The Best Swimsuits We’ve Found During the Strategist Swimsuit Project (So Far)
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Whatever your level of body confidence in the changing room, there’s just something inherently unpleasant about swimsuit shopping. So this summer, we’re doing the hard work for you. We’re trying on every cut of nylon that we can, speaking with stylish pool- and beachgoers about which swimsuits they most recommend and even interviewing laundry experts about how to take care of a pricey bikini. More than a month into theStrategist Swimsuit Project, plenty of useful discoveries have been made: affordable mall swimwear brands that are as good as expensive boutique ones, more modest Speedos, and butt-covering suits for plus-size swimmers. Read on for the best finds so far.
Aerie makes excellent activewear, and our senior writer Dominique Parisomakes a solid casefor themall brand’s swim stuff, too. “The cuts are cute, the size range inclusive, and, most important of all, they are basically indestructible,” she says of the below suits. Even better, they’re almost always on sale.
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The bestkids’ swimsuitshave bright colors and patterns, which is for safety as much as style, as our senior writer Liza Corsillo explains. Other factors to consider when shopping include durability (since kids’ swimsuits get dragged through the sand and soaked in sunscreen), price, and details like drawstrings and zippers that make putting them on and taking them off more convenient. Shespoke to cool parentswith kids of all ages about the best options available right now.
This summer, our senior writer Ambar Pardillais declaring herselfa “born-again tankini-ist.” There are few downsides to the practical two-piece style that you probably wore as a kid, she notes. “It’s a wonder of aquatic recreation for anyone who doesn’t want every bit of their midsection out.” Even as an ardent bikini wearer, I’ve been considering certain tankinis after all the relentless Instagram advertising that they’ve featured in lately.
Our staffers also revealed theirgo-to swimsuits, including one-pieces that one editor wore through two pregnancies and bikini tops that are surprisingly supportive and help avoid tan lines.
As much as she loves her Aerie pieces, Pariso is most loyal to Summersalt’s striped one-piece swimsuit,the Sidestroke, which she first purchased in 2021. Since then, it has been with her on beach trips all over the world — long weekends at Montauk and on Fire Island; vacations to Italy, Spain, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic; and decidedly more domestic getaways to Alaska and Charleston. And “it looks just as good this summer as it did the very first Memorial Day I wore it,” she declares.
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Summersalt The Sidestroke Suit
WereviewedtheClareV.xLeftonFridayCollaboration
Being fans of both Left on Friday and Clare V., we knew we had to get our hands on the two brands’ swimwear collaboration. Senior writer Lauren Ro tried ona bunch of itemsfrom it, including a long-sleeve rash guard that was her favorite item in the whole collection. It’s truly hard to find a stylish rash guard.
After speaking with severallaundryexperts, I found that swimsuit care comes down to understanding fabric composition. Whether they’re designed for fashion or athletic performance, expensive swimsuits tend to cost more than cheap ones because they’re constructed from a tightly woven nylon-and-elastane fabric rather than a looser polyester-and-elastane one. Here’s how totake care of your $200 swimsuit.
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As writer Amelia Jerden points out, women’s swimsuits offer almost universally poor coverage on the bottom. Which is fine, but sometimes life calls for a bit more modesty.Enter the swim short. She asked stylish people for their recommendations for the nicest-looking ones and tried on a few pairs herself.
SariBottontriedonstylishswimsuitsfor60-somethings
A real highlight of the project was when contributing writer Sari Botton went on thehunt for flattering swimsuitsfor people who are feeling self-conscious postmenopause. She unearthed some truly fabulous options, and the commenters were even in favor of the more badly reviewed pieces.
Strategist writer and resident athlete Brenley Goertzen gathered as many sporty swimsuits as she could find, thentested them outin the pools and lakes near her Minnesota home. She found options worthy of swimming laps, doing water aerobics, and even aqua jogging.
Strategist contributing writer Alyse Whitney wore one-piece suits for most of her life as a plus-size woman, but things changed when she discovered high-waisted bikinis. It was thishot-pink bikini from Torridthat changed her mind, so she ventured to the mall andtried out every other high-waisted stylethat the store had in stock.
“I don’t know who made the rule thatswim trunkshave to either be solid color or covered in neon pineapples, but it holds sway in much of the swim-trunk-retail universe,” rues Strategist writer Erin Schwartz. So they set out on a quest to findsome non-corny optionsfrom both mall and indie brands.
Jerden recently spent several hours at two different Targets trying on every swimsuit that she could find in her size — 38 in total — and crowning a few winners. The best finds included a plunging one-piece and a few simple and stylish bikinis.
Novelist Sarah Blakley-Cartwright just wants to wear a swimsuit that stays put when she’s swimming or playing in the sand, and the Andie Malibu One-Piece is it. “It feels like the freedom of wearing nothing, but with the reassurance of a hug, everything held in place,” she writes.
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Given how much we like Andie’s Malibu and Amalfi swimsuits, it seemed worth trying out a few more styles from the Instagram-popular brand. Ro took on this task and was especially pleased with the high-coverage Tulum, which she describes as sleek, comfortable, and compressive.
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As a longtime fan of YouSwim’s crinkle-fabric one-piece Poise swimsuit, our senior writer Liza Corsillo decided to try out six more styles from the much-praised brand. She came away with a few new favorites, including a stretchy bikini and romper.
Pariso has been known to go topless on the beach, but shealwayswears full-coverage bottoms. And she writes that there are plenty of completely butt-covering yet decidedly non-matronly swimsuit cuts available these days, from designer and mall brands alike.
ARatherSpecialSwimRomper
Speaking of butt coverage, consider the swim romper. “It’s basically a classic one-piece with shorts instead of the underwear-like cut of a traditional swimsuit bottom, so it offers a little extra butt coverage,” explains Jerden. She especially likes the Riptide Romper from Popflex.
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“Much like the metric system, the Speedo swim brief is a sensible thing that never caught on in America,” observes our senior writer Michael Zhao. If you’re a non-European who is used to wearing board shorts, though, you might prefer a more modest pair of aquashorts. These are basically Speedos with just enough of an inseam to move the hem off of the groin and onto the less sensitive skin of the upper thigh.
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Many of the Strategist’s favorite swimsuits — including the waist-cinching ones fromLeft on Fridayand crinkle ones fromYouSwim— lack padding around the chest area. So our writer Bella Druckman went on a surprisingly successful quest to find nipple covers that stay on in the water.
Given that she loves her Summersalt Sidestroke so much, Pariso decided to try out the brand’s competing swimsuit one- and two-pieces. She’s still loyal to the OG but was almost as impressed by the Ruched Backflip style, even though it didn’t look particularly appealing in the product photos.
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Tweens are notoriously tricky to shop for, as their sense of personal style is in deep flux. So we spoke to both kids and parents to find out what 9- to 15-year-olds are wearing to the poollately, although we can’t guarantee that they’ll still want to swim in them next season.
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The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
