One Vogue Editor’s Search for the Best Boys Swimsuits

Hard to remember now, but there was a time when I looked for minimal coverage in my swimwear. An extra strap or a high waist could lead to undesired tan lines when I was wearing hip-huggers and spaghetti-strap camis. Today, of course, the more coverage the better—and nowhere does the maxim hold more, um, water, than when I’m shopping for my toddler, preschooler, and soon to be first-grader. Sunburn is bad and all, but have you tried to slather three boys under the age of 7 with the recommended shot-glass of sunscreen each? I will take a bodysuit to the ankles if it saves me the trouble.

I did find the perfect bathing suit a few years back thanks to my mother, who picked up a matching pair for the oldest two on a trip to London. It was a knee-length, full-sleeve, nautical-stripe affair—a cute little suit from Little White Company, the offshoot of the White Company that makes a range of clothes for kids with a Brighton-meets-Provence vibe. Once on, I had only to worry about the lower leg, the face, and neck, which was heaven. The boys resembled miniature Victorians on the Isle of Wight, but sunscreen duty was dispensed with in about five minutes flat. I am not kidding when I tell you that parents would wave me down to ask where I’d obtained them.

But alas, nothing lasts forever. After heavy wear, the suits had some well-earned holes in inopportune places and had to be disposed of. Since then I’ve been on the hunt for boys’ one-pieces because, if there is another guiding principle in my quest for the perfect kids’ swimwear, it is that I will take one good suit over trunks and rash guard any day: fewer pieces to bring, fewer pieces to inevitably leave behind. But it turns out not everyone shares my philosophy on one-piece dressing past the age of three, and so the onesies of my dreams—I just wanted my boys to look like French sailors from the 19th century—were surprisingly hard to find.

Kids’ bathing suits, particularly for little boys, it turns out, tend toward the “performancewear” end of the style spectrum with lots of neoprene suits with graphic, neon patterns that look like they were designed in the mid ’90s, and not in a cool, throwback way. I didn’t want my little boys to look like they were about to embark upon a scuba expedition or the last leg of a triathlon. I wanted them to channel a life of leisure, even if we were just running through the sprinkler in the driveway.

Turns out, this summer was also going to be the moment when they finally would put their little feet down and refused to let me dress them in matching outfits. (Creepy? I disagree.) By mid-summer my four-year-old had solidified a style of his own, one my husband described as “Dutch footballer on an off day.” A recent ensemble: pineapple-printed shorts, a Day-Glo neon orange quick-dry tee shirt, striped yellow socks pulled up to the knee, and bright blue sneakers. I knew that I had provided the ingredients in that I had, ostensibly, purchased all these items, but the alchemy was his. All of which is to say, there were more and more opinions involved with beach- or sprinkler-bound dressing. Recently I’ve found myself looking to the kids section of Primary or Amazon (which makes a serviceable rash guard T-shirt in a variety of colors) to provide him with the basics in his color-blocking. If I’m feeling brave, I might just let him experiment with Olga Valentine’s Liberty’s-esque prints. If he’s going to stray from the sailor suit, I’m not unhappy about the direction he’s going.

Below, 14 boys swimsuits that fit their needs and mine.