Can’t find bikini briefs to match your favourite bikini top? Why not go wild by mixing and matching with another brand. Take a look at my review of some M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms to get some inspiration!
Being the proud owner of a rather generous posterior, I often find that bikini bottoms which are both comfortable and provide sufficient coverage can be quite tricky to find. For many years now, I have bought bikini tops and bottoms from separate places as although bra-size swimwear options are growing year on year the choices for briefs are usually not.
Of course, there are always exceptions to this and brands such as Curvy Kate and Panache continue to strive to extend their swimwear ranges, but the point I want to get across here is that we shouldn’t give up on wearing a bikini just because the matching bottoms are not available in our size or do not come in our preferred style.

A collage of beach snaps from my holiday in Zakynthos in September 2015
Earlier this year I was on the lookout for some bikini bottoms to take on my holidays. Actually, I was looking for tops as well but I tried a few non bra-sized options and they were pretty disastrous. I live in hope that the cool styles seen at places like Forever 21 and H&M might one day be made to fit me, but in the meantime I will stick to more sturdy and well-constructed bikini tops.

Enjoying the Zakynthian beach
I ordered a number of bikini bottoms from UK high street and online retailer M&Co and was pleasantly surprised with the items I received. So much so, that several of them came on holiday with me and have become firm favourites in my swimwear collection. I wanted to share them here on my blog – worn with a plain black bikini top from Ewa Michalak (no longer available to purchase) – to show you some of the options available, all at reasonable prices and made to last.


First up in this M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms haul, we have the Leopard Print HIgh Waist Bikini Bottom (was £16.00, now £11.20, UK sizes 10-20). I am wearing these in a size 20. These are possibly the most comfortable bottoms of the lot, and I am partial to a bit of leopard print so they are perfect!

Wearing the leopard print bottoms on holiday in Zakynthos
On holiday I’ve tended to pair them with my Curvy Kate Luau Love bikini top as the bright pink looks even more vibrant with the leopard print briefs, as you can see from the picture above. They are described as high waisted but as you can see on me they are not overly high, however this may be because of my generous butt!


The Plus Spot Print High Waist Bikini Bottom (was £18.00, now £12.60, UK sizes 22-28) are a classic print. I am wearing a size 22 here, and although they are the same cut as the leopard print pants that I wear in a 20, they fit very similarly. As with the leopard print briefs, the ruching at the sides helps to camouflage any lumps and bumps, and the front of the bottoms is reinforced for support and light smoothing.


Next up in my review of M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms we have the Plus Tropical Print High Waist Bikini Bottom (was £18.00, now £12.60, UK sizes 22-28), and I am wearing them in a size 22. These briefs have a clever sash going across the tummy, which helps to disguise a VBO (visible belly outline), and there is a pretty metal embellishment in the middle. This helps to create a central point, which again can be flattering.
The cut across the backside is fractionally higher than the two previous briefs, but it’s not massively different. I love the colours in this print – so vibrant and pretty, and the black background makes them perfect for wearing with this plain black bikini top, as you can see from my beach snaps above.


The Plus Animal Print High Waist Bikini Bottom (£18.00, UK sizes 22-28) are M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms that are unfortunately no longer available on the M&Co website. They are identical to the previous pair, however, and are a great monotone option. They work well with my black top here, but also look fantastic with a plain top in any colour, especially something bright.


These three Twist Front High Waist Bikini Bottoms all feature the same design but in different colours, and I’m afraid that only the black option is available in the M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms section on the M&Co website. Priced at £11.20 (was £16.00) it comes in two sizing options: UK sizes 10-20 here, and UK sizes 22-28 in the Plus option here.


I love the design of these M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms – they are very similar to the previous ones, but the difference is that the sash across the tummy has more looseness to it and so can be positioned higher or lower on the abdomen as preferred. I did find the gold trim centrepiece would move from side to side sometimes, which might work for anyone wanting to place it at a jaunty angle, but for me it was annoying and so I intend to sew it in place for future vacations.


The black M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms became my go-to bikini briefs on holiday because of their versatility. Black is such a classic colour for a bikini and the plain colourway went with so many of my patterned bikini tops (especially the Curvy Kate Moonflower bikini, as seen above!). I bought the other two colours as they look great with black and will no doubt match with bikini tops I will buy in the future.

You can barely see them because of how I’m sitting but I am wearing the black Twist Front High Waist Bikini Bottoms in this pic.
M&Co do sell tops to match all of these bottoms, both in bikini styles as well as tankinis (and they sell regular swimsuits, too), but unfortunately they come nowhere near fitting me as my boobs are too big. Although I am a little disappointed at that, I’ve found it’s much more fun to be able to mix and match these M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms with my bra-sized tops so that I can look stylish on the beach, whilst being completely comfortable at the same time.
I hope you have found this M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms review post useful and that it’ll give you the confidence to try thinking laterally about your own swimwear and clothing conundrums.
Which of these bikini bottoms are you favourite? Let me know in the comments below!
And, just to clarify, this is not a sponsored post – all M and Co Plus Size Bikini Bottoms were bought by me with my own money.
You look amazing! The polka dot one is super cute. I am going shopping next week so will be checking the sale section in case they have any left.
What a great range of prints and colours. I will definately look at M&Co for my next holiday, I didn't even know they did swimwear!!!
The bum coverage is great! I need mine to come up a bit higher on the tum so I would love it if M&Co would do ones that come up under the bust. But these are lovely on you!
I agree – if M&Co did proper high waisted bikini briefs I would be all over them!!!!
You look fantastic in all of these and I like how you have used a mixture of your 'pro' blog photos and holiday snaps. Perfect! Your blog is so helpful to plus size women, by the way. I read all your reviews and have bought/avoided many things based on your words.
I too am the proud owner of a big ass and it's so helpful to know where I can buy this swimwear from with such great butt coverage. So many brands seem to skimp on the fabric for bikini briefs but M and Co have done really well here. Bravo! Ellie x
I don't think you've done a review on a one piece suit. Do you ever wear one-pieces? I am not brave enough to wear a bikini so would love to see you review a swimsuit as I trust your opinion.
You're right; I haven't. And that's because I don't. One pieces just don't work on me in cup sized swimwear. A while back Panache sent me a swimsuit by mistake instead of a bikini top and I couldn't even get it on. With my figure it seems to be impossible. I need a smallish band but very big cups so it makes it very difficult to get it on over my large hips and backside! I think Panache sent me a 34J and it was just NOT happening! I also find that even if I could somehow work around the hips issue, one pieces don't work for me because of my short torso. The fit is all wrong. So I love my bikinis, and in any case I love having a brown tummy so they work for me! If I really wanted to cover my tum for some reason I'd go for a tankini as there are lots of great options around, and I like the flexibility they offer. Maybe I'll review one of those one day.
You look fantastic! Nice choices, especially on the leopard print, I am a sucker for leopard! I wish they did a top that matched in a J cup.
I spent about a week in August trying to find bigger bikini bottoms that my Mum could mix and match with the bikini bras she'd bought from Figleaves. Unfortunately, I didn't find many pairs as so few places do a good range of basic bottoms. Wish I had thought of M&Co and will definitely be looking into bottoms from there in future.C xx
The thing that drives me nuts is that by August almost all stores have removed their summer/holiday ranges and replaced them with autumn pieces, making it a real headache for those of us who shop last minute and/or holiday outside the usual times.
If you're lucky, end of season can be good times to find unusual sizes: the stores are trying to flog off the last few items and invariably they aren't the mainstream sizes. Just be prepared for a bit of a rummage. I'll say nothing about *cough* Sainsbury's jeans and searching for something decent that fits.
Like some others have said I never would of thought of looking at M & Co for swimwear. It's a shame there bikini tops are not in a good range of cup sizes but I suppose that's just typical. They all think a D cup is enormous!!!!!!! I really want a matching set in a H cup with good matching bottoms. So hard to find, but thanks for the ideas to mix and match x
Yes, you can see the unpleasant attitude hidden in their ranges: if you're big in one area, you're fat and therefore want it all covered up, so it's a waste of time trying to sell anything remotely revealing for the beach. Another upshot of being a non-regular size is having to buy two identical sets in different sizes and basically chuck away one from each. Still looking for a friend who might make use of the spares.
You look amazing as usual. I never would've thought to look at M&Co for swimwear, but I definitely will next year now I’ve seen you wearing it. Great review! xxx
My favorite is the leopard print of course. I am such a fan of anything animal print and high waist bikini pants are what I always go for. These look great on you! I wish we had this brand in the US.
Love the bikini outfits! I like mine to cover the tummy a little more so I've been going with high waist bikinis. Thinking about a GabiFresh one from swimsuitsforall!