Influencer Raeann Langas recreates Sydney Sweeney's bikini photos: 'Curvy girls can do it too'

Feeling confident while wearing a swimsuit isn't something that's come naturally for Raeann Langas.

The 29-year-old curve model and content creator tells Yahoo Life that she recalls specific moments from growing up that set her on a trajectory of being self-conscious in swimwear. She even actively avoided scenarios where she'd have to be in front of peers wearing one.

"I realized that I was missing out on so many experiences and memories because I was too scared to be seen in a swimsuit and I didn't want people to see my body. And I was like, 'This is just so sad. Like I'm missing out on life,'" she says, noting that she'd often pretend to "forget" a bikini when attending high school hangouts in a friend's hot tub. "I decided that I needed to to change this narrative and find swimsuits that make me feel good and feel confident."

It's a journey that Langas set out to do on her own as she pushed herself to try on a multitude of swimwear styles and brands. "I didn't want to," she says plainly. "There was a lot of like, internal work I needed to do as well." Ultimately, she credits a sort of "exposure therapy" for gaining confidence in swimwear over time.

Now, she provides that exposure and representation for the 189,000 people who follow her on Instagram for fashion — and bikini — inspiration.

It's the reason she created her account and blog eight years ago, after seeing fashion influencers gain traction and noticing that none of them looked quite like her. At 5-foot-11, Langas, who wears a U.S. size 14, wanted to see how different trends would look on her body. She also wanted to provide that experience to other women with body types similar to hers.

And while fashion is at the forefront of her work, it's body acceptance that she really hopes to inspire. Hence why she started posting her bathing suit try ons in a series she calls the bikini breakdown.

"It's so vulnerable to be in a swimsuit. You're stripped down and your body is on display," she says. "I wanted to start this series to make this thing that can cause a lot of fear and anxiety, easier and more fun. My whole goal with the bikini breakdown series is to build confidence instead of making you feel s***ty about yourself. So picking all sorts of brands and showing a bunch of different styles to hopefully help women find swimsuits that they'll be able to go and wear and not let their body hold them back."

It's a direct response to her previously negative thinking that if she was skinnier, she might be happier or more desirable. After seeing actress Sydney Sweeney pose in a bikini for her collaboration with Frankies bikinis, Langas took the opportunity to further prove her point.

"You look at Sydney Sweeney, who is an icon and absolutely stunning and so talented, and she kind of has that body type that a lot of women would kill for. They think that having that body type is like the dream," Langas explains. "With recreating that shoot, my goal was to show that you can feel amazing and look hot, even if you don't have this completely idealized body type."

The model mirrored Sweeney's look almost exactly, wearing a size XL of Sweeney's same bikini and pairing it with white thigh-high stockings and chunky jewelry.

"I want to show that a curvy girl can also pull this off because sadly still, we just don't see that as much. We see these creative, beautiful images and for the most part, we're still seeing it on smaller women," Langas says. "I just think it's important to show the industry, brands, everyday women that curvy women can do this as well and look amazing."

Her recreation received a large response from followers who referred to Langas as a "bombshell" and called the shoot "iconic."

"Following people like you has made me realize I'm beautiful however I am and however I feel," one person wrote. Another commented, "Now I need this suit."

These comments speak directly to the impact Langas hopes to have.

"I [especially] remember the absolute dread I felt when I knew I had to be in a swimsuit. I think that is why I am so passionate about sharing swimwear and helping you find a swimsuit that you feel good in," she wrote in the post's caption. "You don't have to wait to lose weight to wear the swimsuit!"

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.