Why You Pack Two Swimsuits

Two swimsuits is not an indulgence, it is drying time. A swimsuit worn in the morning is still damp at four in the afternoon, and pulling on a wet suit is the small misery that defines a badly packed trip. Hotel towel rails are warm for about an hour a day. Balcony railings work until it rains. The second suit solves a laundry problem, not a style one.

The one-piece is the suit that does the most jobs. It survives a boat ladder, it holds up under a linen shirt at lunch, and it reads as clothing rather than underwear when you walk through a lobby. The eight here sit in the middle of the swim market rather than at its edges, so the differences come down to cut and fabric.

Bond-Eye makes the Felicia reversible, so one suit gives two looks. Left On Friday and JADE SWIM build theirs closer to sportswear. Tropic of C, Onia and Éterne sit in the softer, lower-cut register. Ay Que Calor and Meridian bring the print.

Buying a bikini as two separate pieces is now the default at most specialist swim labels, and it is better for almost everyone. Tops and bottoms rarely fit the same size on the same body. Sold separately, you can choose the size that fits each piece without compromise.

It also changes the maths of packing. Three tops and two bottoms give six combinations in less space than two full suits, and a single bottom dries faster than a one-piece because there is less fabric to hold water.

The pieces below include plain bottoms from MARE PERPETUA, JADE SWIM and Meridian. Onia's Alexa is a string tie, so it adjusts as the week goes on. Tropic of C's Skinny bralette and Left On Friday's Reef convertible top both change shape depending on how they are tied. Ziah's Bravissimo is the most decorated piece here, with hardware at the hip.

The bag question is the one people get wrong. A wet suit needs to travel from the pool to the room, and then from the room to the airport, without soaking everything else. That argues for one large tote rather than a beach bag plus a handbag, because the large tote absorbs both jobs and takes a plastic pouch inside it for the wet half.

Scale matters more than material. The eight totes here are all full size, and every one of them takes a folded towel and a book at the same time. Marc Jacobs is the plainest in canvas. Tory Burch uses recycled nylon, which wipes dry. Isabel Marant's Yenky is canvas cotton with a zip, which is the detail that matters at an airport.

The woven options are BTB Los Angeles in fringed raffia, Bembien in woven leather, and Kilometre Paris in raffia. STAUD's Port is the striped canvas version. MICHAEL Michael Kors cinches in suede, which is the one to keep away from the water.

Elie Saab, Johanna Ortiz, Left on Friday, Juillet and Onia add a second suit in a different colour or cut, plus a few brand-direct picks. Two suits means one is always dry.

The second swimsuit is the most useful thing in this entire edit. A spare bikini bottom does more for a week away than another dress, because it is the item you actually use twice a day.

Wear the one-piece for the days that involve other people and the separates for the days that do not. If you only add one thing, make it a second bottom rather than a second top, because bottoms take the most wear and dry the slowest.

On bags, resist suede near salt water. Canvas, raffia and coated nylon all recover from a soaking. Suede does not, and even a beautiful tote will look tired after one wet towel.

So the packing list is simple: two bottoms and one top rather than two complete suits. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together How Swimsuits Should Fit and The Hunza G Edit.