Get your baby pool ready with the right style swimsuit for his or her personality and your needs. From one-piece options to sets or individual pieces, infant swimwear comes in a variety of styles to fit any aesthetic.
Infant Girl One-Piece Style
A baby bathing suit resembling a leotard is considered a one-piece because it covers all of the baby's private areas in one piece of fabric. Style options run from simple and classic to retro or ruffled. This option is great for covering more of baby's skin to protect her from the sun but can be difficult to get on and off since you have to pull it up or down baby's body all at once. If you've got a kid who's easy to dress, doesn't need frequent diaper changes, or you're headed off to a short swimming excursion this style is great.
Classic Bathing Suit
For a simple, timeless look buy your baby a classic bathing suit with a standard structure in one solid color. A classic look won't ever go out of style and could be a welcome hand-me-down for any girl.
If you want a no-frills option try a suit like the Oshkosh Multi-Heart Swimsuit. This standard one-piece style has spaghetti straps and a single flattened ruffle around the neckline. Coral is the background color of the suit which is dotted with tiny hearts in soft white, pink, blue, and purple for an understated look. At just under $30 this suit comes in sizes 0-3, 12-18, or 18-24 months. A suit like this is hard for any baby to take off on her own.
High Fashion Style
For the baby trendsetter, you'll want a suit with high fashion features like a peplum and a modern color scheme such as mint green and pink. Your baby will look like she just stepped off the infant runway at fashion week and chances are she'll stand out from the crowd because of it.
The Mint Seersucker Peplum One-Piece from Ruffle Butts delivers all that and more. This one-piece bathing suit features flutter sleeves, a peplum, ruffles, and a bow. The main body of the suit, peplum, and sleeves are a mint and white striped seersucker fabric. The collar trim, back zipper, and leg hole ruffles are a light pink while the bow sitting on the backside is pink with white polka dots. For around $25 your baby can be the most stylish girl at the pool. Available sizes range from 0 - 3 months to 2T. The crotch area has a snap closure for easy dressing and diapering. Made from a polyester, nylon, spandex blend this fashionable suit offers UPF 50 sun protection. For added personality, opt to have three pink letters monogrammed on the chest of the suit for an additional $7. The website cautions customers to get one size bigger if they're not sure on fit because the suit fits tightly and the snap crotch doesn't have as much give as a completely elastic crotch.
Long Sleeve Option
Online retailer Ruffle Butts sells a variety of cute and functional long sleeve one-piece baby bathing suits. Sometimes called "rash guards," the full coverage over baby's torso and arms helps keep her safe from the sun. Suits with long sleeves give a modern look with their unconventional style.
The Tropical Garden One-Piece Rash Guard comes in sizes 0-3, 3-6, 12-18, and 18-24 month or 2T for just under $30. The suit features an all-over large, line-drawn floral pattern in bright shades of pink, blue, orange, and green mixed with white. The leg holes are lined with ruffles and each has an aqua string bow. The backside showcases a row of aqua butt ruffles. A few of the great things about this suit are it has snaps in the crotch area for easy diapering and has a back zipper to help with dressing. Made from a nylon/spandex blend this suit offers UPF 50 protection. All seventeen customer reviewers give the suit a full five stars for style, protection, and ease of dressing.
Infant Girl Two-Piece Options
Two-piece bathing suits, often called bikinis, feature a separate top and bottom. Bikinis are adorable, stylish, easy to put on, and easy to work with for diaper changes. Two-piece options also allow the opportunity to create your own look when you mix and match tops and bottoms or change just one part of baby's outfit if it gets soiled. However, they also leave more baby skin bare and are easier to remove for baby's keen on undressing themselves than a one-piece option.
Triangle Top
Get the classic bikini look in a tiny version for your little girl. Triangle top bikinis feature two separate pieces making dressing and undressing easy. The suit top is made from side-by-side triangles of fabric to cover the nipples. Suit bottoms can be anything from boy shorts to skirted bikini bottoms.
Children's Swim Boutique sells the Sea Horse style baby string bikini for around $30. The main parts of the top and bottom are made from a white fabric with royal blue repeating seahorses. In contrast, the trim on the suit top and bottom along with the strings for tying the bikini on are a solid coral color. The waist ties and necktie each have a single blue plastic bead knotted on near the ends. Sizes include extra small for babies up to age 6 months and small for babies ages 7-12 months. The entire bikini ties onto your baby which helps with fit. However, babies pulling on the dangling strings could accidentally remove the suit.
Tankini
A tank top style shirt paired with a bikini bottom is called a tankini. Styles vary in top strap width from spaghetti straps to short or long sleeves. This bikini option offers a little more coverage and fewer ties than the triangle top style. But, since the two pieces aren't attached to each other older babies who have learned to undress could remove the bottoms.
A classic wide-strap, racerback tank top like the Lassig 2-Piece Polka Dot Tankini gives a moderate level of coverage as far as bikinis are concerned. This set includes a ruffled bottom with a built-in swim diaper and the tank top in a gray and white small polka dot pattern. Trim is accented with solid red. A single ruffle rests on the chest of the top while a small bee picture rests on the bum. Sizes 6 months and 12 months are available along with bigger options for around $35. The built-in swim diaper eliminates the need to purchase one separately.
Swim Shirt Set
If you want that surfer girl style with added protection for baby, a swim shirt set is ideal. Swim shirts come in short or long sleeves and coordinate with bottoms without necessarily matching exactly.
For more coverage in a two-piece try a swim shirt and bottoms like Carter's Mermaid Rashguard Set. The top is a coral t-shirt with thin white stripes and a mermaid on one side of the chest. Teal bottoms with teal and coral ruffles along the waistline correspond with the top. Available sizes range from 3 - 24 months for around $15.
Infant Boy Swim Trunks
Swim trunks are the standard for American baby boy swimwear. These special shorts are made from materials that dry quickly. You have the option to pair the trunks with a swim shirt or let your baby go bare-chested. Swim trunks offer sun protection on the leg but leave baby's torso bare unless you pair them with a swim shirt.
Long Shorts
Baby swim shorts with a longer inseam and leg resemble men's board shorts. This style gives the classic, surfer look with good coverage on baby's legs.
Carter's Striped Swim Trunks feature modern color-blocking with thick navy blue, yellow, and white horizontal stripes. The shorts are made from polyester and have a non-functioning drawstring detail at the waist. Offering UPF 50 protection, these shorts look good and keep baby safe. For around $15 these shorts come in sizes 3-24 months. While the coverage is great for sun protection, shorts that are too long could hamper mobility for crawling babies.
Shorter Shorts
These shorts are often made of stretchy materials and resemble a girls boy short style. Your baby will have a more European look wearing these and better mobility than long shorts.
Carter's Baby Boys Printed Swim Shorts are blue with a dinosaur skeleton print and green trim. Available sizes include 3-6 months and 6-9 months for around $20. They are machine washable and feature a mesh lining.
Infant Boy Swim Briefs
Those looking for a European style or maximum mobility want to try swim briefs which look like underwear briefs.
The Baby Reversible Swim Bottom from Primary features an elastic waist and leg holes with full coverage for baby. Available color combinations include dark green/aqua, navy/red, and red/orange. Sizes run from 0-6 months up to 18-24 months for under $10. Made of nylon and elastane, these bottoms offer UPF 50 protection and cover a diaper. Brief styles like this are easy to put on and take off but offer no more protection to baby's body than a diaper alone.
Infant Boy One-Piece
If safety is your priority, a one-piece suit could be ideal. Your boy will get the look of a diver or surfer wearing a wetsuit with maximum sun protection. Styles feature wide straps, short sleeves, or long sleeves with different length shorts.
One-piece suits for boys often feature built-in flotation devices like the My Pool Pal Boy's Flotation Swimsuit. This style looks like a pair of shorts and wide-strap tank top sewn together at the waist. Permanent foam inserts are strategically placed around the chest and torso of the suit to help with balance and stability in the water. The Watercolor Shark print has a black background with bright red, green, and yellow sharks "swimming" around the fabric. For just under $50 this suit comes in extra small for kids weighing 20-30 pounds, small for 30-40 pounds, and medium for 40-50 pounds. The limited sizes may not fit great for every baby.
Infant Boy Swim Shirts
Swim shirts come in long or short-sleeved versions. These shirts provide protection from the sun in a material that won't slow your little guy down in the water.
SwimZip offers a variety of options including the Long Sleeve Zipper Swim Shirt Jacket. This solid color shirt features a full-length front zipper making dressing quick and easy. Color choices include red, orange, green, aqua, yellow, white, black, gray, and royal blue to match any bottoms you choose. Sizes range from 0-3month up to boys size 12-14 for under $20. You'll get added protection for your little guy with easy removal in this shirt.
Swimming in Style
Babies look cute in everything they wear, but there's something particularly adorable about an infant in a swimsuit. Give your baby personal style at the pool or beach with swimwear fitting of your lifestyle.
