I’m Channelling French Girl on the Beach With These 10 Items

I’ve dedicated a decade of my life to writing about French style, but one subject I’ve admittedly overlooked is swimwear. For me, swimwear has never held much allure—I put this down to living in Britain, where many of us only require swimwear whenever we take a trip abroad. The fact is I would always rather spend my money on dresses and bags and sandals over a new swimsuit or bikini I’d only wear for one 14-day streak each year. However, after not being on holiday or in an exotic climate in over three years, for once, I’m excited to begin assembling my beachwear wardrobe for this summer. This brings me back to the focus of this feature: What do French women wear to the beach?

I’ve analysed the Instagram feeds of every French person I follow to find out which swimwear and beachwear trends they prioritise, be it on holiday or simply visiting the coastal regions of their home country. Needless to say, their take is a chic one and goes way beyond bikinis and cossies. Instead, they assemble entire looks around going to the beach, carefully choosing the perfect cover-ups, accessories and jewellery, resulting in an impressive array of French-girl swimwear trends to try. Which will I be copying and pasting into my suitcase? Scroll on to find out.