Asalaamu alaikum and hey, dear readers!
I wanted to pop on here and post my review of the Wommo Swim ‘n Splash Burkini. Given that I have slowly come back to wearing the hijab and practicing Islam again, I have been in the market for a suitable Burkini.
A bit of background; I love to swim. I have been swimming since I was a baby, and given that I live in Pennsylvania, I look forward to spending my summers swimming. It was absolutely amazing to me when Burkinis were developed in mid-2008-2009. I remember feeling like I could finally enjoy water again as a Hijabi, and I refuse to miss out on summers spent swimming this time around.
So, I am trying to find a Burkini that will allow me to engage in active swimming while staying modestly covered. I’ve seen many ads on my social media touting the awesome utilitarianism of the Wommo Swim ‘n Splash Burkini. Since I want a Burkini I can actually swim in, not just lounge around the pool or beach, I wanted to pick something that wouldnt rise up in the water or hamper me and was made for actual swimming. I figured Wommo would be the way to go.
Background on Wommo: Wommo is a company based out of New Zealand run by a Russian revert sister that features adventure-ready modest attire. The sister who runs Wommo touts her items as being suitable for hiking, exploring, and swimming/diving. When I was doing my research into this company, I noted a distinct lack of adventure-ready hijabi attire in the Western market, which is unfortunate as there is a market for such items.
What I ordered: I ordered the complete Wommo Swim ‘n Splash set: the tunic, pants, and the shaylah hijab. All are made out of swimsuit material. The tunic has a zippered front and a tie at the waist to prevent the burkini from rising up in the water. The pants are the straight leggings type of swim pants popular now with a burkini.
The package was shipped from New Zealand to where I live in Pennsylvania via DHL. The shipping was indeed speedy and alhamdullah, the package arrived intact with the items nicely packaged up.
Now, when I tried each item on; while I was impressed with the quality, I was disappointed with item sizing. Although I had followed the size chart carefully and ordered what I thought would fit, unfortunately, nothing I ordered fit the way I wanted it to fit. The description of the Tunic on the Wommo website is that the tunic is a “flattering A-line fit,” so I assumed ordering my usual size as a curvy sister would suffice. Unfortunately, it did not, and I found that the Tunic had more of a straight cut, which, as someone with curves, absolutely was not modest enough. There was just no way I could wear the Tunic out to a public pool or the beach and not feel like I was half naked. I should have sized up one more size for a more modest fit. The Leggings were noted in reviews as running on the larger side, so I sized down one size given the item’s stretch, and unfortunately, this piece did not fit either. The fit was quite large and baggy, and then coupled with a soft waistband and no drawstring, I could foresee the leggings sliding down during wear. The Swim shaylah is a great idea in theory, but I found it to be too bulky and slippery to wear, even with a pin at the chin. Allahu A’alam.
I will say that the quality of the items was outstanding, which, given the price, should be expected. Unfortunately, due to the fit and sizing, I had to return everything.
Wommo does accept returns and exchanges, alhamdullah, but the cost of returning the items to New Zealand was deducted from my refund. OK, I get it, but still, it’s a bit off-putting given the return cost was $24.00. Once my item was returned, I received an email stating that because I purchased the items during the Wommo spring sale, I would not be receiving my refund back to my card but as a gift card. I hate to be obnoxious, but I was not thrilled to read that. I’m trying to be conscientious of my spending and was hoping to use those funds to see if I could find another Burkini that would fit me better. Unfortunately, those funds are now tied up in a gift card. I understand I should have read the fine print during my order, but I did not as I did not assume that I wouldn’t receive my refund as anticipated if I had to do a return.
Can I just say something; for clothing items that are very size-specific such as a Burkini, I do not think refunds should be tied up in a gift card. Sure, I could have exchanged the items for different sizes, but regardless, I would have borne the return and shipping costs along with that if that next size didn’t fit either.
Anyway, here is a quick breakdown of what I liked and did not like about the Wommo Swim ‘n Splash Burkini:
Likes: Excellent construction. Quality thick swimsuit material. No loose threads. Sturdy zipper. Thoughtful design. Drawstring at waist.
Dislikes: Straight-cut tunic that is not curvy girl friendly. Shaylah, made of swimsuit material, is cumbersome, thick, and difficult to wrap/keep in place. Swim leggings should have a drawstring at the waist. You apparently need to size down 2-3 sizes for the leggings to fit.
To conclude, I am going to continue my search. I find it rather annoying that there is still a dearth of companies selling Burkinis in the USA. I will probably have to order from outside of the USA again, and I will admit, I hesitate to do so.
Feel free to share companies you recommend and Burkinis you’ve tried and liked, with perks if they are curvy girl friendly.
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-❤️ Bailey UmmIbrahim
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Assalaamu alaikum,
Jazakahallah khair for the review. As someone who also loves to swim, I wouldn’t have liked the swim shayla at all. I prefer an Amira style that can easily be tucked in.
I haven’t found a burkini that actually works for someone who wants to do more than wade around, lol. I currently wear a long sleeved rash guard tunic and swim leggings. I’m fully aware it’s not modest enough for everyone, but it’s the only thing I can actively move about in the water and still be somewhat covered.
Wa salaam! Hey where do you get your swim Al-Amira’s from? I’m not finding any thst look like they’ll be suitable. Yup, I agree, most of the Burkinis I’m seeing are suitable for wading bit actual swimming. I honestly if u can’t find something stick to a rash guard and swim leggings with a draw string. We’ll see what I can find. Where r your swim
Leggings and rash guard from?
Ironically the Amira I have wasn’t purchased as a swim hijab. It just happened to work really well. I got it probably at least 10 years ago if not more. The website I used to buy amira hijabs from has long gone out of business. My swimsuit, I’ve had probably just as long. I checked the tags and it came from an American based company called Sun Safe. They do still have a website with the same name .com but it looks like they don’t keep it up much. There’s only 3 products on their shopping page and none of them are for the tunic and leggings, unfortunately.
If you sew and feel like putting in the effort, lol, there’s a sewing pattern I was looking into making for my daughter from an Etsy seller. The seller is called Rafah Sew Go Patterns. I haven’t had the time to try it out yet, but the reviews look decent.
LOL, well thats awesome everything worked out. Yea im amazed at how some companies I used to love are no longer around and how many new companies there are. Allahu a’alam. I ended up finding a suitable cobbled together Burkini, i’ll post about it enshaAllah this week. With my kids being home esp my youngest my time is sucked away from me during the day. LOL typical mom life. hehehehe
I guess that’s the nature of business especially after 10+ years. The company I used to get my eldest, now adult daughter’s custom swim suits, was a Christian company back when there were no Muslim companies at least known to us in the U.S. She’s since stopped selling completed suits and only sells the sewing pattern. I don’t usually have the time to make anything with a special needs toddler at home. Now, with the addition of my other 4 kiddos out of school, it’s next to impossible, lol. Looking forward to reading about what you managed to put together.