Claire's Picks

Swimsuits Worth the Closer Look

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Most swimsuits look fine on the hanger and disappoint the moment you actually get in one. The fit goes wrong, the lining shifts, the colour that looked vivid in the photo turns out to be exactly the kind of washed out that fluorescent changing room lighting warned you about. We have been through enough of those to know the difference between a swimsuit that photographs well and one that actually works on a real body, in real light, on a real holiday. This collection is the second kind. We pulled together the ones with proper boning where it counts, with lining that holds its position, with cuts that are genuinely flattering rather than theoretically flattering. Some are sleek and minimal. Some have architectural detail that earns attention by the pool rather than just in a product shot. All of them passed the test of looking as good in person as they did when we first found them. A great swimsuit is quietly one of the most confidence affecting things you can own. We think these are the ones that prove it.

Claire's Top Picks

Gingham Swimsuits Worth Packing for the Beach MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's bandeau swimsuit top Brigitte Bardot Mythe Jump to section ↓

£25.99 MADE IN PARADIS UK

Green Swimsuits That Hold Up in the Water LA REDOUTE UK Odalis Botany Swimsuit Jump to section ↓

£129.00 LA REDOUTE UK

Swimsuits That Hold Up in the Water LA REDOUTE UK Tummy Toning Swimsuit Jump to section ↓

£34.99 LA REDOUTE UK

Swimsuits That Just Fit Right SWEATY BETTY UK Sweaty Betty Riviera Swimsuit, Neutral, Women's Jump to section ↓

£65.00 SWEATY BETTY UK

Swimsuits With an Elastic Waist That Just Fit Right THE_DOUBLE_F Mahon leopard-print one-piece swimsuit Jump to section ↓

£285.00 THE_DOUBLE_F

Swimsuits Worth a Spot in the Case LA REDOUTE UK Post Surgery Racerback Swimsuit Jump to section ↓

£16.80 LA REDOUTE UK

Swimsuits Worth Bringing Along INSTOCK UK In Sexy Solid Color Swimsuit Set Ladies Beach Bikini Swimwear, S, M, L, , X - X Dark Blue Jump to section ↓

£5.99 INSTOCK UK

Gingham Swimsuits Worth Packing for the Beach

Gingham does something no other print quite manages at the beach: it looks deliberately chosen rather than thrown on. That distinction matters more than people admit. A plain black swimsuit is easy. Gingham signals that you actually thought about it, and the result is an effortlessness that reads as stylish rather than minimal. We have always loved gingham on swimwear specifically because the scale of the check changes everything. A small check feels vintage and sweet. A larger check feels bolder, more graphic, more confident. Both work. The colour combinations matter too. Classic navy and white is perennially right. Red and white photographs brilliantly in full sun. Black and white works year round and crosses over into resort dressing without any effort at all. We pulled this collection together because gingham swimsuits are one of those things that look significantly better in real life than the product shots suggest, and finding the ones worth actually buying takes more searching than it should. These are the ones we would pack without hesitation. Gingham at the beach is not a trend. It is a reliable, thoroughly considered choice that keeps proving itself right.

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's bandeau swimsuit top Brigitte Bardot Mythe £25.99 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MONSOON Gingham Cut Out Swimsuit Black £15.40 MONSOON

LA REDOUTE UK Gingham Print Ballerina Swimsuit £23.99 LA REDOUTE UK

LA REDOUTE UK Signatures Johane Gingham Swimsuit £32.99 LA REDOUTE UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Lisca Nantes £20.45 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MONSOON Sequin Cherry Gingham Swimsuit Green £16.80 MONSOON

SNEAKIN UK Women's underwired swimsuit top Freya Check In £26.40 SNEAKIN UK

LA REDOUTE UK Bolinas Fantaisy Swimsuit £55.24 LA REDOUTE UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's underwired swimsuit top with straps Freya Check In £26.40 MADE IN PARADIS UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit top Brigitte Bardot Eclectique £25.99 SNEAKIN UK

SNEAKIN UK Baby girl -piece swimsuit Paper Boat Gingham Stars £40.60 SNEAKIN UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's underwired molded swimsuit top Freya Check In £28.78 SNEAKIN UK

Green Swimsuits That Hold Up in the Water

Green is one of those swimsuit colours that actually does something. It works against a tan, it photographs brilliantly in natural light, and it has a richness that black and navy simply cannot match. We've been particularly focused on green this season, and not just the colour but what the swimsuits actually do once you're in the water. Because that is where most swimwear quietly fails. Cups that lose their shape, straps that stretch out after one swim, fabric that goes thin and strange after contact with chlorine or salt. We've been strict about this edit. Every swimsuit here holds its structure, keeps its colour, and fits the same way coming out of the pool as it did going in. We've pulled together one pieces and bikinis across shades from deep forest to bright emerald to softer sage, because green has real range and each shade has its own argument. These are the swimsuits worth actually swimming in rather than just wearing poolside and hoping for the best. Looking good in the water is a different and more demanding standard, and these meet it.

LA REDOUTE UK Odalis Botany Swimsuit £129.00 LA REDOUTE UK

THE_DOUBLE_F MC Saint Barth x Pantone swimsuit neon green £42.50 THE_DOUBLE_F

HUNKEMOLLER_UK Hunkemöller Relief Swimsuit Green £22.50 HUNKEMOLLER_UK

GODDIVA_UK Goddiva V Neck Swimsuit £30.00 GODDIVA_UK

THE_DOUBLE_F Strapless one-piece swimsuit dark green £290.00 THE_DOUBLE_F

MONSOON Starfish Imprint Cut Out Swimsuit Green £20.00 MONSOON

GODDIVA Deep Plunge Halter Neck Swimsuit - Lime Green by Goddiva £5.00 GODDIVA

THE_DOUBLE_F Square emerald green one-piece swimsuit £215.00 THE_DOUBLE_F

HUNKEMOLLER_UK Hunkemöller Shaping Scallop Swimsuit Green £15.90 HUNKEMOLLER_UK

MONSOON Baby Patchwork UPF+ Long Sleeve Swimsuit Green £16.80 MONSOON

MONSOON Jade Shimmer Swimsuit Green £35.40 MONSOON

BOUX AVENUE Boux Avenue Honolulu multiway swimsuit - Green - F £56.00 BOUX AVENUE

Swimsuits That Hold Up in the Water

LA REDOUTE UK Tummy Toning Swimsuit £34.99 LA REDOUTE UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Red Point Calis £19.99 SNEAKIN UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Selmark Uyuni £39.22 SNEAKIN UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit top Selmark Cosmopolitan £50.61 SNEAKIN UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Selmark Ipanema £26.98 SNEAKIN UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Selmark Cachemire £27.82 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK -piece swimsuit for women Admas Cortinilla Embroidery The Crochet Day £30.95 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Selmark Mykonos £29.54 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's -piece swimsuit Admas Waves £27.82 MADE IN PARADIS UK

Swimsuits That Just Fit Right

SWEATY BETTY UK Sweaty Betty Riviera Swimsuit, Neutral, Women's £65.00 SWEATY BETTY UK

GHOSTBIKES.COM Fox Racing Ladies Creo Swimsuit Bottoms Size Jade £7.49 GHOSTBIKES.COM

DOROTHY PERKINS UK Little Nooks Plunge Halterneck One-Piece Swimsuit In Black £30.00 DOROTHY PERKINS UK

CRONJAGER Irish Army - One-Piece Swimsuit £83.50 CRONJAGER

DOROTHY PERKINS UK Little Nooks V-Wire One Piece Tie Back Black Swimsuit £50.00 DOROTHY PERKINS UK

DOROTHY PERKINS UK Little Nooks Plunge Halterneck One-Piece Swimsuit In Brown £30.00 DOROTHY PERKINS UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Protest Mixwrap £26.98 MADE IN PARADIS UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Protest Mixunagi £23.84 SNEAKIN UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Protest Mixhebe £19.14 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's -piece swimsuit Urban Classics Organic x £19.76 MADE IN PARADIS UK

MADE IN PARADIS UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Protest Mixxenon £29.35 MADE IN PARADIS UK

SNEAKIN UK Women's swimsuit bottoms Protest Mixbloem £25.69 SNEAKIN UK

Swimsuits With an Elastic Waist That Just Fit Right

The fit problem with swimsuits is almost always the waist. Too rigid and it digs in. Too loose and the whole thing shifts around the moment you move. An elastic waist sounds like a small detail but it changes everything about how a swimsuit actually sits on a real body throughout a real day at the beach or pool. It adjusts. It moves with you. It doesn't require you to hold your breath to look composed. We've been pulling together the swimsuits that get this right because there aren't as many as there should be. The ones in this edit have elastic waists that genuinely do their job without looking utilitarian or reducing the swimsuit to something purely functional. These still look considered. Some are sleek and minimal. Some have more shape and structure. All of them have that quality that is honestly quite rare in swimwear, which is that you put them on and they just fit. No adjusting. No second guessing. No worrying about what happens when you stand up. A swimsuit that fits properly is one you actually wear rather than one you tolerate.

THE_DOUBLE_F Mahon leopard-print one-piece swimsuit £285.00 THE_DOUBLE_F