Bikini Fit Guide: Best Swimwear for Your Body Shape

Nowadays, there are a ton of swimsuit options to choose from, but perhaps nothing beats a bikini that looks like it was custom-made for your body. At Rip Curl, we’re committed to using our 50+ years of swimwear expertise to design exactly that. Because we believe The Search is about finding yourself out in nature—not struggling to find a swimsuit. That’s why we make a variety of coverage styles to fit all body types.

It’s also why we’ve put together this bikini fit guide.

Below, we’ll explain what to look for in terms of both top and bottom coverage, which styles work best for each body type, and other important factors to consider, like sustainable fabrics that keep our oceans in mind.

How to Choose Your Bikini Top Support Level

The first thing most people notice about a bikini is the bikini top. Rip Curl’s unique fit system features five distinct coverage levels ideal for different sizes, body types, and style preferences.

Light Support

Rip Curl Light Support tops offer a classic beachy silhouette with minimal fabric between your body and the sun.

The tri bikini top is a Rip Curl heritage piece, and a top seller in our swimwear range. Sliding cups offer light support and are also fully molded, detailed with a light gathering underneath to allow for capacity in the cup. The tie-neck and tie-back keep this bikini top simple and easy to wear, while allowing the top to be fully adjustable.

Offering light support in a simple design, this triangle bikini top with modifications is best suited for A to C cups, but it can flatter every body shape.

Good Support

A staple summer swimwear piece, Rip Curl’s Good Support bikini tops offer a moderate level of support, delivering comfort and confidence in a flattering style.

The cups are totally fixed, so there’s no movement while you’re in the surf. The cups are also fully molded, ensuring good support for your bust. The wide underbust band is supportive and adjustable, while the neck shape offers a more feminine look. The boning at the side seam offers that extra support where it’s needed, and the open back features fully adjustable shoulder straps so you can achieve the perfect fit.

For those ladies after something supportive and easy to mix and match, this bikini is a must-have. It’s best suited for cup sizes A to C.

Full Support

If you’re on the hunt for swimwear that’s stylish, supportive, and designed to flatter larger busts, the Full Support top is for you. The wide shoulder straps and underbust band support and secure the garment, with internal wired elastic to keep you snug. The open neck shape is flattering to the chest, and the back has a three-slot adjuster so you can customize your fit.

This top offers full support while staying on trend and being super flattering. If you’re looking for a fashion-forward option with extra support for cups in the C-DD range, look no further!

D-DD Support

Our D-DD support bikini tops are the perfect swimwear for bigger busts, packed with loads of hidden benefits you’ll love—all while flattering your body and keeping you on-trend.

These tops offer no or removable padding to eliminate extra bulk for bigger busts and are double-lined to keep you secure. The wide underbust also features a hidden underwire for that added support, while the neckline opens up your décolletage for a flattering touch.

With fully adjustable straps and a 3-slot adjuster on the back, this is the full support bikini top you can count on, specifically designed for D and DD cups.

Bikini Bottom Coverage Guide

Bikinis aren’t just about the tops—you also need to find the perfect bikini bottoms to complete your beach look. Like with our tops, Rip Curl offers five unique bottom coverage options.

Bare Coverage

Our Bare Coverage bikini bottoms boast minimal coverage for people who want to embrace their bodies and expose as much of their skin to the sun as possible. These bold looks are perfect for making a statement at the beach while also staying comfortable all day long. 

They go perfectly with a Light Support top—or any other option up top, especially for sport-specific needs.

Skimpy Coverage

Our Skimpy Coverage bottoms channel the 80s, but this high-waisted, high-cut look is always on trend. Featuring a wider waistband and internal wired elastic that clings to your body comfortably, these bottoms create a flattering shape around the leg and accentuate every body type in all the right places.

Our Skimpy Coverage bottoms not only look amazing—they function just as well, offering the perfect bombshell bikini bottom for surfing. 

Cheeky Coverage

The Cheeky Coverage is our best-selling bikini bottom for a reason. It’s a perfect style for any and every body, featuring a hipster fit on the hip and a wide, flattering waistband.

The 6.2-inch coverage is elevated, with a ruched detail up the center back that creates a flattering, feminine shape. It also has a baby-locked edge that sits seamlessly on the body. 

Ultimately, these bikini bottoms are the perfect amount of cheeky, with just the right amount of material to keep it all together. Easy to mix and match, Cheeky bottoms will quickly become a staple this summer!

Good Coverage

Halfway between cheeky and full coverage, our Good Coverage bottom offers that classic bikini shape that’s guaranteed to look good on everyone.

This shape is technically a bikini “pant,” so the material is slightly skinnier on the side of the hip, creating a flattering leg shape. It features a modest fit on the back with 8.6-inch coverage, keeping you secure whether you’re out in the surf or soaking up those hot summer rays.

A super easy mix-and-match bikini that’s certain to flatter every body shape, our Good Coverage bikini pant will keep you feeling confident and looking amazing.

Full Coverage

Another best-seller, the Full Coverage bikini bottom is our longest-running pant. With a stylish, modest cut, this is the “everybody” pant—from young teens to moms to everyone in between.

This easy swimwear piece offers 9.8-inch coverage across the back, detailed with a thin waistband to accentuate your leg shape. It also features twin needle stitching around the leg seams, so it stays put and won’t ride up when you’re on your surfboard.

If you’re not into the cheeky cut but want a functional, flattering bikini bottom with a fun print, this is the bikini bottom for you. Full coverage is also perfect for curvier body types.

Best Bikini Styles for Every Body Shape

Picking the right bikini is about knowing what styles you look best in—and what styles you’re most comfortable in. A big part of that is understanding what shapes and design elements work best with your body type.

Hourglass Bodies

For women with the classic “hourglass” body shape, the best bikini fit depends on style preferences. If you want a more modest look, or you need a swimsuit that’ll stand up to harder swimming, opt for Good Support up top, like a Malibu Cove Deep V, and pair it with a matching Cheeky bottom. Or try the Poolside Multi-fit top and a matching Full bottom.

If you’re looking for maximum sun or want to make a fashion statement, pair a Light Support top with a Bare Coverage Bottom—grab a set or mix and match pieces you love!

Pear Bodies

Women with a “pear” body shape, or wider hips and a narrow shoulder and bust, can create balance by drawing attention upward. Color, pattern, and especially fit can all help to do this.

To start, consider a statement bikini top. For a Full Coverage option, go for something like the bold-patterned Sunset Jacquard Deep V. Alternatively, you can choose any Light Coverage top, like our Surf Tide Sliding Tri top, and find a similarly fun pattern to draw the eye upward.

For bottoms, opt for Full or Good Coverage like our Surf Tide Booty Short or G Bomb options to show off your curves and complete the look. 

Apple Bodies

The inverse of pear-shaped bodies, apple-shaped bodies are defined by larger busts and relatively smaller hips. The goal here is still balance, but this time, it’s about drawing the eye down.

A classic combination for this body type is a fuller or longer fit up top, like Rip Curl’s Premium Surf Tankini or Aloha State Crop Rashie, paired with a Bare or Skimpy Coverage bottom. Apple bodies also tend to look great in hybrid bottoms, like our Sodade Vergara swim skirt.

Athletic Bodies

Women with “athletic” builds often have relatively broad shoulders or more muscular upper or lower bodies. The best bikini fits for you depend on what you want to accentuate.

If you’re a swimmer with well-developed back and shoulders that you want to emphasize, consider a bandeau top. If you want to draw attention away from your upper body or toward your lower half, you can follow similar cues as the apple body type, focusing on fuller coverage up top and high-waisted bottoms to balance and elongate your body.

Petite Bodies

Women with petite frames can have a variety of body shapes and proportions. The focus when it comes to bikini styles and silhouettes for petite women is usually on creating length.

Bikini tops and bottoms that offer more minimal coverage—think stringy—can create a lengthening effect by drawing the eye both up and down. Up top, look for a classic sliding or fixed triangle, or consider a halter neckline like our Classic Surf Halter to really lengthen your shoulders and upper body. For bottoms, you can’t go wrong with high-rise options like the matching Classic Surf Hi Leg Bikini Bottom Pant to visually lengthen your legs.

Curvy Bodies

Women with curvier bodies can look good in any kind of swimwear. However, many curvier women tend to look and feel best in styles and sizes designed specifically for them.

Our Premium Surf E Support top features the perfect amount of support alongside a balconette top to help you feel comfortable, confident, and cute all day long. Pair it with the matching Full Coverage bottom for a chic, put-together look that flatters your body.

Best Swimwear for Surfing & Active Days

Another thing to think about when picking out your summer swimwear is what you’ll be doing when you wear it. If you’re mostly relaxing on the beach and floating around in the water, you probably don’t need to worry as much about qualities like flexibility and durability. 

But if you’ll be surfing or swimming more rigorously, you should seek out a swimsuit that can support you in style. 

Enter the Mirage Ultimate collection, our most technical swimwear to date. It features state-of-the-art compression and support in a stylish bikini set with a crossback tri top and hipster bottom.

Alternatively, if you want an option with more heft and support than a proper bikini, Rip Curl surf suits are the ultimate choice for casual and even professional surfers. Steph Gilmore, Molly Picklum, and many others have won titles in Rip Curl swimwear—and you could be next!

How to Measure & Size Your Bikini

The best way to make sure a bikini will fit the way you want is to measure your body accurately and compare your results against a brand’s sizing guide (like Rip Curl’s).

Use a flexible tape measure and target the specific parts of your body where a bathing suit will sit. If you don’t have a flexible tape measure, wrap a string around the part of your body you’re measuring, mark it, and measure that.

Rip Curl sizing for women’s bikinis, in inches, is as follows:

If you’re between sizes, consider sizing up. Swimsuits can generally be tightened if they’re a bit too big, and there’s always a possibility of slight shrinkage when washing. 

And remember: When it comes to selecting styles, mix and match to your heart’s content! If there’s a Light Coverage top you love, but you’re not sure about its Bare or Skimpy matching bottoms, there’s nothing wrong with finding a complementary bottom option with more coverage—it’s all about your comfort.

Bikini Fabrics & Sustainability

The fabric your bikini is made out of will impact how it looks and feels to wear. It also impacts fit over time; a more durable fabric will retain its shape and size, while an inferior option may not.

The best fabrics for bikinis are flexible and soft—comfy from the very first try-on. They should also be durable enough to withstand hours of swimming, surfing, and anything else you get up to under the summer sun. Look for high-quality Lycra, nylon, and neoprene options.

Another consideration is the sustainability impact of your fabric. For example, ECONYL is a regenerated nylon that utilizes material that would otherwise contribute to global waste. 

When you shop at Rip Curl, you never have to worry about fabric softness, durability, or sustainability. As a certified B Corp, we’re committed to protecting the oceans and beaches that are central to The Search. We design all of our swimwear to be comfy and long-lasting, ensuring you always look and feel your best while helping preserve our environment for as long as possible.

FAQ: Bikini Fit Questions Answered

How should a bikini top fit?

Bikini tops should be snug yet comfortable. They should be relatively easy to put on and fit without gaping or spillage in the cup. Back and shoulder straps should not be restrictive.

How should bikini bottoms fit?

Bikini bottom fits depend on your chosen coverage and style. Avoid fits that sag, ride down, or dig into your skin. Bottoms should be snug enough to stay on in the water without restricting you.

What is the best bikini for a large bust?

The best bikinis for larger busts are designed specifically to support larger cup sizes (e.g., D, DD, E) with features like little to no padding, double lining, a wide underbust, and an underwire.

Can you wear a bikini under a wetsuit?

It is possible and often convenient to wear a bikini under a wetsuit. Just be careful not to trap too much excess water in your wetsuit if you’re putting it on top of an already-damp bikini.

Best bikini fabric?

The best bikini fabrics are durable, flexible, and fast-drying. Look for high quality lycra, nylon, and neoprene fabrics for the best fit right away and after many wears and washes.

How to choose a bikini for surfing?

The best bikinis for surfing are those that help you feel comfortable and confident. They should fit snugly but not restrict your movement—or come off—as you surf. Minimal coverage options may not be ideal. Consider a quality one-piece swimwear set for the best support while surfing.

What coverage level is best?

Coverage level depends on your comfort level and personal style. If you’re comfortable showing more skin, Light Coverage tops and Bare Coverage bottoms are ideal. If you prefer modesty or anticipate lots of activity during your beach trips, fuller coverage may be best.

Find the Perfect Bikini for You

To find your perfect bikini, trust Rip Curl. We’re proud to offer a wide variety of fit and sizing options, whether you’re looking for a functional, full-coverage suit or a barely-there statement piece. Whatever body type you have, our quality, stylish bikini options are designed to help you feel comfortable and confident, summer after summer. 

Explore All Women’s Swimwear to find your new favorite bikini, and join Club Rip Curl to take advantage of free shipping!