Tankini Swim Dresses

Tankini Swim Dresses

A Swim Dress That Comes Apart

Most swim dresses are a single garment: the skirt and the body are joined and you get into the whole thing at once. A tankini swim dress is built the other way. The top is cut to dress length, and the bottom is a separate piece underneath it.

From the outside the two look alike, which is why the names get used interchangeably. From the inside they behave nothing alike. Two pieces take two sizes, come off independently, and let you replace the half that gave out. A one piece swimdress removes the join altogether, which is its own advantage.

If a full-length one piece is what you are after, the one piece range covers it. This page is the version that separates.

Dress Length on a Two Piece

A dress-length top changes how you size the set. It falls past the bottom entirely, so the bottom is chosen for fit rather than for looks — nobody sees it while you are standing up. Take it by the hip, in whatever cut you actually find comfortable.

The top is where the decision sits. Length matters more than usual because there is no waist seam to break the line: it runs uninterrupted from shoulder to hem, and a few inches either way changes the whole proportion. Wide straps are common in this cut for a practical reason, since a longer panel carries more weight when it is wet.

Straps, and Weight When Wet

A dress-length panel holds more water than a standard top, and all of that weight hangs from the shoulders. It is the reason wide straps are so common in this cut, and the reason a thin tie strap that works on a cropped top starts to dig on a longer one.

Two things spread the load. A wider strap puts the same weight across more skin. A band under the bust takes the weight off the shoulders entirely and lets the straps do nothing but stop the panel sliding. Between two otherwise identical sets, the one with the firmer underband will be the comfortable one at four in the afternoon.

The same weight is why these dry more slowly than a two piece of the usual length. Hang it from the hem rather than folding it over a rail and it loses an hour.

The Bottom Half Is Yours

Because the top covers it, the bottom is the one piece of swimwear you can choose purely on comfort. A plain brief is the lightest and dries fastest. A swim short stops the thighs touching on a long walk. A high waisted cut adds a layer across the middle where the top already covers, which is worth thinking about before you double up.

Some sets arrive matched with a bottom included and some sell the top alone. Both work, and buying the top on its own is the route to take if there is already a bottom in the drawer that fits.

Coverage is the reason most people arrive here, and it is worth being clear about what a dress length does. It covers the hip and the top of the thigh from every angle while you are standing. It does much less once you sit, because the panel rides up the way any skirt does. If sitting is most of the day, a short underneath is what actually solves it.

In the water the panel floats, which is expected rather than a fault. That is what the bottom half is for, and it is why the fit of the piece nobody sees is the one worth getting right.