The Honest Bikini Guide: What Fashion Magazines Won't Tell You

Let’s rip the band-aid off immediately: Buying a bikini is often a humbling experience.

There is something about the specific combination of fluorescent fitting room lighting and a three-way mirror that can make even the most confident woman question everything. For years, the industry has sold us a lie—that if a piece of fabric doesn't fit, it is a failure of the body, not the design.

We are officially done with that narrative.

The truth that fashion magazines gloss over is that swimwear is technical. It involves physics, tension, and fabrication. And frankly, most of the anxiety we feel comes from trying to force our 2025 bodies into sizing charts that haven't been updated since 1995.

The Size Label is Gaslighting You

If you take one thing away from this edit, let it be this: The size on the tag is fiction.

I have styled shoots where models—women whose job is to fit into sample sizes—wear a "Large" in bikini bottoms simply because they refuse to let elastic dig into their hips. There is no glory in squeezing into a "Medium" if it creates tension lines across your skin. The chicest thing you can do is size up.

Ignore the ego. Grab the size that sits softly against your skin, pull the sides up high on your hips to elongate the leg, and then—this is crucial—cut the tag out. Once it’s in the trash, it can’t haunt you. You are left with a suit that actually fits, rather than one that fights you.

Texture as a Filter

Once you stop worrying about the number, you can start playing with the fabric. Flat, shiny spandex is unforgiving; it reflects light on every curve and crease. This is why we are obsessed with texture.

Think of fabrics like ribbing, smocking, or seersucker as a real-life Instagram filter. Take our Textured Underwire Bikini Set, for example. The tactile surface confuses the eye and smooths the silhouette, while the underwire provides the kind of structure usually reserved for lingerie. It’s not just about "hiding" flaws; it’s about choosing a fabric that looks expensive and feels substantial.

Swimwear is Just a Bodysuit Waiting for a Skirt

Here is the styling secret that Italians have mastered and the rest of us are just catching up to: Your swimwear’s job doesn’t end at the water’s edge.

The "Beach-to-Bar" concept isn't just a buzzword; it’s efficiency. Treat your one-piece like a bodysuit. When the sun starts to dip, don't run back to the hotel to change. Simply pull a pair of high-waisted linen trousers over your Black Cut-Out Swimsuit, slick back your wet hair into a low bun, and add a pair of chunky gold earrings.

Suddenly, you aren't "wearing a swimsuit at dinner." You’re wearing a sleek, open-back top that happens to be waterproof. It’s effortless, it’s practical, and it leaves you more time to order the aperitivo.

The Final Verdict

Stop waiting until you are "beach body ready" to buy the suit. You have a body, and you are going to the beach. That is the only requirement.

Find the pieces that make you feel like the main character in your own vacation, ignore the sizing charts, and for the love of fashion—order the pasta.