What Makes Swimwear Actually Modest

Plenty of swimwear covers you standing on the sand. The question is what happens once you're in the water.

That's where most modest swimwear fails, and it fails in predictable ways.

The four things that go wrong

The top rides up. You push off from the wall and the fabric travels with the water. Without something holding it down, it keeps going.

The fabric floats. Lightweight fabric billows the second you're submerged. You end up swimming inside a balloon.

Elastic loosens when wet. This is the moment cheaper swimwear gives up — everything that fitted on dry land goes slack.

It's a struggle to get out of. Wet fabric grips skin. If a suit is hard to remove dry, it's much harder wet, in a changing room, with people waiting.

What actually solves them

Side fastening. The single most important detail and the one most often missing. It anchors the top so it can't rise in the water.

Weight at the hem. A double ruffle at hem and shoulder isn't only decorative — it adds weight where fabric usually floats, so the silhouette holds instead of billowing.

Strong elastic rated for wet. Not all elastic behaves the same soaked. Good swim elastic holds its tension; cheap elastic relaxes.

A chest zip. Turns getting in and out from a wrestling match into a two-second job. Look for one that runs smoothly rather than catching.

One piece, two, or three?

Two-piece — top and leggings. Simplest, and works if you're happy with a separate head covering or already wear a swim cap.

Three-piece — top, leggings and an attached hood. Complete coverage with nothing of your own needed underneath, which is the practical choice for a public pool or a mixed beach.

Burkini is used loosely for both, so read the description rather than the name.

Colour matters more than you'd think

Light colours can turn transparent when wet. Black, navy and deep tones stay opaque and stay flattering.

If you want a print, look for one that's placed across the fabric rather than tiled, so the pattern follows the cut instead of fighting it.

Fabric that survives a season

Chlorine and UV break down cheap swim fabric fast. After one summer it goes chalky, loses its stretch and fades unevenly.

Look for quick-dry, chlorine-resistant and colourfast stated explicitly. If a listing doesn't mention any of the three, assume none of them.

The thing nobody says out loud

Good modest swimwear reads as swimwear, not as a statement. You should be able to walk onto a beach and not think about it — which is the whole point of being able to swim in the first place.

Before you buy

Swimwear is final sale almost everywhere, ours included, for hygiene reasons. So it's worth getting right first time.

Questions about coverage, sizing or how something fits in the water? Call us on (718) 208-7937, 11am to 8pm EST. We'll talk you through the cut, or FaceTime so you can see it properly before you commit.

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