The first thing I do with an underwired bikini top is pull the wire away from the fabric and check where the ends sit, because that's what tells you whether it's going to dig in by lunchtime or actually hold you. If the wire finishes right in the hollow under your arm rather than stabbing into soft tissue, that's a good sign. If it finishes an inch short or an inch too far round, no amount of padding will save it, and you'll be adjusting yourself every twenty minutes on the sunbed like you've got an itch you can't name.
Fit on these is less about the band number and more about the cup, and I've learned that the hard way, buying the same size three times in three different shops and ending up with everything from a slight gap at the top of the cup to proper spillage that no amount of tugging fixes. Go up a cup if you're between sizes, never down, because an underwire that's too small will pinch at the sides and leave two red marks that take an hour to fade. The band should feel snug on the loosest hook when it's new, since elastic gives with salt water and sun cream whether you like it or not, and a bikini that's comfortable on day one of a holiday is often gaping by day five. Rinse it in cold water after every wear if you can be bothered, never bin it in a hot wash, and let it dry flat rather than hanging it by the straps, which pulls the wire out of shape over a season and leaves it poking through the fabric at the ends, which is both uncomfortable and a bit sad for a bikini that otherwise had years left in it.
Chlorine is the enemy here more than the sun is, it breaks down the elastic and fades dark colours faster than you'd think, so a pool holiday ages one of these far quicker than a week by the sea. I wouldn't pair an underwired top with anything too skimpy on the bottom, the structure up top needs a bit of coverage below or the whole thing reads as mismatched rather than considered, and I'd steer clear of very thin triangle bottoms with a heavily padded underwired top, since the proportions end up looking like two different swimsuits that got thrown together in a drawer.
This suits anyone who wants proper support on holiday and isn't willing to trade comfort for a style that looks good folded on a shelf.
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