How the Tankini Went from Uncool to Coveted
In a world where less was once more, the return of the tankini is challenging what confidence and hotness really look like.
For most of my life, the tankini was not a swimsuit—it was a surrender. It was a thing I wore when I wanted to go to the beach, but didn’t want to be seen at the beach. It was a compromise—a little bit bikini, a little bit one-piece, punctuated by obviously crippling insecurity. A style that whispered, “I hate my body, but I’m trying.”
As a pre-teen in the early 2000s, my first tankini wasn’t a fashion choice so much as it was a strategic defense. Growing up in a world where jean rises kept getting lower and impossibly thin women ruled our TV screens, I learned that confidence wasn’t just about feeling good in your body; it was about proving you weren’t afraid to show it off. Fast forward 20 years to the late 2010s, when body positivity was hitting the mainstream—think Ashley Graham on magazine covers, hashtags about radical self-love and a growing chorus urging women to “wear the damn bikini”. For fat women like me, bikinis weren’t just an option but a mandate, a sartorial declaration that I loved myself enough to bare it all.
In the middle of a Gilmore Girls rewatch, in an episode where Rory and Paris travel to Florida for Spring Break, I dove for the remote to pause on a still of Janet, their college roomie. She was wearing a white-and-red tankini top with matching short bottoms. Abandoning the episode, I dove into a search for this exact swimsuit like it was my part time job, and surprisingly, they were everywhere. Tankinis weren’t just a nostalgia trip—they were back. From Skims and influencer Victoria Paris launching their own tankinis to Gen Z fashion girlies on TikTok rocking them, the once-forgotten style has made a major comeback.
So what happened? How did the tankini go from the swimsuit equivalent of a minivan to a must-have summer staple?
The Modesty Pendulum Swings Again
Fashion is cyclical, and modesty, like hemlines, rises and falls with the times. The Y2K revival (of *ahem* thinness) has brought back everything from low-rise jeans to trucker hats, and the tankini is no exception. But its resurgence isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s part of a larger shift in how we think about sexiness and self-expression.
For years, body positivity messaging pushed the idea that the most confident thing you could do was wear the least amount of clothing possible. And while that message was liberating at times (wearing my first string bikini as a visibly fat person was, and still is, radical and freeing), it became another kind of pressure for many. The pendulum had swung so far towards “you must love your body loudly and publicly at all times” that covering up started to feel, ironically, like the more radical choice.
Today, there’s a growing recognition that body confidence isn’t one-size-fits-all. For some, it’s a tiny string bikini. For others, it’s a long-sleeved swimsuit and SPF. And for a lot of us? It’s a tankini that offers a little more coverage without sacrificing style or movement. Modesty, once associated with repression, is now being reclaimed as just another way to dress for oneself, rather than for the male gaze or the judgmental hum of diet culture.
At the same time, we can’t ignore that modest swimwear has long existed outside of these Western fashion cycles. People from religious and cultural backgrounds have been wearing modest swimwear—whether burkinis (a full-body swimsuit designed to align with Islamic standards of modesty), full-coverage suits or tankinis—for years, not as a trend necessarily but as an expression of faith, identity or personal preference. The recent embrace of more coverage in mainstream fashion highlights a harsh truth: what gets deemed “cool” is often dictated by who’s wearing it. And while some are rediscovering the tankini as a trendy aesthetic choice, others never left it behind—and yet aren’t given the same fashion freedoms or appreciation.
It’s also worth noting that modesty culture has transcended swimwear and entered broader trend cycles. The tradwife aesthetic—think prairie dresses, long skirts and conservative silhouettes wrapped in the language of femininity and submission—has gained traction online, particularly in certain corners of TikTok. While the resurgence of modest fashion isn’t inherently political, it exists within a cultural moment where debates about gender roles, autonomy and control over women’s bodies are more intense than ever. The tankini’s revival may be separate from these discussions, but it’s impossible to ignore how modest fashion is being repackaged and reinterpreted in ways that often reflect larger societal shifts.
The Era of Practical Hotness
There’s also a practical reason the tankini is thriving: We’re in an era of practical hotness. Gone are the days when suffering for fashion was aspirational. We want our shoes comfortable, our pants baggy and our swimwear that can keep up with our summer plans.
The tankini is the best of both worlds—mix-and-match bikini versatility with the extra coverage and sun protection of a one-piece, all while channeling that sporty Y2K style. For me, practicality has become the truest expression of body confidence. Self-acceptance isn’t about proving something to others, but about dressing for the life I’m actually living and removing how others perceive me from the equation entirely.
The tankini’s comeback is a masterclass in rebranding. Once a symbol of self-loathing, it’s now a fashion-forward, functional, intentional choice. Brands are creating versions that feel luxurious and playful, not frumpy and apologetic. And most importantly, the conversation around swimwear has changed: it’s no longer about what you should wear, but what makes you feel good.
So, am I wearing tankinis this summer? Absolutely. Not because I feel like I have to hide, and not because I need to prove anything, but because I want to. But I’m not tossing my string bikinis either. The real win here isn’t about choosing one or the other—it’s about having the freedom to wear whatever makes us feel good. I’ll remember that the next time tankinis go out of style.
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Meaghan is a freelance writer, editor, podcaster, and content creator specializing in plus-size style, body positivity, and anti-diet culture. Her bylines span cultural hot takes and personal stories, and she co-hosts the sex and relationships podcast Eat Your Heart Out. Currently working on her debut essay collection about fatness and desirability—repped by Amanda Orozco at the Transatlantic Agency—her work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, FASHION, Yahoo!, Chatelaine, and more.
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