These 16 Incredibly Chic Pieces Have Made Us Actually Look Forward To Wearing A Swimsuit This Summer
Proving the impossible, one cover-up at a time.
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by The Candidly Team
It's not okay to hate our bodies. But it is okay to hate our bathing suits.
Can we all agree on this?
Swimsuits are like tight low jeans in how they absolutely squeeze us into the least flattering versions of ourselves. But where jeans have gotten better, most bathing suits have gotten worse. The bottoms especially. They dig into our thighs, ride up the back, make us spill out in all kinds of uncontrollable ways.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t feel comfortable in a swimsuit. You should. We’re just saying that there’s a reason we all look better naked than in a swimsuit, and that is that the way they’re cut is hellish and confusing.
But we’ll stop laboring the point, because we think we have a solution.
There are 4 kinds of things we love that make wearing a swimsuit, not just bearable but enjoyable. When we have them on we look chic, summery, and elegant to the point we feel like this:
Image: HBO
Or this:
Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Or even this:
Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
It’s all about the styling of select choices that make us comfortable to move about with our bodies in our bathing suits. And here are those choices:
1. THE COVER UPS
1. The Kimono Cover Up
WHAT: Free People Magic Dance Border Print Duster
Why we love it: We won’t deny we were inspired by White Lotus season 3, where all those swimsuits were layered under swirls of whispery, gorgeous, open-front cover-ups. This one not only fits our non-White Lotus budget but has the prettiest colored prints that we can match to whatever solid suit we’re wearing. With dark sunglasses and a straw hat, you’ll feel better in nothing else.
Price: $78
2. The Classic Cover Up
WHAT: Tuckernuck Tan Crochet Collier Dress*
Why we love it: That classic A-line shape skims over bellies and makes legs look inches longer. But this cover-up has the added benefit of being crochet, which we’ve really wanted to dip a toe in but hadn’t found anything that felt quite right for our over-40 sensibilities. This one flatters everyone and sizes up to XXXL.
Price: $198
3. The Button-Down Cover Up
WHAT: J.Crew Airy Gauze Button-Up Shirt In Stripe
Why we love it: If you want something foolproof and quiet luxury, just get this gauzy button-down which is long enough to sit open over your full suit but not so long that it can still be tucked or tied over shorts and linen pants and worn to lunch. And yes, it does indeed cover the butt.
The price is so wild right now, we plan to get it in white as well as the stripe.
Price: $39.50
4. The Sexy(ish) Cover Up
WHAT: J.Crew Factory Tie-Front Beach Dress*
Why we love it: The way there’s the slightest of peek-a-boo to add allure, but the shape is that flattering A-line is actually a dream. With strappy, black, flat sandals and a fedora, our chicness levels rise to new heights. But we feel like we’re in a night gown.
Price: $44.50
2. THE SKIRTS
5. The Maxi
WHAT: Aerie Faux Wrap Cover Up Maxi Skirt
Why we love it: A whisper of a skirt that covers all the important bits of our bottom halves, because what can we say? Sometimes we’re just not feeling our knees. It’s a great price and also comes in a very neutral oat color.
Price: $39
6. The $20 Skort That Looks Designer
WHAT: MakeMeChic Women's Wrap Skirt Skort
Why we love it: Over a black or white one-piece, you’ll have no problem convincing people you spent $500 on your look. Also, because it’s a skort, you’ll have zero fear of bending over and giving your visiting in-laws a show.
Price: $27
7. The Bikini-Line Concealing Skirt
WHAT: J.Crew Embroidered Side-Tie Mini Skirt
Why we love it: Not at all tight and enough length to make you 17X more comfortable to strut to the smoothie counter in your bikini.
Price: $49.50
8. The Prettiest Printed Pareos
WHAT: Julia Amory Pareos
Why we love it: The entire selection is so lovely, and there’s actually enough fabric to wrap it properly. Choose a favorite. You can’t go wrong.
Price: $70
3. THE SETS
9. The Chicest Beach Set Known To Man
WHAT: Nation Archer Lace Short And Rosalyn Tie Top
Why we love it: It’s an outfit, one we’d proudly wear browsing the seaside shops of St. Tropez. But over a swimsuit, that open-front top is perfection. It’s a splurge, we know, but we do at least have a code very kindly shared with us by Nation, which is becoming one of our favorite brands for quality, specialty pieces.
Use the code CANDIDLY20 to take 20% off.
Price: $238 for the shorts, $248 for the top
* Gifted product
10. The Over-The-Suit Shorts
WHAT: Quince 100% European Linen High Waisted Shorts
Why we love it: The perfect-fitting, waist-nipping, not-too-short shorts. The price is incredible. We have 4 colors in our carts as we speak.
Price: $30
11. The Crochet Set
WHAT: Gap Crochet Pull-On Sweater Shorts and Collared Crochet Cardigan
Why we love it: This set over a solid black suit … the compliments just pour in.
Price: $36 for the top, $35 for the shorts
12. The Comfy Set
WHAT: Marine Layer Cali Seersucker Short and Gracey Oversized Seersucker Shirt
Why we love it: We are, at our core, cozy people who’d rather be in pajamas, so wearing this to the beach or pool is actual heaven. Heaven.
Price: $88 for the shorts, $138 for the shirt
4. THE SUITS
13. The Single Most Flattering One-Piece
WHAT: Andie Swim The Amalfi One-Piece
Why we love it: Alright, we know we said swimsuits are hellish, but there are some, very, very few in fact, that have changed our minds. This one actually changed our lives. Andie is a brand that understands how real bodies look and does things like cut the bottoms so they don’t dig into your thighs.
See their star Amalfi suit on the right next to a standard bad suit on the left:
* Gifted product
The back has lots of coverage without looking like a diaper, and there are so many colors and sizes, your head will spin.
Price: $112
14. The One-Shoulder Suit
WHAT: Summersalt The Bow-Shoulder Ruched Sidestroke
Why we love it: We gasped after trying on this suit. The fit is magic, and the look is so timeless and chic. It also comes in long torso, so we don’t feel like we’re stretching out a vertical rubberband by existing.
Price: $125
15. The Swim Dress
WHAT: Land’s End Women's Smoothing Square Neck Ruched Swim Dress Swimsuit and Women's Tugless Monokini Swim Dress Swimsuit
Why we love it: Swim dresses are no longer the tent-like, loud-printed things our grandmothers wore to water aerobics. They’re chic, and most importantly, they cover your bikini line. There is nothing like going to the pool without an ounce of fear of stray hairs or razor bumps.
We also love this cut-out version so we show a little skin somewhere else:
Size range is amazing by the way.
Price: $73 for the square-neck, $63 for the slitted
16. The Swim Romper
WHAT: Land’s End Women's Tugless Strappy X-Back Romper Swimsuit
Why we love it: Ditto to everything we said above. So cute, we wear it all day before dipping in the sea. Sizes in plus and long torso, too.
Price: $135
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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