Hey guys. I'm in a bit of a pickle and was hoping you all could help me out! I'm going on a cruise the beginning of May and this will be the first time I wear something other than a bikini. *shudder* I got my first pair of board shorts and couldn't be happier! But I'm stuck on what type of shirt to wear. Everyone says to get a rash guard, but I can't find anything in stores and I'm very hesitant to order online without knowing what the fabric is like. I tried some sports type shirts on in stores and because the fabric is very thin, you can tell I'm binding. So I guess I need a thicker fabric, and I don't want an under armor type fit, I want a looser fit. Can anyone recommend any rash guards or other types of shirts that you wore swimming? I'd really appreciate it! Oh, and if you have links, just send them to my inbox. Thanks!!

Personally, I will be going to Gordmans to purchase a TapouT shirt that's sort of like rash guard material but doesn't have the tight fit like your basic rash guard does. If nothing else I'm sure you can purchase a real rash guard PacSun, Buckle, and maybe Zumeiz. Or any other kind of store that sells things of more popular brands such as Billabong. Hope this is of some assistance to you.

A rashguard is about as thick as an underarmor shirt. The difference is that it protects your skin from UV rays so you don't get burned.

I checked pacsun, buckle and zumiez's websites, and none of them have any.  I live in Ohio...so not exactly the surf/beach capital of the world haha. I thought about sports type shirts like under armor etc, but they all seem like they have such thin fabric that I think my binder would show though. I dunno... 

Check if they have tags for SPF rating. If it has an SPF rating of 70 (ish) then it's pretty much a rash guard. They're pretty thin and stretchy.

Thanks for the heads up Kyle, I didn't know that! I'll be happy finding anything at this point haha. I'm starting to freak out that I'm not going to be able to get in the water.

Here's something I found on Quiksilver's site while looking at regular rashguards:

http://www.quiksilver.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3790456&camp=qpsidid

It's looser like a t-shirt, but made of the same lycra material as the tighter fitting kind.    So, maybe it wouldn't cling when wet like a normal t-shirt!  No way to know for sure though without buying one.  I was just going to get a black and white Quiksilver rashguard, the tighter fitting kind, and wear a black binder under it.   I have an older rashguard for women, and the binder really doesn't show much at all through it, perhaps because the rash guard's a bit big and the binder's pretty tight.  Wet, though?  I've no idea, I haven't been swimming in years, ha.

I am rather large chested ... and I wear a binder and a loose fitting underarmour shirt.  I don't get second glances about it.  It looks like a rash guard.  People assume I am a male so I guess they don't see the binder b/c they don't expect it to be there.  I wear a black binder and black underarmour shirt. 

Go with a solid dark color like black or blue to reduce the extent to which the binder will show.  I have a navy blue rash guard that I've worn alone (when I care more about getting to DO what other guys do vs. LOOK like other guys do) or with a polyester sports bra (when I care a bit more about passing but still not much).  However, I'm caring more about passing now and using a male name so I bought one of the binders someone suggested in another thread for being able to go in the water with.  I haven't yet tried that on with the rash guard because I just got it (just tried it on this morning) but even the sports bra didn't look too obvious.  I don't know if I yet have pics of me in the rash guard.  I have also used a UA shirt that I like 'cause it has a slightly meshy back for quick drying and it also has a black-and-blue pattern in the shoulder area that can distract from or hide straps, so you might want to look into picking up one of those. 

Thanks for the suggestions Eli and Rob! I will begin my search this weekend!