun.

Summer is in full swing and the holidays are here – if you’re looking for a swimsuit that you can truly feel comfortable in, check out Sirens Swimwear at Assemblage Project. There are still two shopping days before Christmas!

the essentials

What: Sirens Swimwear
Where: Assemblage Project, Unit 3a, Lonsdale Street, Braddon, just down from Lonsdale Street Traders.
Phone: 0435 001 886
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AssemblageProject

HAUS Models: Jordan Duncan and Sian Telfer

Photography: Leighton Hutchinson, on location at the Zoo Christmas party.