A Bit Dreamy, A Lot Indy: Quirky and Sustainable Swimsuit Picks

I can’t wait to start swimming again soon, and just seeing cozzies (that’s swimsuits in Australian!) for sale again makes me happy in the most delightful way.  But I don’t like the typical, ordinary suits-by-the-dozen on the racks at department stores; I tend towards the quirky and unique ones (just like the rest of my style). Here are three of my faves for the coming season.

Isn’t the one above, from the Swimming in the Evening collection at Gudrun Sjoden wonderfully vintage-sweet? I love how it looks  a bit like it’s raining in the image… nevermind the rain! Go swimming anyway! (If you haven’t swum in the rain, you haven’t lived!).

I’ve been a fan of Ambika’s handmade crochet bikinis for ages. (That’s me above, in my pretty green ridged cross top and tie-side bikini bottom, swimming in a mountaintop pool in El Salvador. I posted it because I am obviously NOT a skinny person and I want to prove that anyone can wear a bikini if they so choose, and that these knit suits are great on many body types!)

The eponymous designer  behind the superwearable suits has just expanded her offerings and relauched her website—that’s a side view of the same cross-top below, which can be worn lower or higher depending on your mood.

Yes, the Ambika swimsuits are hand crocheted in upstate New York, but that doesn’t mean they’re not tough—they are designed for real swimming (in lakes, swimming holes and the ocean), they stay on, they don’t sag (for real!) and they wear well over time. I adore mine.

If you are looking for a maillot, this one by Swash is more interesting than most, with an absolutely glorious print and a vintage-y neckline. I’m feeling quite obsessive about that design and the colors and imagining it with a giant loose skirt or harem pants and bare feet…

What to do with your old swimsuit? Here are some ideas for recycling that worn bikini…..And with that, Happy Swimmings in Sustainable Swimsuits!