The Best Ruffle & Frill Bikinis

There is a particular kind of swimwear that does not merely cover, but flirts. The ruffle bikini is its patron saint — all soft, undulating frills that catch the breeze on a Positano terrace and move with you when you finally surrender to the sea. It is the most disarmingly romantic thing you can pack, and, conveniently, one of the cleverest. A well-placed flounce flatters in ways a flat triangle never could, lending curve where you want it and a whisper of drama everywhere else. This season the frill has grown up: less cupcake, more couture. Below, our edit of the labels doing it best — from California cult names to the Riviera's most polished houses.

Frankies Bikinis: The Ruffle, Reinvented

No one has done more to make the frill feel current than Frankies Bikinis. The Malibu label built an entire aesthetic on it — sun-bleached, slightly nostalgic, endlessly photogenic — and its ruffled triangle tops remain the ones every other brand quietly references. Look for the smocked, shirred bodices that cinch in at the rib, and the tiered frill bottoms that read as half-bikini, half-something-you'd-wear-to-a-beach-club bar. The prints (gingham, ditsy florals, the occasional broderie) are made for being photographed. Shop Frankies Bikinis for the frill that started the obsession.

Hunza G: The Sculptural Frill

If most ruffles are sweet, Hunza G's are architectural. The British label's signature crinkle fabric — that magical one-size-fits-most jersey — gives its frilled styles a substance and stretch that holds the body beautifully rather than fussing over it. The result is a frill with backbone: a clean, ruffle-edged bandeau or a softly flounced two-piece that looks as considered out of the water as in it. It is the grown-up's answer to the trend, and it photographs like a dream against any shade of blue. Discover the full range in our edit of Hunza G, then Shop Hunza G.

Tori Praver: Soft, Sun-Worn Romance

For the woman whose holiday wardrobe leans bohemian — linen, gold, a good straw hat — Tori Praver is the natural home. The Hawaii-born designer has an instinct for the kind of delicate, hand-finished frill that looks as though it has been in your suitcase for summers already, in the best possible way. Think watercolour florals, butter-soft fabrics and ruffle trims that flutter rather than stand to attention. These are the bikinis that look quietly expensive precisely because they never try too hard. Shop Tori Praver.

L*Space: Frills for Doing, Not Just Lounging

There is a myth that a ruffle bikini is purely decorative — strictly for the sunlounger and the spritz. L*Space gently disproves it. The California brand pairs its flounced bandeaus and ruffle-strap tops with genuinely supportive construction, so you can dive off the boat, swim a proper length, and resurface with everything where it should be. The palette is bright and confident, the fit reliably generous through the bust, and the styling pure West Coast ease. It is the practical romantic's choice. Shop L*Space.

Vitamin A: The Understated, Eco-Conscious Flounce

Not every frill needs to announce itself. Vitamin A makes the quietly luxe version — a single, beautifully cut flounce across a bandeau, or a subtle ruffle edge that softens an otherwise minimalist silhouette. Cut from the brand's recycled EcoLux fabric, these are the styles for the woman who wants her swimwear to feel as good as it looks and to last several summers besides. The earthy, sea-glass colour story is endlessly chic and impossible to tire of. Shop Vitamin A for the frill with a conscience.

Melissa Odabash: The Riviera Frill

For full Mediterranean glamour — the kind that belongs on a yacht off Saint-Tropez — Melissa Odabash is unmatched. The London-based label has dressed a generation of jet-setters in its sculpted, deceptively flattering swim, and its ruffled styles carry that same air of effortless wealth. Frills here are tailored and intentional, the fabrics weighty and beautiful, the engineering doing serious work beneath all that prettiness. Pair one with oversized sunglasses and a kaftan and you are, instantly, on holiday. Shop Melissa Odabash.

How to Wear (and Choose) Your Frill

A few notes from the fitting room. The golden rule of the ruffle: place the volume where you want the eye to travel, and balance it elsewhere. A frilled top with a clean, high-leg bottom is the most universally flattering combination, drawing the gaze up and lengthening the leg. If you're fuller through the bust, look to L*Space or Melissa Odabash, whose underbands and adjustable straps give a frill genuine support; if you're after lift and shape, a shirred Frankies bodice works quiet magic.

For styling, let the frill be the event — keep everything else simple. A linen shirt thrown over the shoulders, leather sandals, gold hoops, a basket bag. Avoid competing texture; a ruffle bikini needs no embellishment beyond sunshine. And do pack a neutral alongside your print: a single sand, white or black frilled two-piece is the most versatile thing you'll own, sliding from morning swim to evening rosé without a second thought. For more of the season's prettiest swim, lose an afternoon in the edit — and find your perfect one-piece in our guide to the best swimsuits to buy now.