THE CÔTE D'AZUR SWIMSUIT

The Riviera never treated a swimsuit as beachwear. On the Côte d'Azur it was the outfit, worn from the morning swim to a late lunch on a terrace with nothing changed but a pair of sunglasses. That is the whole idea behind French Riviera swimwear: a piece cut so well, in a colour so sure of itself, that you never feel underdressed walking off the sand. This is a guide to choosing that swimsuit.

If you want the finishing touch afterwards, the jewellery, read Gold, the Riviera Way. Here we start with the swimsuit itself.

What makes a Riviera swimsuit

Three things, and none of them is a trend. A clean line that flatters rather than reveals. A colour drawn from the coast, terracotta, deep navy, the white of a hull. And a fabric with enough weight to hold its shape from the first swim to the last. Riviera swimwear is quiet. It does the work without asking for attention, which is exactly why it always looks expensive.

The one-piece, the Riviera's signature

If you buy one thing, make it an elegant one-piece swimsuit. The Grace Swimsuit is the Riviera in a single piece: a high-cut leg, a clean neckline, a colour that reads against tanned skin from across a pool. Worn under linen trousers or a shirt left open, it becomes a bodysuit and carries straight into the evening. The Cannes Swimsuit does the same in a softer register.

The bikini, done with restraint

The Riviera bikini is never busy. A triangle or a clean band, one considered colour, nothing that competes with the setting. The Brigitte and the Azurée are cut in exactly that spirit, the sort of cote d'azur bikini style that looks as right on a boat as it does walking into a beach club. Restraint is the point. The tan and the light do the rest.

How to choose a swimsuit that flatters

Start with the neckline, not the trend. A scoop or a soft V lengthens; a high leg lifts. If you are between a one-piece and a bikini, choose by the day, not the body: the one-piece for the long lunch and the evening swim, the bikini for the towel and the sea. And buy the colour you reach for in your wardrobe already. A flattering swimsuit for the beach is simply the one you feel unbothered in, so you forget you are wearing it.

The golden pieces that finish the look

A Riviera swimsuit wants almost nothing with it, only a warm line of golden jewellery-toned jewellery on bare skin. A Corail Necklace, a Coralie Anklet, a pair of Étoile studs, and the look is done. We go deeper on styling the jewellery in Gold, the Riviera Way, and you can see the full À La Riviera capsule together.