What To Wear To The Beach: Fashionable Outfit Ideas

As the summer sun rises, our thoughts drift to holidays and beaches. To lazy days in the sun, enjoying a dip in the cool waters and looking effortlessly chic. Whether you’re having a staycation or jetting off to different shores, planning what to wear to the beach need not be an effort. Our guidelines will help you assemble a wardrobe perfect for any beach activity or holiday.

Styles For Wearing At The Beach

Whether your style is minimalistic, boho, cottagecore or goth, this season has plenty of cute outfits to wear to the beach other than a swimsuit or bikini. Heading to the beach for an event or just chilling is about looking stylish and feeling good. It’s also an opportunity to experiment with the styles found in this year’s spring and summer fashion trends.

What To Wear To The Beach With Friends

A fun day often lingers on into the night, so for this reason, it’s smart to choose an outfit that easily transitions from day to evening. Swimwear can be a versatile option. You don’t have to only swim in it. Wear shorts over your chosen swimwear and an oversized shirt for a chic what-to-wear-to-the-beach look that easily transitions to wear in the evening.

An oversized shirt in white is a great item to have in your wardrobe to wear to the beach and away from it—which is why it’s one of the essential items of a summer capsule wardrobe. To complete the beachwear look, add an oversized straw bag to hold your beach essentials, sunglasses, suncream and a pair of your favourite sandals.

Today’s swimwear can easily be part of any beach outfit. A swimsuit or bikini with a cute top—like a trendy halter-neck—can be paired with midi and maxi skirts or wide-leg trousers. Add some fabulous jewellery, and you’re ready for a fun time at the beach.

Cover Ups To Use At The Beach

When planning for the beach, a cover-up should be on your list of necessary items. These are not only useful to wear when it turns cold at the beach, but they also:

• Pull your entire beach look together 
• Present a coordinated, sophisticated and on-trend look
• Provide a chic way of transitioning from a beach look to event style
• Protect your skin and look way better than a beach towel wrapped around you

There are many different ideas on what to wear as a beach cover-up. Crochet is very on trend currently, and some fabulous, fashionable crochet dresses make perfect beach cover-ups. You could wear a beautifully printed sarong in many ways; it’s the most effortless wrap-around skirt. Stylish kaftans also look fabulous as a beach cover-up, with shorter-length styles popular.

Got Your Invite? Now It’s Time To Plan What To Wear To A Beach Party

A beach party is always great fun, but an organised beach event by invitation needs a little more thought about what to wear when you go to the beach party. You need to note if it’s a daytime or evening affair. Is it a sophisticated party with a buffet and drinks or a casual one with a BBQ and bonfire? Maybe you’ve been invited to a beach wedding. For all of these, start with three important questions:

• Where is it?
• What time of day is it?
• What do you want your beach outfit to say about you?

The first two questions will help you decide what you want to wear to the beach club or a get-to-gether on the beach. The third question is about selecting the style that best reflects you. Do you want to look young and sexy, chic, boho or fashionable? Deciding this will help you choose the outfits you want to wear to the beach. 

In brief, these can include:

• Swimwear - bikinis that you can mix and match or flattering swimsuits
• Shorts and cropped tops - denim shorts and Bermuda remain ever fashionable
• Beach dresses - choose a lightweight fabric like cotton, chambray, silk or linen
• Cover-ups - from beautiful colourful sarongs to trendy crochet dresses
• Footwear - choose from sliders, sandals, crocs, sneakers and flip flops
• Accessories - towels, suncream, sunglasses and a sun hat or scarf

A Daytime Party At The Beach Club

Heading to the beach club is a great opportunity to get dressed up more than you usually would for a beach party. Create a beach vibe with the outfit you wear. Look for light fabrics in complementary beachy colours of pale blues and greens. Go bold with exotic orange, yellow or bright jewel colours. An ikat print, floral or tie-dye dress will look chic and stylish. Try patterned palazzo pants with a simple silky camisole, or plain palazzo pants with a patterned top work just as well. 

Remember to colour-coordinate with several other outfits when thinking about tops to wear to the beach. Black or white are standard choices for every suitcase but pick a pop of colour that goes with your shorts or skirts to be a bit bolder. 

Tops come in many styles and designs, from halter necks to off-shoulder designs. If you want to be modest in what to wear to the beach, you can layer pieces, like a cute cardigan or a pretty wrap. Alternatively, wear a cropped top with sleeves over a thin-strapped dress.

A Beach Wedding

These events call for more dressy pieces than you normally wear to the beach, but you still want to maintain the beach vibe. A midi dress or maxi dress looks fabulous for a daytime wedding or semi-formal beach party. A jumpsuit or wide-leg trousers paired with a fabulous top are also on the list for what to wear to a beach wedding. 

Pair your outfit with wedges so it’s easy to walk on sand if necessary. Also, some weddings—especially destination weddings—actually take place on the beach, so heels definitely won’t work. Alternatively, ballet flats or sparkly sandals would look good. A summery bag and hat will complete your outfit. Look for one that’s easy to pack if you’re flying to your destination, and add a fresh flower to it for the wedding.

Finding What To Wear To Go To The Beach

Going to the beach is a fun activity and a chance to wind down and relax. Keep deciding what to wear to the beach a pleasant experience too. Check out the NA-KD collections for some stunning fashionable beachwear and accessories.