What Swimsuit Is Everyone Wearing This Summer?
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
In this article
I don’t need to tell you how difficult it is to find the right swimsuit. But it helps to know what’s worked forotherpeople, especially the swimsuits that have lasted for years of sunbathing (withSPF, of course) and getting walloped in the ocean. To help (as I did last year), I polled my rolodex of beachgoers, pool loungers, and lake dockers about the swimsuits they’ll be wearing for what’s looking like a long hot summer. Here you’ll find everything from a bikini “for playing mermaids at the beach” to a maillot that went on a boat ride to wherePirates of the Caribbeanwas filmed.
Some of our favorite swimsuits
New! You can now save this product for later.
Aerie swimsuits are a "great price point for the amount of wear you get,” says Sydney Sarokin.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“I felt super comfortable in it the whole time,” says Gabriela Peralta.
New! You can now save this product for later.
The biggest selling point, according to Oset Babür-Winter, is that it dries super quickly.
Two-pieces
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“It’s as the title says:perfect,” according toProduce PartiesfounderSarah Teich. That was especially true on the beaches of Villefranche-sur-Mer, where she had it on while “sitting on a lounge chair, drinking on an Aperol Spritz, not a care in the world.” Krooss appreciates the coverage ofJ.Crew’s classic tie string bikinis, too: “The tops aren’t too risqué and the bottoms aren’t super cheeky — which is vital now that I’m in my 30s — but it still feels a bit sexy.” Be it in the Mediterranean Sea or an over-chlorinated pool, “they’ve held up really well,” she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“It’s really hard for swimsuits to stay nice, but Aerie ones are truly such a great price point for the amount of wear you get out of them,” saysSydney Sarokin, the social-media manager at Margaux. Her latest buys are a matching halter and boyshorts. She’s planning on taking them to the Rockaways this summer — all the while trying to convince her roommate to get an inflatable pool for their roof.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Over Memorial Day weekend, brand marketerCeCe Connertook this Aerie set to South Carolina for a friend’s birthday. “I felt like a gorgeous mermaid in it,” she says. It helped that the earthy tone matched the sand at the beach.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
This is a similar version of an Aerie bikini writerCarrie Wittmer’s been wearing for years. “It has become the only bathing suit I’ve felt comfortable in since I was probably 16,” she says. Maybe that’s because of the nylon and elastane blend. “It’s lightweight without being thin, which is rare in ribbed fabrics, which I prefer because they hold it all in,” she says, adding that it’s also fast-drying.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
In need of a “quick swimsuit” for a trip to Puerto Rico last month, Gabriela Peralta, the social-media manager at the Guggenheim, settled on this Old Navy bikini. “I felt super comfortable in it the whole time,” she says. Perhaps wearing it is what made the spa she went to all the better. “The energy felt so calm, serene, and relaxing, and I felt completely at ease in it,” she adds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Sable Yong, author ofDie Hot With a Vengeance, doesn’t want to spend a lot on “three triangles of nylon I only wear maybe two to three times a year.” Yong wore these snorkeling every morning at Kona Village some months ago, “and they fared well from ocean to pool to ocean to sun.” And while they’re tiny, they’re not itty-bitty. “I think bikini bottoms are all undergoing some sort of shrinkflation because cheek coverage is eclipsing into thong territory,” she says. “These aren’t that cheeky for someone like me who prefers a full-coverage bikini bottom, but they’re pushing it.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Prop stylist and set designerAlexandra Massillonwears a Los Angeles Apparel silver lamé bikini top to tan in Prospect Park, and even after a few years of wear, the fabric looks the same as when she got it. “I think Los Angeles Apparel swimsuits are high-quality, and the only reason I know the difference is because I was traveling last year and did not have an extra bikini and had to resort to buying one from the touristy neighborhood shops, and it was so thin and flimsy,” she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Archive of Everything’s Zoë Sessums wanted a bikini top “that had the same shape and support” as Cuup’s bras, so she tried the Scoop, which is based on the brand’sotherScoop). “It makes me feel sexy with the scooped cups, the underwiring, and the pop of color,” Sessums says. She opted for a less cheeky version of the Extra Cheeky (that’s no longer available). It admittedly gave her a little wedgie as she jumped off a rocky cliff and hiked to a cave in Greece, but “it’s kept its elastic strength” after being in a rooftop pool in Miami and on a beach in Peru.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Ruby Buddemeyer, the director of copy at Starface, packed this Marine Layer bikini (part of a collaboration with Andie) for a trip to Las Vegas last weekend. “It didn’t stretch out at all and felt really supportive and sturdy even in the water,” she says.” I hate having to adjust straps or retie strings, so I love that I can just throw this on and it stays put.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Youswim Verve
A friend gave Sessums a barely worn Youswim Verve some years ago — and she’s “worn it a hundred times since.” It lives in her car year-round. “I’ve worn it to apricate (my new favorite word, meaning to bask in the sun), and to readNew Yorkers in the sand,” she says. “I’ve worn them post-dip into the grocery store under slightly soggy shorts or a T-shirt dress.” It has a good amount of coverage too. “I’m never worrying about a sheer moment or a nip slip,” she says. “I’m never having theUgh, I don’t want to be seen in a bikinimoment with this suit.” Plus, the set doesn’t need “an immediate washing like some do. It can withstand a rinse in the shower or sink after the beach and then be worn just as comfortably for days in a row,” she adds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Youswim Zera
“The jig was up” withSaloonfounderJulia Harrison’s last Youswim (theEva): “After washing the pieces separately on so many occasions, they were quite literally two different colors.” She’s waiting for a new Zera to arrive in the mail. “I’m going string this time because it’s one of the only things in this world I know to be truly, invariably sexy,” she says. “I don’t necessarily need something that’s going to stay on from the diving board. I live for the risk.” Harrison’s Eva has traveled to “several oceans, freshwater, swimming holes, shallow creeks, a dozen saunas, murky upstate ponds, even the East River on one mostly sober evening last June” and is still standing strong. LeDonne also wears the Zera and says, “One small scrunch takes it from full coverage in front of family to tanning my cheeks in peace.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Lido Venti
Cake Zineco-editorTanya Bushexclusively wears the Lido Venti bikini. “More than anything, I like that I stop thinking about it once I’m wearing it,” she says. “The highest compliment for a swimsuit.” It lays on her body “without the need for constant readjustment.” It dries quickly too. “It still looks brand new after countless watches, dalliances with highly chlorinated pools, and a few treks,” she says. That includes jaunts to Brighton Beach and Peru (where she took a cold plunge in Lake Titicaca).
Editor’s note: Lido lists prices in euros, so this is an approximation to dollars.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“Some maybe helpful context is that I went to University of Miami, so I was in a bikini at some point nearly every day for four years,” saysEmma Chozick, the founder of creative consultancyGr8 Collab. “I don’t know if it’s because I went to school in Miami, but I don’t travel without a swimsuit, even if I’m going to Milan with no plans of being by a pool.” Chozick discovered Solid & Striped while staying at the Surf Lodge with her family in high school: “I thought their striped one-pieces were just the coolest thing ever.” she says. Her Eva bikini, which she initially got in college, still comes with her everywhere. “It’s the perfect family vacation swimsuit and good for day two, once you’ve developed a base tan,” she says. “It’s really flattering.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Last year, Prix Fixe founderOset Babür-Winterrecommended Solid & Striped’s Eva to me. This year, she recommends Solid & Striped’s Rachel, which she discovered while pregnant: “I knew it would be comfortable enough for my fluctuating weight, but I just didn’t want to bite the bullet for a maternity swimsuit.” It doesn’t have padding, boning, or a back clasp (so you don’t have to worry about the top coming undone). “Ultimately, it’s a great athleticwear-swimwear hybrid that’s quite forgiving if you’re not totally sure what your body is going to be like at any given time,” she says. “I think that makes it super valuable to have in my lineup, even postpartum.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“As much as I love a string bikini, I can wear this without worrying if a string is going to come loose and expose me,” says Aisha Joshi, editor atProduce Partiesand writer of theBabyteethnewsletter. “It’s perfect for playing mermaids at the beach.” Joshi will wear it on dry land, too, with any “outfit that would usually have a bra or skin peeking out.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Babür-Winter’s first dip in Sézane’s Velia went swimmingly. “I love how quickly it dries. That’s its biggest selling point, in my opinion,” she says. “I hate when a swimsuit stays oddly damp and feels kind of warm and moist for hours afterwards.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Plant Based’s Katie Stone feels “very secure” in the Cosmo Top no matter if she’s hanging at a sauna or actually swimming. “So often I need to go up a size and end up with straps that are too long, or I’m compressed into a too-small bra that makes it hard to breathe,” she says. And the Izzy Bottom provides coverage “that’s not too revealing but not overly granny panty either.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Film criticElissa Suh“first became aware of Araks when I learned it was theunderwear Scarlett Johansson wears in the opening shots ofLost in Translation.” Araks might be known forlingerie, but it can cut a mean swimsuit as well. “Since they’re cut like basic underthings, they’re really comfy,” Suh says. Araks doesn’t make her exact styles anymore, but the Tessa and Tonne are similar to what she has. To be fair, hers are at least five years old — and in all that time, she’s taken it to Florida beaches, Sicily for her honeymoon, and most recently, the Lore Bathing Club.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Yellow the Label’s Rio was an open tab on Joshi’s computer for months; she finally took it beach-hopping in Oistins this past spring. “I feel like I need a bikini to be fairly skimpy or cheeky. Otherwise, I just feel like I’m wearing a diaper,” she says. “I find that I always go back to a simple string bikini, especially if I’m going to be laying out on a beach tanning — while doused in SPF, of course.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
JournalistHannah Bensonlearned about Dos Swim (which was founded byformer employees of Opening Ceremony) from a friend, who’s been wearing its bikinis since 2019. That’s because the company “truly understands bodies, from the way the string top and bottoms move with you and not with the wave,” Benson says. It’s why she decided on the Ari Top and Mila Bottoms. “Adjustable ties mean everything to me in swimwear,” she says. “I love how the bottoms fit on me with their higher cut and cheeky back. The top manages to show skin while setting me up for success with the ties, allowing me to lock it all in. I feel hot in all the ways you want to in the summer.” And it’ll tag along to all the pool parties she’s “currently hard at work getting invited to.”
One-pieces
New! You can now save this product for later.
Not only can the Fiji handle snorkeling, it looks good doing it, according to Hannah Selinger, author ofValley of the MomsandCellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly. It’s been everywhere with her: Singapore, the Dominican Republic, France. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines (where Selinger was reporting on a hotel opening forTravel + Leisure), it even went on a boat ride to wherePirates of the Caribbeanwas filmed. “There was this perfect beach there — crystal-clear water, white sand — and my best friend snapped this photo of me from the boat, just floating in the water, and that is one of my favorite memories in it,” she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Marketing consultantLizzie Noonan’s bathing-suit drawer was starting to feeltoogrown-up, and “frankly, a little boring,” so she added theSézane Solara Swimsuit. This blue-and-white gingham print reminds her of Dorothy Gale fromThe Wizard of Oz“in the best way.” At the end of June, it’s off to Corsica, where it’ll be making its first appearance for her friend’s wedding. “You’re definitely going to need some assistance” with the tie in the back, she says, but the “front holds everything in without feeling restrictive.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Left on Friday’sSunday Suitmay be the “High and Tight of one-pieces” (at least according to actress Megan Ferguson), but so is the Retreat Suit. “It clings to you like a sexy Saran Wrap,” saysYeehawt’sMacKinley Jade Lutes-Adlhoch. (The suit was originally gifted to her by the brand.) It “envelops your torso in a firm hug without digging into flesh,” she adds. The fit keeps everything feeling secure. “It’s what I would lovingly refer to as a ‘runaround swimsuit,’ meaning you can comfortably jump and dive and play without worrying about nip slips and unintended beach flashing,” says Lutes-Adlhoch. In the suit, she’s been pummeled by waves that “usually threaten to tear off a bikini top,” swam laps, surfed, and jumped off boats without a hitch. “It’s a suit I actually enjoy having on all day, as opposed to one I’m itching to change out of when I leave the water,” she adds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Hunza G Domino
WhenHunza Grelaunched under then-new creative director Georgiana Huddart, Rosie Huntington-Whiteleywore the Domino on Instagram— which launched hundreds of orders. (“It was one of those brilliant start-up-company moments when everyone’s freaking out,” Huddart told me.) The suit is “stretchy, comfy, and form-fitting,” according to writer and communications strategistAnne Whiting. There’s “nothing like a good old Hunza G one-piece,” she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Youswim Poise
Youswim uses acrinkle“miracle fabric,” asI’ve previously heard, and the swimsuits are available in either a I for sizes 2 to 12 or II for sizes 14 to 24.Victoria Filippini, a content creator and writer of the newsletterTaking Notes, has had a Poise for years. “I love the peace of mind that comes with knowing that even if my body changes year to year, it will pretty much always fit,” she says. “It’s so comfortable to wear, and I never feel the need to adjust the suit or sit in a certain way to make it look ‘good’ — it just feels safe and reassuring.”
“As someone who grew up exclusively wearing hand-me-down swimsuits from my sisters, buying one for myself as an adult felt like a foreign concept,” saysSalena LeDonne, content strategist and writer of the newsletterSincerely Salena. She describes the Poise as life-changing. “Before, I hadn’t known a world in which a swimsuit could be worn all day without leaving tie marks on my hips, a halter-induced ache in my neck, or worst of all, flashing swimmers after one strong wave.” But the Poise does none of that. She tubed in it in Vermont’s Lake Champlain, where “the boat driver showed me no mercy, violently launching me into the water.” Even “after an hour of being flung around, somehow the Poise stayed exactly where it was supposed to,” she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
This spring,Vanessa Krooss, the head of brand at Merit, packed a Nu Swim Straight One-piece for her trip to Hawaii. A far cry from her “usual relaxing adults-only beach vacations,” she spent it chasing around her 2-year-old nephew. It was “comfortable while building sandcastles and splashing in the waves with a wriggling toddler,” she says. “I’m not really a lounger at the beach, so my suits have to be practical for swimming around.” It stayed in place no matter what, with the right amount of compression that’s “not uncomfortably constricting, but holds you in nicely,” Krooss adds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Jill Singer, the co-founder and editor ofSight Unseenwho writes the newsletterCounter Space, grew up swimming competitively. “I’m no longer locked into the unflatteringTYRsuit that the rest of the team is wearing to reduce drag,” she says. No wonder why she has an “unhinged amount of swimsuits.” Her favorite swimsuit (at least for now) is by Canadian brand Shan. “I’ve probably driven by the store in East Hampton a thousand times, and it always felt kind ofGolden Girls–adjacent to me,” she adds. That was until she saw the Charlie swimsuit in the window. Last summer, she wore it to a beach in Amagansett and on a friend’s boat off Shelter Island. “I don’t sail, but if I did, this has enough coverage to adjust the rigging and look cute while doing it,” she says. This summer, she’s building a pool and planning on wearing the suit a lot in her own backyard. “Yellow is my favorite color, so I’ll probably be matching the umbrellas on my as-yet-unfurnished patio,” she adds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Lido Ventinove
Filippini thinks the one-shoulder Ventinove from Lido might be better for lounging than swimming, but it can easily transition from being poolside to grabbing lunch with linen pants or a cotton-poplin skirt. It was the swimsuit Filippini packed for taking in the views of the Italian countryside. (The brand itself was named after a Venetian island.) Interracotta, the one-piece matched the buildings and made her “feel very Italian-chic.” Not to mention, she says, it “looks amazing with a tan.” (It’s also available inlime,pollen,lobster, andmenta.)
Editor’s note: Lido lists prices in euros, so this is an approximation to dollars.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Lido Tre
It might be skimpier than Singerprefers, but she feels good in it anyway. “There’s a hint of side boob that isn’t usually something I likefor me,but somehow it still works,” she says. “You get to an age where you’re like,Okay, people know what I look like. The way I look in a certain piece isn’t going to change that!”
Editor’s note: Lido lists prices in euros, so this is an approximation to dollars.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Calomel Mara
“I hate when a swimsuit leaves me feeling vulnerable to riding up and/or down,” says Massillon. Normally, she would be worried about straplessness, but that hasn’t been an issue with Calomel’s Mara, which has a top that’s “quite form-fitting.” Since she found it in Tumbao, it’s been all over New York: Fire Island, Jacob Riis, Prospect Park. “I feel like I am going to wear it for a long time,” she says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Noihsaf Bazaar’sKate Lindellocalls this a “great active swimsuit for canoeing, paddling, boarding, sailing, and hiking.” She lives in Minnesota (“there’s no saltwater here!”) and often takes it to a cabin too. “It makes me feel like Sporty Spice,” she says. And while she tries to keep it away from chlorine, it’s been in a hot tub a handful of times and survived the dips.
New! You can now save this product for later.
ForMerie Subryan, an interior stylist and design consultant, “there’s no time to waste on a trip and certainly no need for an unnecessary outfit change before dinner.” So “a great swimsuit is one that lets you look chic even after an actual swim — not like a wet dog who has to rush back to the hotel room to change.” Subryan has high expectations of her new Bode Deco that’s coming along to Mexico this year. Trying it on for the first time, she discovered it “highlights all the right places.” (Especially in this Yves Klein blue.) “It’s sexy without feeling overly revealing,” she says.
Editor’s note: Many sizes are sold out, but you can sign up to receive an email when your size is back in stock.
More From The Strategist
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- The Strategist Summer 100
- I Replaced My Tretinoin With This $30 Retinal Cream
- My Hunt for Fisherman Sandals That Won’t Tear Up My Feet
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.
