Cheeky, Brazilian, tummy control: the swimwear words nobody defines

Swimwear is described in a dialect of its own. Some of its words describe measurable things and are worth reading closely. Others are pure atmosphere and can be skipped without losing anything.

Nobody publishes which is which, so here it is, from the people who write the descriptions.

Words about coverage, which are precise

Coverage vocabulary is the most reliable part of the dialect. These terms are used consistently enough across the industry to plan around.

Two of those deserve a note. Cheeky is the most misread term in swimwear. It sounds mild and describes a genuine reduction in coverage at the seat. And high cut is about the leg opening rather than coverage at the back. A high cut piece can also be full coverage, and plenty are.

Words about structure, which are the most useful of all

If you read only one part of a description, read this one. Structure words describe physical components, and physical components are the only thing that holds.

• Underwire. A rigid frame under each cup. Holds most of anything in swimwear and the least forgiving on size.
• Moulded cup. A cup pre-shaped to hold its form off the body. Gives a smooth line and a predictable shape.
• Removable padding. Soft inserts in a pocket. These shape rather than support, and a top with only these is not a supportive top.
• Underband. The band beneath the bust. A wide one carries real load. A thin elastic does not.
• Boning. Vertical stays in the side seams. Stops a structured top from folding at the ribcage.
• Adjustable straps. Sliders rather than a fixed length. Worth more than it sounds, because it is the only fit adjustment most tops offer.

The distinction that catches people out is padding against support. A padded triangle top is still a triangle top. The padding changes the shape and carries no weight.

Words about shaping, which are half meaningful

Tummy control

This one is real when it describes a component and meaningless when it describes an intention. A genuine tummy control piece has a second layer of fabric across the front, usually a firmer knit, and you can feel it as compression. A piece described as tummy control with no panel is describing a hope.

The way to tell them apart is the fabric content line, which has to name what is in it.

A control panel raises the spandex proportion, and a piece built around one usually says so plainly rather than leaving it to an adjective.

Ruched

Gathered fabric, usually across the stomach or at the side seam. Ruching does something real, but the thing it does is optical rather than structural. Gathered fabric breaks up light and hides the outline underneath. It does not compress and does not claim to.

For a lot of people that is preferable. Compression is uncomfortable over a long day, and ruching gives a similar visual result without it.

Slimming

This word describes nothing. There is no component behind it and no measurement. When you see it, look for the panel or the ruching instead and judge from that.

Words about the neckline, which are shape rather than support

• Triangle. Two triangular cups on ties. Adjustable, minimal, holds least.
• Halter. Ties or straps behind the neck. Lifts well, marks the neck, can ache after a long day.
• Bandeau. A straight band with no straps. Cleanest tan line, least secure.
• Scoop. A wide rounded neckline. Common on one pieces and comfortable under a strap.
• Square neck. A straight line across the bust with wider straps. Currently everywhere and genuinely flattering on most frames.
• Plunge. A deep V between the cups. A style decision, and one that usually requires underwire to work at all.

Neckline and support are independent. A plunge can be underwired or a piece of string, and the description has to be read for both.

Words about fabric, which matter more than they look

Three surface terms come up constantly and they describe real differences in behaviour.

Ribbed fabric has raised vertical lines. It stretches more across than along, gives a bit more grip against the body and is slightly more opaque than a flat knit of the same weight.

Textured or scrunch fabric has a crinkled surface. It hides the outline of what is underneath and disguises the line where a bottom sits. That is what makes it common in cheeky and Brazilian cuts.

Shiny or liquid finishes reflect light, which shows every contour rather than hiding it. It is the least forgiving surface in swimwear and the most striking in a photograph, and those two facts are related.

Words that mean nothing at all

These appear on nearly every swimwear page including, in places, our own, and none of them tells you anything you can use.

Flattering is an opinion about your body held by a stranger. Comfortable is unfalsifiable. Premium fabric names no fibre and no weight. Designer is unregulated in apparel. Sexy describes an intention rather than a garment.

None of that is dishonest exactly. It is filler, and the reliable move is to skip past it to the coverage, structure and fabric lines, where the words have to mean something.

The care line, which is the most regulated sentence on the page

Everything above is convention. The care instruction is different, because there is a rule behind it.

That makes the care line the most reliable sentence written about any swimsuit. It is the one statement whoever wrote it has to be able to stand behind, and it tells you plainly what the fabric will not survive.

What that does to a swimsuit over a season is the subject of the piece on what actually kills a swimsuit.

How to read a description in thirty seconds

1. Find the coverage word. That tells you what it covers at the back.
2. Find the structure words. Underwire, moulded, boned, wide band. If none are present, it holds by tension alone.
3. Find the rise if it is a bottom. High waisted, mid, low rise.
4. Find the fabric line. Spandex proportion, and whether the surface is ribbed, textured or shiny.
5. Find the care line, which tells you how long any of it will last.
6. Ignore everything else in the description.

Five lines out of a paragraph of thirty. Every piece in Bikini Sets and One-Piece Swimsuits is named for its coverage and its structure precisely so those five lines are quick to find.

Words about the leg, which decide more than the back does

Leg opening is the measurement people notice last and feel first. Two bottoms with identical rear coverage can sit completely differently depending on where the leg is cut.

High cut raises the leg opening towards the hip bone. It lengthens the line of the leg and exposes more of the upper thigh, and it is the single most effective proportional trick in swimwear. It says nothing about coverage at the back.

Low cut or classic keeps the opening closer to the crease of the leg. It covers more of the upper thigh and reads shorter, which some people want and some do not.

Boy short extends the leg downward into a short leg. It is the most covered cut in swimwear and the one most likely to ride up when wet, because there is more fabric to move.

If a bottom has ever felt wrong without your being able to say why, the leg opening is usually the reason.

Words about the back, which nobody photographs

Back detail is the part of a swimsuit you never see in a mirror and everybody else sees all day.

• Tie back. Adjustable and pretty. Loosens when wet and is the least secure back in the water.
• Cross back. Straps crossed between the shoulder blades. Holds far better under a stroke and cannot be adjusted once it is on.
• Racer back. Straps meeting in a Y. The most secure back available and the most visible under clothing.
• Scoop back. A low curve. A style choice with no effect on security either way.
• Open back. A cut-out. Looks best standing still and holds least of the five.

The rule of thumb is that anything you can untie will untie eventually. If the swimming matters more than the photograph, a cross or racer back is the honest choice.

One term the industry gets wrong

One size fits all does not exist in swimwear and should be read as a warning. Swim fabric stretches, which tempts sellers into pretending a single size covers everyone, and the result fits a narrow range and disappoints everyone outside it.

The related claim to treat carefully is a size run that stops at large while describing itself as inclusive. Count the sizes actually carried rather than reading the adjective. The size table on our home page does that count for this range, department by department, because a brand that lists five sizes and stocks two is not carrying five.