Size 16 blogger on her search for flattering beachwear

A size 16 woman has posted pictures of herself in a bikini online in a bid to encourage others to be proud of their bodies and not hide away.

Brittany Gibbons, writer of the humor blog Brittany, Herself, went on a search for two-piece swimsuits that would flatter her curvy body and 'stupid amount of cellulite'.

Then she published her finds on her blog, posing in the super-flattering ensembles and sending a message of confidence to curvy girls worldwide.

The post began as the mother-of-three's New Year's Resolution.

'I spent last year both failing and succeeding at liking myself,' she wrote in January. 'And that prepped me for this year, in which I plan to positively f****** love myself'.

To achieve this goal, she set about documenting her search for the perfect bikini.

Body image aside, finding well-fitting swimwear proved to be an issue, not least because of the redhead's 38DDD chest.

So she ordered a selection from several different websites, many of which were not so confidence-building.

'I easily had 42 breakdowns on my bedroom floor,' she writes. 'But I took another shot of tequila and got back on the horse.'

At long last, the Ohio resident found not one, but two bikinis - and two equally cute cover-ups - to flatter her curves and make her feel 'crazy swim suit confident and positively gorgeous'.

The first, a navy blue bottom paired with a patterned sky blue halter top, proved to be stylish, comfortable and supportive.

Mrs Gibbons says she had been used to 'jacking things up super high on my stomach, camel toe be damned,' in order to conceal her curves.

But she found that the low-rise bottoms on this bikini actually gave her a great hourglass shape.

 

'I have hips and thick thighs and an ass, you know, girl stuff,' she writes. 'And I might as well get to know them.'

The second suit she picked out is a bright purple number with a halter top and string bottoms, the sight of which, she admits, terrified her at first.

Swimsuit confident: After trawling the internet, the Ohio resident found not one but two bikinis - including this navy blue number - that flattered her curves and made her feel 'positively gorgeous'

But after trying it on, she discovered that it was actually a great fit, albeit a little showy.

'It's, like, a bikini? So that's basically the point,' she joked on her blog. 'I mean, they're made for beaches and rap videos.'

The author also picked out two different cover-ups to complete her swimwear looks.

The first, a striped, long-sleeve shirt, she chose for its Jackie O feel.

'I view my body as lovely. I can't make that determination for others'

'At the time I ordered it, I was still reeling from the Taylor Swift/Conor Kennedy split,' explained the blogger. 'So I had to have it.'

In a photo, she wears the top over her navy blue bikini, going for a nautical feel.

The other cover-up she wears is a denim button-down tied at the waist, apparently inspired by a look once sported by Jennifer Aniston.

The blog post has received a lot attention - good and bad - and Mrs Gibbons has had to defend herself to numerous critics.

One such commentator took to her Twitter to write: 'One thing is that you love yourself, and another thing is that you are encouraging people to be fat.'

Beach-ready: The author also picked out two different cover-ups - including this denim button-down - to complete her swimwear look

Embracing her curves: She discovered low-rise bottoms give her a great hourglass shape. 'I have hips and thick thighs and an ass,' she wrote on her blog. 'I might as well get to know them'

Mrs Gibbons responded by saying: 'I view my body as lovely. I can't make that determination for others.'

She has since written a second blog entry detailing the reactions people have had to her bikini post.

Oddly, she says, readers have been challenging her 'legit plus-sizeness', which she has defended by revealing that her jeans size is 14-18. 'If you want to borrow them you totally can,' she adds.

Others have applauded her story, but expressed their concern that she may be unhealthy.

This reaction strikes the blogger as bizarre, since 'when I meet people of like, any size, I almost never assume they are unhealthy unless they are actively mainlining heroine,' she writes.

Brittany Gibbons is the co-founder of Curvy Girl Guide, an online women's magazine aiming to promote body image advocacy.