What swimming suit brands, materials, etc are best for everyday practice kinds of swimming, that do not wear out fast but do not cost a fortune either.

Which suit brands, and materials are best for competing ? Should l order a smaller suit so it is skin tight? l also do not wanna spend a fortune on this either, so what brands are best for that, and what website could l find there suits on.

Also: Is it strange for girls to wear drag shorts, even though they are technically for guys?

Really other information about swimming (training and competing) is useful too. Thanks for your advice!

Speedo Fast Skin
It is what Olympians wear. And l wear drag shorts too. l find it is a cool look with a bikini top ;D

for ordinary races.
go for a aquablade or just a regular suit.
for bigger meets like AA max or JOs, use a fastskin.
For the BIGGEST meets, like nationals, use the lazr racer.
for practice, just get a good speedo suit..
cost around 50.
for drag suit, l suggest you wear a leotard underneath.
its what girls do as a drag suit.

it doesnt really matter what kind of swimsuit u wear for practices, as long as they're NOT FastSkins, Aquablades, etc. Polyester is good for practices, & make sure u rinse out the swimsuit when u finish. If u go to a specially-made swim shop, u can ask them for endurance suit. these usually last longer than normal suits. For races, u should wear a suit that is snug, but not too tight otherwise u cant move smoothly. l like Speedo best.
for Training, wear drag suits. these can be old suits that u can not wear normally by itself.
good luck :)

for practice l would go with a speedo endurance and drag shorts. the speedo endurance lasts up to 20 times longer than a normal suit.

for meets l would just wear a normal suit that you would usually wear, except for big meets in often pays off to fork out a few extra bucks and get a fastskin or a tracer light.

For practice suits a cheap grab bag suit (or sometimes more than one for more drag) from any major swimsuit manufacturer should be just fine.
l would not recommend wearing full shorts for drag, because you'd be practicing so much slower than you'd be racing, but the mesh square drag suits r pretty good, & its not too unusual to see girls wearing them. Personally, l prefer the TYR poly-mesh square legged drag suits. Get whatever size is most comfortable for ur practice suit.

For a racing suit, it depends on what level of competition u will be in as to what kind of suit u will want. The absolute highest level suits do not last for a very long time, so for any meet that you're not tapering for, I'd just wear a regular lycra suit that is tighter than ur practice suit, probably a single size smaller.
If this is ur championship suit, it depends on what level of swimming u r in, at non-elite levels of swimming, suits wo not make nearly as much difference as other things (training, talent, technique). l think the absolute best suits r Blueseventy Nero, Speedo LZR & TYR Tracer Rise in that order. If you're going to get one of these, make sure u get the full body with the legs, as that will make the biggest difference. Those suits r very expensive though, & if all you're looking for is a suit to wear at high school sectionals or something like that, u could get something like a Speedo aquablade or TYR Fusion 2, or just stick with the suit u wear at all ur other meets.

Some good places to buy suits:
http://metroswimshop.com/
http://kiefer.com/
http://lane4swim.com/
http://swimoutlet.com/

for training wear things that drag like:
board shorts
sweats
jeans that you do not use
even basketball shorts.
l use anything..
to get better.
l wear speedos though.

For competing, l find that the speedo aquablades, fastskins, and legskins have all good quality. however, if you do not want to spend $400 on a suit l think it would be good to check out a yingfa. they are the equivelent to a speedo however range in price from about $15 to $30. l have personally tried this suit and it has great quality and also lasts a lot longer than any of the speedo suits l have used. You can check out these suits at Jenaquaswimwear.com