What to pack for Tularosa Swim: fewer pieces, chosen so they work together rather than separately. Pack for the thing you will do most often, not for the one memorable evening. Fabrics that recover from creasing matter more than weight when the case is small. Underwire and real cup sizing are the only things that give actual support. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is bust support, leg line and fabric weight. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: THATS SO FETCH's Liza Bikini Bottom - Black at $23, and Isabel Marant's SICILYA SWIMSUIT at $350. The first is the easy entry point; the second is where the money goes. Anything under about 18 per cent elastane will go slack after a season. Underwire and real cup sizing are the only things that give actual support. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Buy the cover-up at the same time or you never wear the swimsuit off the sand. From the second group, Felina's Signature Cotton Bikini 5-Pack ($25) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, coats and jackets, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 pieces here from 15 brands, $15 to $350, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. Summersalt's The Tie Marina Bikini Top - Gingham in Cloud at $15 is the low-risk way in, and Isabel Marant's SICILYA SWIMSUIT at $350 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On tularosa swim specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: one considered purchase beats three hedged ones.