Melissa Odabash is a good example of a designer who solved her own problem. She was scouted as a young woman in her New Jersey hometown, worked as a swimwear model in Italy, and launched her label in 1999 because she wanted swimwear she would wear herself. The first collection was simple solid-colored bikinis, and it grew from there into a London brand with flagship boutiques in Notting Hill and Chelsea. Vogue once called her designs the Ferraris of the bikini world, and the MBE she received in 2021 was for services to international swimwear fashion. The fabrics are fine Italian swimwear fabrics, and she personally conducts multiple fittings before each launch, which is the part I find most reassuring. The first group starts with the one-pieces: the Panarea, the Rio ribbed swimsuit, the Nevada and the Cozumel and Corfu bandeau styles. Bikini bottoms come in the St Kitts, Juno, Bel Air and High Summer Bel Air cuts, so you can mix shapes with a top you already love. For the walk from the sand to lunch, there is the Sara mini shirtdress cover-up, the Winnie cotton and linen cover-up and the Ashley scalloped-hem cover-up. If you like to read how a swim label grows, the story of Monday Swimwear is a good companion.

Beachwear arrived later in the story, inspired by her mother's 1970s crochet pieces, and you can see that memory in the Remi striped crochet mini dress and the Coco open-knit mini dress. The Carlotta ornate kaftan and the Anais embroidered midi kaftan are the long, easy covers, and the Naomie strapless cotton jumpsuit works as a resort outfit in one piece. Broderie anglaise shows up in the Colette minidress and the Larna midi dress, while the Reagan eyelet button-front mini dress is the same idea with buttons. The prints are where the archive-inspired side comes through, from the Micha floral off-shoulder mini and the Lenni pineapple mini to the Sage leopard, Electra and Skylar tie-neck maxis. The Briony laser-cut maxi and the Finola waffle-knit mini add texture. A simple test for a cover-up is to hold it to the light: if you can see your hand through it, wear a swimsuit underneath that you love. For a dress that does the same work in town, a vacation dress guide has more shapes, and an island wedding dress code shows how color plays outdoors.

The bikini tops are the other half of the founding idea: the Brussels underwire halterneck, the High Summer Bel Air underwire top, the Juno triangle, the Bel Air and the Menorca lamé. Then come the shirts, which are good for sun and for evenings. The Elena loose-fit cotton shirt and the Elena crochet oversized shirt, the Leona crinkled cotton button-down, the Millie shirt and the Ariel belted printed shirt are made to be worn open over swimwear or buttoned with shorts. The Daria chevron knitted shirt and the Polly pointelle cotton cardigan are for cooler nights by the water, much like the layers in a camel quarter-zip edit. What I would skip is wearing the lamé Menorca top under a bright printed shirt, because both want attention; let the lamé stand alone or choose a plain white cotton shirt.

The last group is the easy bottoms. The Helena pointelle cotton shorts and the Abbie relaxed-fit cotton shorts are the casual pair, and the Abbie cotton muslin shorts are lighter. Wrap skirts do the dressier work: the Danni pineapple wrap, the Danni lizard wrap and the Winnie draped wrap-front skirt in cotton and linen. The High Summer Shiloh printed maxi skirt carries the archive print idea to the hips, and the Olivia chevron knitted wide-leg pants match the Daria shirt for a full set. Pair the shorts with a bikini top from the group above and the wrap skirts with the cotton shirts, and one small pile covers a week away. A useful fit test for a wrap skirt is to sit down in it before you commit, since the front should stay closed when you move. All of these fit the packing list in a designer vacation wardrobe.

My Melissa Odabash plan would be a solid bikini, one wrap skirt and a loose cotton shirt, with a kaftan for the first night. Her mother's crochet inspired the beachwear and Italy shaped the fabrics, so the clothes still feel like a personal wardrobe. I would pack three pieces that mix, keep the prints to one, and let the fabrics do the talking. In our fashion dreams she walks from the pool to dinner without changing much at all, which is the point of the brand.

If you want to keep going, Karla Colletto Swimwear and BONDI BORN Swimwear and Dresses pair well with this edit.