The Edit
The Best Beach Cover-Ups for Summer
By The Swim Edit · June 2026
There is a particular kind of magic to the right cover-up: the piece you throw on between the last swim and the first glass of something cold, that somehow makes a salt-damp afternoon look entirely intentional. It is the most quietly hardworking item in any suitcase, and the one most worth getting right. Herewith, our edit of the cover-ups that take you from sand to sundowners without a single change of heart.
The Crinkle Dress That Does Everything
No cover-up conversation begins anywhere but Hunza G. The London label's signature crinkle-stretch fabric — the same one-size-fits-most cleverness behind its cult swimsuits — comes as breezy beach dresses that crush into nothing and emerge unwrinkled, flattering on practically every frame. A crinkle midi in oyster or black is the closest thing to a failsafe the resort wardrobe has.
The Kaftan, Reconsidered
For sheer, sun-faded glamour, Melissa Odabash remains the name. The British designer practically invented the modern luxury kaftan, and her embroidered and printed styles have been draped over more Riviera loungers than one could count — fluid, forgiving and just opaque enough.
Shop Melissa Odabash. For something with a little more old-Hollywood structure, Shop Heidi Klein, whose resort pieces lean polished and grown-up.
The Crochet Set for the Off-Duty Hours
There is something irresistibly languid about crochet, and Frankies Bikinis does the look with the most charm — open-knit dresses, skirts and shrugs in sherbet shades that read holiday-romance rather than craft-fair. Worn over a contrasting bikini, a crochet midi is the kind of thing that gets photographed.
Shop Frankies Bikinis. For a Californian, sun-bleached take on the same idea, Shop L*Space.
The Sarong, Elevated
The humble sarong is having a quiet renaissance, and it deserves it — nothing else folds so small or styles so many ways. Shop Vitamin A for sustainably made wraps in earthy, grown-up tones, knotted at the hip over a high-leg one-piece. For barely-there French restraint, Shop Eres, whose pareos are pure understated luxury.
The Shirt Dress That Works Past Sunset
When the cover-up needs to double as dinner, reach for a printed shirt dress or a fluid kaftan-dress hybrid. Shop Zimmermann for romantic, painterly prints that look every bit as at home on a taverna terrace as on the beach.
And for tonal, sculptural minimalism — the cover-up as an actual outfit — Shop Bondi Born, whose clean Australian lines transition seamlessly from lounger to lunch.
The Throw-On Maxi for Effortless Days
For the days that ask nothing of you, a single fluid maxi is the answer. Shop Solid & Striped for relaxed, easy silhouettes in stripes and solids that feel quintessentially summer. Browse more of the edit for the swimwear to wear underneath.
A Word on Fit & Styling
The trick to a cover-up looking expensive rather than improvised is contrast and proportion. Pair a sheer or open-knit piece with a structured swimsuit so the eye has something to land on; balance a voluminous kaftan with a sleek low bun and flat leather sandals rather than competing volume. Choose one anchoring neutral — sand, ivory, black — and let a single printed or coloured piece do the talking. And always size for drape, not cling: the best cover-ups skim the body and move with the breeze, which is, after all, the entire point.