Inspired by the Star Trek: The Next Generation Starfleet uniforms, the suits from ThinkGeek look flattering across body types. Even better, ThinkGeek listened to its audience, took feedback, and made revisions to make the bathing suits, y’know, actually wearable.
You might say that I’m not exactly a beach person. I burn in the sun instantly like a vampire (spoiler alert: I am a vampire). But when I saw these suits go by in my feed, I clicked fast. I adore Star Trek, I’ve long secretly dreamed of rockin’ a Starfleet uniform, and I love the concept of a bathing suit that looks practical, comfortable, and good on people with different builds. Also, it is pleasingly geeky as hell.
I liked what I saw and read. On the suits’ product page, ThinkGeek has a lengthy explainer wherein they chart their process of receiving customer feedback and the design changes they made as a result.
When we debuted this line in 2016, you said you loved geeky swimsuits but they could be better. You guys had a LOT of feedback for us. We listened to all of it. Our ThinkGeek product development team worked with the manufacturer to address your specific issues, often using direct quotes you provided on Facebook and to our customer service monkeys. Thanks to your comments, we’ve revised the suit to make it more flattering to more body types.
2017 updates to the Star Trek:TNG One-Piece Swimsuit:
Expanded size range up to 4X
Lowered the strap in the back to sit where a bra strap would, which provides better support
Added length to the torso (which shifts the combadge up a bit)
Added width to the chest to prevent gaping on the sides
Made the leg rise less steep
And edited the pips on the gold suit to be Lt. Commander
We worked hard to address fit concerns on a range of body types early in development this time around, and we hope you’re happy with the results you helped make happen!It also features soft bust cups for shape which are removable if you prefer the look without them. And, of course, because we’ve all tried on bathing suits we loved when we set eyes on them that turned out to be unflattering, they’re returnable so long as you haven’t worn it.
It’s so, so refreshing to see a brand take feedback from real people with real bodies and work hard to integrate their requests. Several of the changes to this year’s line—like adjustments to straps, chest, and leg cut—are exactly the kind of thing that would make me have grabby hands at these bathing suits. Surprisingly, they’re not selling a swimtrunk equivalent of these—maybe that’s the next thing to get on, ThinkGeek.
But I love that the attention to detail even ran to the pip ranks! Talk about respecting our Star Trek nerdery. The suits cost $59.99 and come in Red (Command, Captain), Yellow (Operations, Lt. Commander), and Blue (Sciences, Commander). Can I make a bad pun about setting phasers on stunning?
All you need for your trip to Risa.
(via ThinkGeek, images: ThinkGeek)
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