What Makes a Great Bathing Suit?
Photo: Bobby Doherty
In honor of summer, we collected and photographed bathing suits from real people of all ages, shapes, and sizes. We interviewed the participants about this often-charged item of clothing, and they shared a range of emotions and strategies for learning to feel comfortable half-naked, the horrors of shopping for a suit, and when to treat a swimsuit as an “investment piece.” But whether or not a bathing suit evokes anxiety or happy memories of seaside fun, everyone’s suits are personal and are, in many ways, portraits of their owners. We have suits from an entire family of Long Island sun worshipers, board shorts from a father-daughter surfing duo, three generations of Jersey Shore devotees, and one-pieces from those who would prefer to wear nothing at all. Click ahead for more.
Photographs by Bobby Doherty; Interviews by Katie Van Syckle.
*A version of this article appears in the June 29, 2015 issue of New York Magazine.
Anna Martin, 33 The Jaguar '80s power-bikini: I saw it at the Brooklyn Flea, and I couldn't not buy it. It was an event-specific purchase — ...
Anna Martin, 33 The Jaguar '80s power-bikini: I saw it at the Brooklyn Flea, and I couldn't not buy it. It was an event-specific purchase — I was going to Miami for the first time. Spring break for a 33-year-old. I'm not someone who lounges around in a bathing suit regularly. Finding a bathing suit that makes me feel good is not an easy task. But I bought this without even trying it on — if it didn't fit, it would have been a funny thing to have. But it ended up being perfect. As I've gotten older, I've figured out my body better.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Married Couple Ali Bird, 39: I got this two summers ago. I think it is a girl’s bathing suit, not a women’s bathing suit. I love a bikini, ...
Married Couple Ali Bird, 39: I got this two summers ago. I think it is a girl’s bathing suit, not a women’s bathing suit. I love a bikini, but I wanted a one-piece, and it looks very '80s, the cut of it, the tie-dye, the pink stripe. I thought, If it doesn’t fit me, I’ll save it for my daughter to wear.
Cass Bird, 41: The trunks I stole from my best friend, Sasha. I just love her, and I thought they were a cute length. She probably doesn't know that I did, and when she sees it published, she’ll know, and it will be kind of amazing.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Stephanye Watts, 29 Anything you want to know about me is in that bathing suit. I used to be chubby. Thanks to walking in New York, I’m not anymo...
Stephanye Watts, 29 Anything you want to know about me is in that bathing suit. I used to be chubby. Thanks to walking in New York, I’m not anymore. I now buy tiny bathing suits because I’m excited not to be chubby. When I was bigger, I was wearing tankinis, and I hate those things. But even when I was bigger, I was really into my body. I like the way my body looks from when I was 170 to when I was at my smallest. I just like looking at it. I think I have always been like that. I was an only child, and my whole thing was I always had myself. And I didn’t grow up wearing a lot of clothes in the house. I love fashion, but I hate clothes. We just walked around the house in our underwear. It was never one of those things that I felt like I had to be really chaste about my body. Walking around in your underwear makes you feel fine as is.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Peaches, 46 I swim in this suit and I wear it onstage. I remember sitting at a pool feeling all sexy in it and then feeling uncomfortable because...
Peaches, 46 I swim in this suit and I wear it onstage. I remember sitting at a pool feeling all sexy in it and then feeling uncomfortable because 10-year-old girls are staring at it. Their mother comes over and tells me how much her daughters love my suit . It's important to find the one that makes you feel special.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Mother/Daughter
Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, 48: I have been wearing almost the same exact suit for the past 15 years, and they were...
Mother/Daughter
Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, 48: I have been wearing almost the same exact suit for the past 15 years, and they were so rag tag that I finally went out and bought a new one. You're talking to a very lazy person. My daughter Coco laughs because she has friends that have suits for every day of the week. I have a little drawer of suits that I have been wearing for the last 15 years.
Coco Rohatyn, 12: I’m excited to turn 13 in this suit. When I was younger I was really into one-pieces, and then at around 5 or 6 I went into tankinis, and then I went into bikinis. I can be more blingy at times and more out-there with a bikini, and sometimes I feel more reserved. In those instances I would maybe put the skin top on.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Petra Collins, 22 I’m always wary of super-high-cut bathing suits. I don’t shave my bikini line, and I’m still a little bit embarrassed, and I’m ...
Petra Collins, 22 I’m always wary of super-high-cut bathing suits. I don’t shave my bikini line, and I’m still a little bit embarrassed, and I’m still trying to get used to going to the beach like that. It is interesting to kind of deprogram your mind from caring what other people think. But once you start not caring, other things fall into place. I’d rather go to a nude beach than wear a bathing suit anyway.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Daughter/Mother/Father/Grandfather Gillian Laub, 40: 1. Seeing photos of me in my Wonder Woman bathing suit makes me realize how empowered I...
Daughter/Mother/Father/Grandfather Gillian Laub, 40: 1. Seeing photos of me in my Wonder Woman bathing suit makes me realize how empowered I felt wearing it. I remember going to sleepaway camp for the first time at age 6 and wearing this bathing suit all summer and swimming in the lake for the first time. I want to replace the elastic and have my daughter wear it when she's 6.
2. This was my grandfather's suit. My favorite memory of him is when we were on the beach in Naples, Florida, celebrating his 80th birthday: I have this photograph of him eating a cheeseburger in his Burberry bathing suit, groaning with delight.
3. My father wore some really hilarious bathing suits. I don't think he meant for them to be funny, though. He did seriously wear this tight leopard-print one. My friends used to call him David Hasselhoff.
4. In the '80s my mom resembled Cher, and her clothes and bathing suits felt like she was channeling her. I thought she was very glamorous at the time.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Poonam Khanna, 49 I bought this suit exactly ten years ago when I learned to surf. I was 39 and two years away from meeting my future husba...
Poonam Khanna, 49 I bought this suit exactly ten years ago when I learned to surf. I was 39 and two years away from meeting my future husband and doing stuff like going on surf trips with myself. Now I wear it to jump into a pool and play with my son, but it does fall down now because it is a little stretched out. I’ll never throw it away.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
J.J. Martin, 42 It’s a vintage Leonard bathing suit. I don’t normally wear vintage bathing suits — there’s something a little bit gross about it....
J.J. Martin, 42 It’s a vintage Leonard bathing suit. I don’t normally wear vintage bathing suits — there’s something a little bit gross about it. But this one I found at a store in Genoa, and it is so retro ’70s, and I think it’s really fun. I feel like we all saw our mothers wearing those bathing suits when we were young. I grew up in L.A., where for the first 18 years of my life my uniform was a bathing suit. I used to have around 155 bathing suits. That was how I expressed myself — there was no fashion in Los Angeles in the ’80s; the only fashion was at Canyon Beachwear. As you get older, you’re probably not trying to be sexy in your bathing suit. After 35, that’s not really the point, so you might as well have some point, which is extreme comfort or a funny fashion moment.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Norma Kamali, 70 This is the Wonder Woman suit. That suit I did a hundred years ago and for some reason out of all the swimsuits I’ve made and wo...
Norma Kamali, 70 This is the Wonder Woman suit. That suit I did a hundred years ago and for some reason out of all the swimsuits I’ve made and worn, I have always liked that suit on me. When you really find a suit that works for you, it’s hard to find another.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Diana Vinoly About maybe 20 years ago I quit wearing bikinis. I was already a mature woman. I wore bikinis all of my life, and I was used to feel...
Diana Vinoly About maybe 20 years ago I quit wearing bikinis. I was already a mature woman. I wore bikinis all of my life, and I was used to feeling the sun on my stomach. It took me some time to get used to the fact I was more dressed up.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Miki Meek, 36 This suit is made by a woman named Ambika Conroy in Woodridge, New York. I heard about her because I had gone to a swimming hole wi...
Miki Meek, 36 This suit is made by a woman named Ambika Conroy in Woodridge, New York. I heard about her because I had gone to a swimming hole with some friends one weekend, and one of them said there was a woman who had 50 animals, and lives in the Catskills, and crochets these bikinis. She makes clothing from Merino sheep and Angora bunnies and goats. When I first heard about these bikinis, I thought they would be frumpy and weird. They are actually very cool and sexy. The shorts have little ties at the side; you can tie them a bunch of different ways. It’s great for lakes and swimming holes — you can’t actually wear it in chlorine. I like her suits because the shorts are boyish. When I was a kid, I used to swim in a T-shirt and shorts, like my brothers.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Grandmother/Mother/Daughter Muriel Reid, Grandmotherly Age: This suit really reminds me of my childhood. I grew up on the Jersey Shore and I had ...
Grandmother/Mother/Daughter Muriel Reid, Grandmotherly Age: This suit really reminds me of my childhood. I grew up on the Jersey Shore and I had a lot of freedom. I could go to the beach when I was 10 or 11 years old. We would bring lunch with us, we hung out in the water until we turned blue, and then we slathered on baby oil mixed with iodine so you got really tan and sunburned.
Rachel Reid, 59: The reason I love this suit is it is like Spanx and a bathing suit had a baby. No matter how I feel, I put it on and it holds it all in.
Rose Greenbaum, 32: I generally don’t feel comfortable in bathing suits, which is what is so amazing about this suit. The fit is so flattering and I love that it gives me no tan lines on top, and the bottom is cut without being too revealing. It has been all over the world: Italy, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Delhi, Bangkok, and Mexico.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Emma Fletcher, 45 This was a time when I was still in the mind-set of Australia, where you just wear bottoms. On one of the beaches there is this...
Emma Fletcher, 45 This was a time when I was still in the mind-set of Australia, where you just wear bottoms. On one of the beaches there is this hand-knitting place, and when I was a teenager I had a brown one, and I would just wear brown bottoms for years because people in Australia don’t wear tops as much.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Clarissa Darlymple, 74 I have been wearing this style for four or five years; I didn’t used to, but you kind of wither with age. The skirt ...
Clarissa Darlymple, 74 I have been wearing this style for four or five years; I didn’t used to, but you kind of wither with age. The skirt covers the butt and the upper thigh. It just covers some of the ghastly things. The thing is, I’m quite thin, except I’ve got a fat stomach. In Europe all the old people wear two-piece bathing suits.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Father/Daughter
Chris Gentile, 42: I've been surfing since I was 9, and I have the luxury of designing my own board short. Everyone has b...
Father/Daughter
Chris Gentile, 42: I've been surfing since I was 9, and I have the luxury of designing my own board short. Everyone has been trying to make these hyperstretchy [ones] that perform really well in the water — they're very unflattering but they feel like you're wearing a pair of silk boxer shorts. Design-wise, I don't like shorts that are too long, but I don't need shorts that look like I stole them from my father's attic.
Ida Gentile, 8: I surf with my dad. We wear the same suit. I like the Birdwell shorts, because I’m not stuck in a tight bathing suit. When I’m surfing, these shorts made me have more courage than any other bathing suit. My biggest goal for this year and next year is to walk up the nose of the board. So far, I did one step up and I flopped off. Photo: Bobby Doherty
Esther Arnold, 68 This is a two-piece, but there’s not any skin showing. I have had five spinal surgeries, gallbladder, appendix, you name it, I’...
Esther Arnold, 68 This is a two-piece, but there’s not any skin showing. I have had five spinal surgeries, gallbladder, appendix, you name it, I’ve had it, so I don’t like to show off my cut-up body. I wear a bathing suit so seldom, and just when I’m on a cruise, and I cover myself most of the time because I can’t be in the sun.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Georgie Stout, 47 I usually buy my bathing suits at J.Crew, but this one is from Malia Mills. They are just much more expensive than I’m used to ...
Georgie Stout, 47 I usually buy my bathing suits at J.Crew, but this one is from Malia Mills. They are just much more expensive than I’m used to spending. A bathing suit in a sense is kind of disposable. I have never felt like it was something I should be spending a lot of money on.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Bandmates in 'Gracie and Rachel'
Rachel Ruggles, 25: I go to the pool, I do like to tan, and we do have a nice rooftop in our building, so we...
Bandmates in 'Gracie and Rachel'
Rachel Ruggles, 25: I go to the pool, I do like to tan, and we do have a nice rooftop in our building, so we'll go up there and we'll soak up some sun. The funny thing about that suit is there are random holes in the back, so I'll get a weird circular tan line but I love that — it's like body art.
Gracie Coates, 25: The bottom and top is from American Apparel. It’s high-waisted so you have to pull it down if you want to get any kind of a stomach tan. Photo: Bobby Doherty
Hannah Bronfman, 27 I actually learned how to kite surf in this suit in the Dominican Republic. It was really wild. I had never done it before. B...
Hannah Bronfman, 27 I actually learned how to kite surf in this suit in the Dominican Republic. It was really wild. I had never done it before. Before you can go out on the water you have to learn how to actually fly the kite on the sand, on the beach, and it take a good amount of upper body strength, and you are definitely going where the wind goes.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Hanya Yanagihara, 40 I think there are women who wear Speedos, and women who would not get caught dead in Speedos. And I have come to term...
Hanya Yanagihara, 40 I think there are women who wear Speedos, and women who would not get caught dead in Speedos. And I have come to terms with that. I organize most of my trips around where I can swim around a big body of water. All of my friends sit there in the sand, and when they see you bring out the Speedo they know you are not going to be any fun.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Kristen Joy Watts, 33 I went to Italy for the summer when I was 19 to study and travel around. The Miu Miu bikini was by itself on the rack, and ...
Kristen Joy Watts, 33 I went to Italy for the summer when I was 19 to study and travel around. The Miu Miu bikini was by itself on the rack, and I just remember seeing it and being like, "Oh my God that bathing suit." It was $75, and I splurged on it. There was still snow on the ground in Toronto, and I used to wear it around the house and one of my roommates caught me and it became a huge joke — they still tease me about it.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Laura Scognamiglio, 47 I’m not ready to give up the bikini yet. I just feel comfortable in it. I don’t feel like I’m hanging out or like it...
Laura Scognamiglio, 47 I’m not ready to give up the bikini yet. I just feel comfortable in it. I don’t feel like I’m hanging out or like it is going to fall off. I wouldn’t wear a string bikini, though — those days are over for me.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Martynka Wawrzyniak, 36 I’m one of those people where I almost feel more comfortable nude than with clothes. I had noticed a couple of my f...
Martynka Wawrzyniak, 36 I’m one of those people where I almost feel more comfortable nude than with clothes. I had noticed a couple of my friends had really nice Eres bathing suits, they’re very understated and flattering and I finally got one for my birthday from my husband. Anytime I go anywhere I wear it — upstate, when I can’t be naked.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Maurya Couvares, 31 This is my fourth summer doing triathlons, but I was a swimmer my entire life. I’m competing in four races this summer...
Maurya Couvares, 31 This is my fourth summer doing triathlons, but I was a swimmer my entire life. I’m competing in four races this summer, Olympic-length. It’s a one-mile swim/25-mile bike/10k run. A lot of women are critical of their body, but I’ve always viewed my body as my tool for going faster as an athlete.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Maye Musk, 67 I don’t sunbathe anymore because of the sun damage, but I do like to swim laps. I have ten grandkids so I like to swim with them. F...
Maye Musk, 67 I don’t sunbathe anymore because of the sun damage, but I do like to swim laps. I have ten grandkids so I like to swim with them. Funny enough, I was in a one-piece when I won my first beauty pageant, and now I’m wearing one when I’m 67.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Noemi Bonazzi, 54 I was born in Italy and I bought this bathing suit in Italy and it reminds me of my summer vacations, which I still spend in It...
Noemi Bonazzi, 54 I was born in Italy and I bought this bathing suit in Italy and it reminds me of my summer vacations, which I still spend in Italy. I bought it in this town — Forte dei Marmi — that is almost the Hamptons of Italy, all lunches under umbrellas and picnics at the beach and bicycle rides.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Phebe de Guzman, 20 I probably wear my lifeguard suit the most, because I have to wear it to work. For a summer job, I love it. It’s very relaxin...
Phebe de Guzman, 20 I probably wear my lifeguard suit the most, because I have to wear it to work. For a summer job, I love it. It’s very relaxing as long as no one is drowning. It’s a rocky beach so I give people Band-Aids a lot, and people sometimes get stung by jellyfish, and I have to pull old people out of the water sometimes, but nothing too drastic. I just hold their arms, and help them out. But it’s pretty rare.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Philippa Crowne, 25 I didn’t feel sexy on the beach, and [one-pieces] made me feel more comfortable in my own body and sexier than I ever h...
Philippa Crowne, 25 I didn’t feel sexy on the beach, and [one-pieces] made me feel more comfortable in my own body and sexier than I ever had before. I wore this under jeans to the Alexander Wang after-party during Fashion Week once and it was like glow-in-the-dark.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Susan Petrie-Badertscher , 50 I found these wool bathing suits, and I though they were so cool. I put one in a shadow box and framed it, an...
Susan Petrie-Badertscher , 50 I found these wool bathing suits, and I though they were so cool. I put one in a shadow box and framed it, and now my clients ask for them in the projects I work on. Jack White’s assistant called and bought a bunch of suits for him to wear — I think he was having a vintage party.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
Susanne Bartsch I wear the bikini top with jeans and my favorite thing about it is I can go from bikini to beach to bungalow to poolside. I...
Susanne Bartsch I wear the bikini top with jeans and my favorite thing about it is I can go from bikini to beach to bungalow to poolside. I like to swim at night, late, after the sun goes down. I like swimming naked in the ocean if I can, and I like swimwear as daywear.
Photo: Bobby Doherty
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