These were ordered for my daughter. She is 5'4", but only weighs 90, so she is very lanky. She's pretty straight up and down, no curves yet. We had ordered another XS, but the waistband was very loose and we weren't sure they would stay up. She needs a suit that is for swimming and diving, not laying out in, and these bottoms, and the top that matches, fit the bill perfectly.
I bought this item to do my swim workouts in. They are pretty good, but they need a drawstring on them. It looks, from the picture, like they have one but it's only for looks. So I had to put a drawstring on them myself. Now they are great.
I bought this with the matching top for a trip to the water park. I had gained some weight so didn't want the regular suit I would wear. This suit gave just the coverage I needed to have confidence to walk around the water park. The suit held up well too during the three days of water slides. The string on front was kind of annoying it hangs down too far and had to retie.
Doesn't ride up on the bottom, feels great on the bum.
I swim about 1 -2 miles each morning and this suit is great. It's a nice change from a 1 piece. It doesn't bind around the waist because of the wide waistband that sits just above your hips.
This short fits more like a pair of low rise jeans than a swim bottom. The cinch in the front does not go all the way around (so you can cinch up the back). I think it is just for decorative show in the front. They are well made, but just don't fit my anatomy.