The Swimsuits Our Editors Wear Summer After Summer
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This summer, we’re doing some of the swimsuit-buying legwork for you with theStrategist Swimsuit Project. Already we’ve declared ittankini timeand asked beachgoers, pool loungers, and lake dockers about theswimsuits they’re wearing this year. I couldn’t help wondering about the swimsuits our team wears summer after summer as well. Here, you’ll find suits that have traveled everywhere from the Rockaways to the beaches of Jamaica. And there’s a variety of coverage mentioned, from someone who follows Nora Ephron’sadviceof “putting on a bikini at age 26 and not taking it off until age 34” to another who’s “not interested in ‘cheeky’ in any way, shape, or form.” Happy swimming!
Two-Pieces
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Aerie no longer makes the exact same style our writerAmelia Jerdenhas (which she’s owned for about five years now), but this is a similar version. Her Aerie bikinis “have held up to dozens of hours in the ocean, pools, rivers, lakes, and just about any other body of water you can think of, and they still look great.” And the “scoop-tank sports-bra kind of top” should holdyouup. “As someone who likes to swim in the ocean and do lots of activities on the water, I like a top that is secure,” she says. And the crossover waistband on the bottoms gets you a bit more midsection support. “I think these are a great mix of not-too-revealing without veering into obviouslymodest,” she adds.
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No matter the bikini top our writer Bella Druckman chooses from her “hodgepodge of bikini tops” (fromAerie,Hollister,J.Crew, etc.), she wears it with these bikini bottoms. “I have a hard time finding bikini bottoms that aren’t too skimpy in the front (it’s an underrepresented issue, honestly),” she says. “I like that these provide enough coverage in the front and the back that I’m not worried about flashing anyone, but I can still have my belly button out.” She accidentally bought them twice and switches between them. Maybe that’s helped each last: “It may be the fourth summer I’m wearing them, but you’d never be able to tell.”
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“As a teen,J.Crewswimsuits were the height of status,” says senior writerLiza Corsillo. “So I still get a little thrill wearing this bikini to the beach or a pool.” The Perfect String Bikini Top is exactly that. “I am small-chested, so string bikinis fit me well on top and don’t look as revealing as they might on someone with bigger boobs,” she says. Because she’s “comparatively bigger on the bottom,” she prefers the coverage of the Hallie Bikini Bottom rather than, say, a matchingCheeky String Bikini Bottom. “I feel confident walking around in front of friends and family or even bending down to play with my son,” she says.
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During swimsuit season, senior editorJen Troliowill “usually wear a two-piece of some variety, centered on Athleta’s Surge Swim Shorts.” While it feels like any other swim bottom, “it otherwise looks kind of like regular shorts with a flattering dolphin hem, and — most crucially — it fully covers my entire butt,” she says. “I just am not interested in ‘cheeky’ in any way, shape, or form.” Her “rotating selection of rash guards and bikini tops” include Athleta’s Oasis Underwire Bikini Top and Crop Rash Guard. The rash guard sometimes goes over one of her bikini tops too. “Saves my shoulders and chest from the sun and pairs nicely with the shorts without making me feel like I’m wearing a full wetsuit,” she says.
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This summer,it’s tankini time. I believe in tankinis again. I don’t know why it took me so long to come back to the style. You get the best parts of a two-piece and one-piece in one (ortwo?). Anyway, a swimsuit is an objectively silly thing, and I like one that leans into that, just as this nautical Nautica does. It survived the ultimate test of a day at the water park. If it can handle constant splashes of chlorine-filled pool water, it can handle anything.
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“For most of my life, I bought all my swimsuits at Target,” Jerden says. “I don’t think the Target suits are as good quality as Aerie’s generally, but they are pretty solid, especially for the price.” That said, a high-waisted bikini bottom she has from Target’s Shade & Shore line hasn’t failed her yet. “I think the quality of the fabric is a little better on the bikini bottoms than on some other Target suits I’ve bought in the past. It feels smooth and hasn’t shown any distress, even though I wear it all the time,” she says.
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Left on Friday’sSunday Suitmight be the “High and Tight of one-pieces,” but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t discount its bikinis. “They’re incredibly comfortable, flattering, and don’t budge,” according to our writerArielle Avila. “To that last point, the bottoms don’t slide to the side or ride up, even when I’ve gone surfing in them.” (Wedgies arenotsomething she wants to be thinking about in the water.) And she’s taken them out of the water to hike in “areas where I had to stretch my legs at awkward angles to reach some rocks.” They survived this admirably. “It felt like I was wearing athleisure rather than a swimsuit,” she says.
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Senior editorHilary ReidboughtHunza G’s Gigi Bikini for a friends’ trip to Jamaica five years ago — “and it basically still looks as good as it did when I bought it.” In no small part thanks to the trademark crinkle material, you can wear the bottoms lower (or higher) — depending on the tan lines you want — and keep them that way. Her only qualm is that it “takes forever to dry after swimming.” If you don’t mind this, it’s an otherwise “incredibly reliable suit to pack for trips to the Rockaways and beyond,” she says.
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Senior editorWinnie Yangthinks “the firmer fabric this Argentine brand uses” is perfect for tops that are “minimalist in design but not in coverage.” Yang tends to wear Calomel’s Orco and Cusi tops interchangeably. But the same material “in a brief can be a little squeezier than I would like,” she says. That’s why she prefers wearing Patagonia’s Sunamee Shorts. She has pairs from previous seasons. Be sure to get them while you can, as stock is low this season. “Did Patagonia stop making these? I hope not, because they’re my favorite and most-worn swim bottoms,” she adds.
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If writerBrenley Goertzenhad to choose from her dozen Skaties, she’d choose the Lyndi Bikini Top and Salty Bottoms. “The Lyndi top is a classic bandeau, great for avoiding tan lines, and is surprisingly supportive (I’m in the C-to-D-cup range),” she says. “The Salty bottoms have a very high-rise, high-leg cut that is so comfortable around the waist (a.k.a. hides bloating after several hard seltzers), making me feel both held in and sexy.” But be sure to check out thefit guideon the site to compare different styles, she recommends. There’s also a separatefabric directory. Goertzen’s preferred fabrication is theOG Swim, a blend of polyester and spandex that’s “so stretchy and soft.” It’s the reason she says she lives in her swimsuits on tropical vacations and in the summertime.
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“As far as swimsuits go, it is definitely on the skimpier side, but who cares? I abide by Nora Ephron’sfamous adviceabout putting on a bikini at age 26 and not taking it off until age 34,” says writer Kat Gillespie. (By the way, this is a version of her bikini with bows.) Gillespie is also saving up for the “horrifyingly expensive” ballet-pinkTessa bikini topfrom Araks in the meantime. “Hopefully, I can afford it before the birthday deadline,” she adds.
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[Editor’s note: Gaudir does limited drops, and this bikini is selling out fast, but you can also check out its full swimwear linehere.]
Usually, the Instagram algorithm doesn’t get to writerKitty Guo(who considers herself “strong enough to resist the lure of targeted ads”). But the appeal of Gaudir’s La Ligera Halter Top and High Bottoms proved stronger. “The butterfly-wing pattern, with its delicately rendered spots and splashes of color, reminded me of drawings you’d see in a natural history textbook,” Guo says. It’s not as itty-bitty compared to the rest of her swimsuit drawer, which is full of “skimpy triangle bikinis.” She’s been able to wear the bikini to a local pool in her hometown and an Othership spa without a hitch. “I can’t speak to how it’ll hold up long term, but for now it’s doing well,” she says.
Weather permitting, she’s even thinking of wearing it to theGovernors Ballthis Friday.
One-Pieces
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Just get your swimsuits at Aerie, says our senior writer, and regular beachgoer,Dominique Pariso. “They are basically indestructible.” She puts them through the ringer: going to the beach every weekend — at the Rockaways, Jacobs Riis, Cherry Grove — sitting poolside, or at a bathhouse. Pariso repeated what she’s said on the site to me. “Truly, my Aerie suits have performed just as well as some of my swimsuits that cost four times as much,” she says. “They never stretch out or pill. I have a fewone-piecesthat are well over five years old and look just as good as the day I got them.” But her favorite Aerie fabrication is piqué, which she describes as “more comfortable than compressive.”
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Back in 2021, writerKrista Bennett DeMaiowas avoiding indoor places and spending a lot of time at her local beach town with her kids. The experience inspired a hunt for “one-piece swimsuits that didn’t feel matronly.” This was what she ended up finding. “The stripes around the torso and the halterlike top add interest and flatter my figure,” she says. It receives compliments with every wear. “For an inexpensive suit, it’s held up great over the past five years,” she says. “I’m sure I will wear it again this summer.”
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Andie The Amalfi One-Piece
Senior writerLauren Rostands by her quotes about Andie’s Amalfi — which she’s had since 2018 — inlast year’s swimsuit guide. “I don’t have to be precious with this swimsuit and find it to be reliable,” she says. It’s still the swimsuit she wears the most. She wore it throughout her first and second pregnancies and between having her sons, Augie and Solomon. Nowadays, it gets the most action playing with her kids by the pool. But, thankfully, it has a good amount of coverage. “I don’t have to worry about anything moving or shifting,” she adds.
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When senior writerEmma Wartzman’s mom tried on a few swimsuits for herself, the Summersalt Backflip “didn’t fit her quite right, so I tried it on, and it was perfect — so much so that she had no choice but to let me keep it.” It’s the V-neck-cut one-piece Wartzman had been looking for to replace herYouswim Aplombthat she’s worn for years. (“I like it, but am a bit over it,” Wartzman adds.) “My issue with one-pieces is that it’s so hard to find versions that aren’t cut incredibly high up on the hips and that have enough butt coverage for my liking,” she says. Not only does the Backflip have a not-too-low front and back, it offers the same amount of coverage for your butt as the brand’sSidestroke. Plus it has acrinkletexture that’s less obvious than a Hunza G.
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Reid scored an Usha swimsuit on Poshmark (before getting her Hunza G Gigi), and it remains her favorite one-piece to this day. “It’s just very simple, and the material is thick and honestly expensive feeling,” she says. “It just kind of stays put, looks put-together (as far as swimsuits go), and dries quickly after getting rinsed out post-beach.”
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Eres Cassiopee
Ro found a marked-down Eres Cassiopee back in 2022, and it’s been her “nicest swimsuit” since. “I like to save it for special occasions,” she says. It’s what she’ll wear on a tropical vacation as opposed to a local beach. Or around the pool when she’s not swimming. Because it’s for “special occasions,” she’s slightly mindful about wearing it. “I avoid sitting on the ground or any rough surfaces, and I’m more careful about washing it, though I probably don’t need to be too precious about it,” she admits. “It still looks good and fits nicely after all these years.” (Should you not want to pay full price, Ro points out that there’s adupeof it atZara Home.)
Some more swimsuits we’ve written about
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Writer Dominique Pariso wants this halter one-piece “to keep tan lines at bay.”
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This tankini uses spandex that’s chlorine resistant (with UPF 50 sun protection).
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The “High and Tight of one-pieces,” says actress Megan Ferguson.
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