Is Luxury Swimwear Worth the Money?

Bikini set in honey

Although everybody is a bikini body, not all bikinis are created equal. If you're looking for a swimsuit, you've probably seen ads on Instagram for ridiculously cheap suits next to suits that cost roughly a month's rent. What do we need to know about investing in a more expensive suit when it comes to such a contested piece of clothing that has the capacity to make or ruin our beachgoing experience? Is it worth it? What is the actual distinction?

With so many attractive styles available, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. You may be enticed by several of them, or you may be concerned about choosing the style that best flatters your body. All this is understandable. Here's how to find the perfect style — or styles — for you:

WHY IS SWIMWEAR EXPENSIVE?

Bikini set in orange color

So, do you want to look nice and feel comfortable while you're mostly naked? When it comes to swimsuits, less is often more. That is more money. Trunks for men aren't cheap – designer labels charge hundreds of dollars for what are essentially water-ready shorts! Have you ever considered how much women's swimwear costs? Why does clothing that gets wet cost so much for such a small amount of material? There's a lot more to why swimwear is so pricey, as it turns out. 

BUT SERIOUSLY, HOW MUCH MONEY FOR NYLON, LYCRA &, ETC.?

Bikini set in green light color 

It's not that simple. First and foremost, in any aspect of the apparel design company, the larger the item, the easier it is to create it at a lesser cost. To put it another way, economies of scale! However, outside of big-box department shops and fast-fashion shopping mall chains, the swimwear business is dominated by smaller brands that produce smaller batches, which are always more expensive. So, there you have it. Furthermore, people buy fewer swimsuits than other types of clothes, such as T-shirts.

BUT, AFTER ALL, ISN'T A BIKINI JUST TRIANGLES AND STRING?

Floral Bikini set 

It isn't a good one! "The lines, the fitting, the inner structures" of all beautiful swimsuits, especially women's swimsuits, are quite crucial. Fit is vital in a swimsuit.

Consider this situation: it's the number one item of clothing (apart from underwear) that causes individuals to feel self-conscious when they wear it. Because the majority of your body is visible, a swimsuit's fit, cut, and profile significantly impact how you appear. Consider the difference between a huge footwear company's long-inseam, stovepipe-leg swim short and, say, an Orlebar Brown swimsuit in the "Bond, James Bond" style. The former resembles a couple of goddamn church bells, while the latter exudes sex appeal (or, at the very least, makes you appear to be aware of what looks good on a human body). Obviously, you'll have to pay for the difference, as well as a few other things we'll discuss later. 

And don't forget about bikini-wearing women: a bad one will ride up or droop — anything but stay in place. Bikinis are designed to hide some aspects while revealing others. It takes time and money to engineer the perfect fit, and the fit is one of the key differences between inexpensive and costly swimwear for both men and women. 

WHY ARE THEY SO EXPENSIVE ELSEWHERE?

One piece floral swimsuit

Current market conditions! Most of the venture capital money for fashion out there is interested in sustainability - it's the buzzword of the moment in the industry. Customers will pay more for a garment created in Italy from repurposed fishing nets than for one made in a sweatshop in some mistreated country. There's also the body positivity movement, which is gaining traction. Because a certain group of women has gone unnoticed in swimwear for so long, they'll gladly pay a little more for a thoughtfully made swimsuit that will help them seem better.

IMPACT OF MATERIALS USED

Yellow bikini sets

Surprisingly, the price difference often boils down to fabric: the suit's fabric, whether it has a lining or not, and the fabric's different pricing based on its elasticity, support, and control. Virtually all bikinis today are manufactured from fabric with a high elastane, spandex, or Lycra content to give us the stretch and recovery we adore. For improved durability and coverage, choose a good quality yarn with a high enough number of stitches per inch. When you have a larger number of stitches per inch, it affects the fabric's cost, so if you're trying to save money, you might go lighter on the yarn and use fewer stitches per inch, which will result in a less durable product that won't provide you the coverage you need in a swimsuit.

The effect of a lower stitch count to the see-through legging predicament that shoppers face when, for example, leaning down in an inexpensive (and sometimes costly!) pair of jeans. An inexpensive bathing suit might last a few wears, but a garment you might buy just to go out clubbing just one, in which case the fabric quality isn't as important. With something like a bikini, where you need a certain covering level, quality really does matter; a better quality swimsuit will feature strategic lining in the front crotch area and breast line, for example. A figure control bathing suit will almost certainly be more expensive because of the denser fabric, additional lining, or a style with more ruching or gathering, which increases the overall amount of fabric necessary.

STITCHING

Animal print one piece swimsuit

ISHINE65 suggests evaluating three or four suits at different pricing tiers to evaluate if there's a significant variation in stitching. You might rethink buying the less expensive suit if you saw a real difference in how dense that stitching was, how close together the threads were. You would see how the seam might not hold up as well. Yes, a higher-quality swimsuit with a high number of stitches per inch, a solid seam, and a sturdy-feeling fabric may be worthwhile. But if it's out of your price range, ISHINE365 has some suggestions for what to sample before you buy.

SO, WHEN IT COMES TO SWIMWEAR, YOU MOSTLY GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR?

Bikini set in blue color and one piece black

Yes, if your main goal is to look beautiful and have a suit that won't hurt you or come apart. The swimsuit industry's economics, the time and work invested in the all-important fit, and the materials used — whether for comfort, luxury, durability, or even performance — it all adds up. If you look beautiful in a shabby bikini and the lining doesn't kill you, consider yourself lucky because these things are usually expensive. However, since it's the only thing that hides your nearly naked, flawed physique in public, the price is well worth it.

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With love, the Ishine team.