Is There Really a Difference Between a $30 and a $300 Swimsuit?
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
You’ve probably thought to yourself at least once,How could something that’s meant to get wet cost that much?But in all my years of coveringswimsuits, I’ve learned that a more-expensive swimsuit isn’t always better. I’ve heard similar praise forAerie’$27 bikini bottomsasEres’$235 bikini bottoms. This summer, for theStrategist Swimsuit Project, we’ve tried on bikini tops anywhere between $15 and $110 byTarget,Summersalt,Youswim, andLeft on Friday— and liked them at all the different price points. So what’s the deal … is therereallythat much of a difference between a $30 and a $300 swimsuit?
The price depends on how many of the swimsuits were produced
Like most retail, the price mostly comes down to a company’s bottom line, particularly the quantity of swimsuits it makes. “It all goes back to the wholesale and how many pieces they’re cutting,” explains Michele Hornberger, who runs the consulting serviceMLH Design Enterprises. “The more you buy, the more prices come down.” That’s why a bikini from a small label at a boutique in Southampton is costing you a lot more than one at yourlocal mall. “It’s not flooding the market,” says Hornberger. “The brand only made so many of them, and maybe they buy a couple of dozen per shop. That’s nothing, you know?”
Where a swimsuit is made impacts the price, too. Manufacturing overseas in places like China can make the price lower than manufacturing in the U.S. “Made in the U.S. automatically makes things so much more expensive,” says Sarah Palatnik, a retail-production manager at the Whitney Museum who has over ten years of experience in swim and intimates production. (Nu Swim’s pieces, which are produced in New York City, can range from $120 to $210, for example.) Often pricier swimsuit fabrics are milled in Italy, as I heard repeatedly, on specialized machines. Italian lycra “feels like a second skin,” says Cindy Kahng, owner of the East Village’sAzaleas. It’s a material a lot of bathing suits in her store feature: “A lot of the cheaper brands are not able to emulate that touch.”
Fabric composition and detailing affect the price, too
Synthetics are still common in swimsuits, regardless of the price point. Fabric compositions typically list nylon (also known as polyamide) or polyester and a percentage of stretch as either spandex, elastane, or Lycra. However, less-expensive swimsuits tend to “use standard polyester blends with a spandex component,” explainsCamille Block, a Fashion Institute of Technology lecturer on intimates and swimwear design. Not only can these suits have less elasticity over time, they might deteriorate more quickly with exposure to chlorine or salt water, adds Block.
In comparison, more expensive suits are often made from a blend of polyamide (or nylon) with spandex, elastane, orLycra. (Using Lycra, according to Block, means spending “a little bit more for that brand name.”) Our writerKatherine Gillespieexplains it best in our guide onhow to take care of your expensive swimsuit: “Expensive swimsuits are stretchier, smoother, and more compressive” thanks to their construction of tightly woven nylon and elastane blend rather than looser polyester and elastane. Certain high-end brands might also use exclusive fabrics, like Eres’ Peau Douce (French for “soft skin” and made from 84 percent polyamide and 16 percent elastane) or Hunza G’sOriginal Crinkle fabrication, which is 97 percent polyamide and 3 percent elastane. Generally, if you’re wondering about a material, “give it a firm tug,” suggests underwear writer and swimsuit reviewerEstelle Puleston, as something “premium” should get “back into shape when you let go.”
Often, cost-cutting happens in the details of a swimsuit. Having fewer stitches (or ones that aren’t reinforced) lowers prices, says Palatnik. The lining is another consideration: That would be the “main thing to cut out” for a brand to save money, according to Block. (Or it might be that a company uses a cheaper mesh or 100 percent polyester instead, she adds.) Paneling and ruching impact the cost, too, as do padding, cups, and underwire.
Will the expensive suit fit better? Maybe … or maybe not.
You’re not guaranteed a better fit by paying more — even if a brand uses highly skilled pattern-makers and technical designers. “Sometimes a lower-priced brand will just knock it out of the park with the way a piece fits, and sometimes a higher-priced piece just won’t work on my body,” says Palatnik. “But fit is so subjective, you know?” As with any article of clothing, it comes down to preference and budget. “There’s a good chance that you could be getting more quality [with a pricier swimsuit], but if that good quality doesn’t suit you, it’s worth nothing,” says Hornberger. Bloomingdale’s fashion director Marissa Galante thinks the right-fitting swimsuit “makes you feel confident from the moment you put it on.” Remember this the next time you’re buying anitsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini, no matter what it costs.
Our favorite swimsuits (at every price point) …
New! You can now save this product for later.
It's tankini time this summer.
New! You can now save this product for later.
A swimsuit you can swim in with “no fear of cheeks popping out,” says our writer Brenley Goertzen.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Our resident beachgoer has taken it all over the world (including Italy, Spain, and Mexico).
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“Maybe it’s actually one-size-fits-more-than-you-would-think,” says senior writer Dominique Pariso.
More From The Strategist
- The Strategist Fall 100
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- The Strategist Summer 100
- I Replaced My Tretinoin With This $30 Retinal Cream
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.
