Montce Swimwear: A Guide to the Best Fits

Montce began with a very personal kind of fitting room. Alexandra Grief, a South Florida native, started making made-to-order swimwear in 2009 from her Fort Lauderdale apartment, and friends came by for custom pieces. Four years later she opened the first Montce store, a second-floor space that felt like an extension of her studio and home (I would have loved to see that one). I went deeper on a related idea in Kulani Kinis Swimwear: Best Fits and Beach Picks.

Her brother Devin left an accounting job in New York to join her, and the two now run the business together, Alexandra as Creative Director and Co-CEO, Devin as COO and Co-CEO. It is still a family business at heart, and the brand's own story makes fit the thread running from that apartment to today's collections: good fabrics, nostalgic prints, careful construction, and suits tested so they feel as good as they look.

The Elsa Hosk collaboration shows the point of view best, with vintage references, lingerie-like shapes, crochet texture and soft summer colors. I like a label that can play with nostalgia and still keep one eye on fit.

Montce makes room for both the clean and the playful. The X Elsa Hosk Simonette Bikini Top and its matching X Elsa Hosk Sandra Bikini Bottom are a coordinated start, and the X Elsa Hosk Lulu Bikini Bottom is the smaller way into that cherry-sherbet mood. For a bolder print, the Cabana Bikini Top and Victoria One Piece bring black-and-white gingham, while the Tori Bandeau Bikini Top keeps things plain across the shoulders.

Picture her packing one printed set, one dark suit and a cover-up for a long weekend, each piece earning its place because the fit feels right. I would try the top and bottom separately instead of assuming one size works for both. Fit matters most in swim, where a strap or a little ruching changes how secure a suit feels when you are actually moving.

The dresses take the beach references into something for after the water. The Scalloped Betsie Dress turns black-and-white gingham into a short dress with a defined edge, and the Lena A-line Dress does the same in red micro gingham. For a longer line, the Petal Long Slip Dress has a bouquet print, while the Trois Long Slip Dress goes for blue toile stripes. Each one gives a familiar shape its own print language, with no extra decoration needed.

In my fashion dreams, she throws the Lena A-line Dress over a swimsuit for a late lunch, then changes into the Trois Long Slip Dress for dinner by the water. I would keep the shoes plain and let the gingham set the tone. What I would skip: wearing a long slip with sandals you have not tried it with, especially if the evening includes an uneven path.

What I remember about Montce is not one print. It is the idea that a swimsuit should be designed for the way a person actually moves, then made fun with color, texture or a familiar pattern. The family story gives that focus a human scale, and the range leaves plenty of room for personal taste, from a plain bandeau to a high-contrast gingham set. I would start with the shape I feel comfortable in and let the print be the fun part. Although I know I would end up with the cherry sherbet one.