The High Waisted Bikinis Worth Your Money

This bikini bottom earns its retro name through construction rather than nostalgia. The rise hits at or just above the belly button, which means there’s more to the pattern cutting than in your standard bikini bottom. There’s a wider front panel and more structure so that it actually stays up instead of rolling down your thighs by hour two on the sun lounger. It should be lined, have some actual substance to it – think a nice four way stretch – not a thin layer of fabric you can stick two fingers through that goes transparent the second you hit water. Good ones should maintain their shape when wet or dry, that’s really the whole test. Stretch your swimsuit and if the fabric slumps in your hands the silhouette will slump around your body once you’re wearing it.

The_High_Waisted_Bikinis_Worth_Your_Money._Drawing_with_a_sof_000c01bd-fc61-4832-ae5d-0960786e8a35_2

It works because it chicly condenses your figure rather than trying to conceal it. It skims over stomach and lower back, it hits cleanly across the waist and creates a seamless line through the torso that you literally cannot achieve with a low rise bikini bottom. Throw it together with a basic triangle or bandeau top and it feels intentional, not corrective.

Essentially the proportions are everything: more coverage on the bottom, less distractions up top, so that the eye doesn’t stop at your hip bone or shoulder strap but travels smoothly up and down. Styling wise it has less to do with actually hanging at the beach and everything to do with what you do on your way there and the hour you spend after leaving it. Throw one of these on under an open shirt knotted at the front, under a linen skirt while you walk to lunch or over tailored shorts you throw on once you’re done pool hopping and heading for the terrace.

The_High_Waisted_Bikinis_Worth_Your_Money._Drawing_with_a_sof_000c01bd-fc61-4832-ae5d-0960786e8a35_3

I’ll also take it under a chiffon sarong any day over lower cuts because the waistband gives something for the fabric to rest against rather than skim over.

Think of it as a one suit wardrobe that fits every occasion you’ll encounter while on holiday. Resort mornings, anything that involves a boat, poolside brunch, basically every situation where you spend more time in and out of the water than actually swimming. Or if you’ve had uncomfortable experience with low rise bottoms hiking up your hips when you sit down, go high. The waistband will distribute the pressure instead of cutting into you.
Please avoid anything where the rise is so high that it acts like a corset. You should still be able to breathe and move freely, it should skim and smooth rather than flatten and bind. Look for highs thats sit close to your body without digging in, think sophisticated, not Spanx.