The Best Men’s Swimwear for Summer, From Tailored Classics to Bold Prints
From Saint-Tropez classics to art-world collaborations and the return of the swim brief, these are the trunks worth packing this season.
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In 1971, a photographer named Fred Prysquel started screen-printing sea turtles onto cut-down military surplus trousers in Saint-Tropez and accidentally created Vilebrequin. The idea was simple enough: make swimwear a little more fun, a little more glamorous, and a lot more French. For a while, it worked. Men bought trunks the way they bought sunglasses or linen shirts, as part of a summer life they aspired to rather than one they already had. Then came the long reign of the board short. For the better part of two decades, beaches from Malibu to Mykonos were filled with knee-length nylon banners flapping around men's shins. Most were too long, many were too loud, and nearly all looked as though they had been purchased with about 30 seconds of consideration. Somewhere in the process, swimwear became one of the few categories in a grown man's wardrobe where taste seemed optional.
That has changed. Hemlines have crept steadily upward. The best trunks now borrow their proportions from tailoring, their fabrics from performance gear and their details from clothing designed to be worn somewhere other than a pool deck. Even the swim brief, long confined to competitive swimmers and Europeans with a higher tolerance for public scrutiny, has worked its way back into circulation. Scandalous cuts aside, any good swimsuit should dry before the check arrives, sit properly at the waist and survive the transition from swim platform to lunch without looking as though you've forgotten to get dressed. Of course, the right pair depends on where it's headed. The restrained solids that disappear effortlessly into a beach club in Saint-Tropez can feel strangely timid on a boat in the Cyclades or a weekend in St. Barths, where a little color earns its passage. What matters is that the choice exists again. The 22 styles below are proof that men's swimwear has become a discerning piece for the first time in years.
The Best Men’s Swim Trunks
- CDLP Swim Brief Box Cut
- Thom Sweeney Swim Trunks
- Orlebar Brown x Automobili Lamborghini Bulldog
- Bather Over-Dyed Indigo Swim Trunk
- Brioni Printed Swim Trunks
- Yuasa Classic Swim Brief
- Sunspel Striped Swim Trunks
- Vilebrequin x Fabrice Hyber Pescador Moorea
- Tom Ford Straight-Leg Mid-Length Dégradé Swim Shorts
- Paul Smith Dual-Toned Striped Swim Shorts
- Gucci GG Poplin Swim Trunks
- Loro Piana Bay Mid-Length Swim Shorts
- Hartford Classic Swim Trunks
- Frescobol Carioca Salvador Swim Shorts
- Fedeli Madeira Printed Straight-Leg Swim Shorts
- Etro Printed Swim Trunks
- Charvet x Thorsun Large Paisley Swim Shorts
- Zegna Rio Swim Shorts
- Sundek Washed Nylon Taffeta Swim Shorts
- Commas Lunar Botanica Classic Swim Short
- Oas Elowen Swim Shorts
- Sid Mashburn Zip-Front Standard Swim Shorts
CDLP Swim Brief Box Cut
The Stockholm label built its name on treating swimwear like fine tailoring, and the Box Cut is its sleeper—a square-cut that lands somewhere between a brief and a short, cut low and clean in recycled Econyl. It's the rare suit that flatters the confident swimmer without tipping into Speedo territory, and it packs flat enough to forget you brought it.
Thom Sweeney Swim Trunks
The peach color is what catches the eye first. Not orange, not pink, but that narrow slice of the spectrum the Italians seem to understand better than anyone. Thom Sweeney leaves everything else alone and lets the shade carry it. Pack them for a week on the Amalfi Coast, and you'll find yourself reaching for them long after you're home.
Orlebar Brown x Automobili Lamborghini Bulldog
Orlebar Brown's breakthrough was simple: treat a swim short like a pair of trousers. Two decades later, the formula still works. Lamborghini's hexagonal graphics give this version some visual speed, but the real selling point remains the side adjusters, which keep everything sitting properly long after most drawstrings have surrendered.
Bather Over-Dyed Indigo Swim Trunk
Most swimwear is designed to look the same on Labor Day as it did in May. This pair takes the opposite approach. Hand-dyed with madder root alongside Toronto artist Jefford Lam, the color is intended to fade and shift through the season. By August, it belongs more to its owner than its maker.
Brioni Printed Swim Trunks
Most tailoring houses stumble the moment they wander into leisurewear. Brioni doesn't. The navy-and-white foliage print gives these enough personality to earn a spot in the suitcase, while the whole effect stays unmistakably Roman in its sprezzatura.
Yuasa Classic Swim Brief
The swim brief has spent years trapped between two stereotypes: Olympic swimmer and retired Italian industrialist. Yuasa strips away both. Cut from chlorine-resistant stretch Lycra with a hidden drawstring and a clean, low profile, it's proof that the style works perfectly well for everyone in between.
Sunspel Striped Swim Trunks
While most swim shorts angle to be noticed, these do the opposite. The green-and-white stripe looks lifted from a vintage beach umbrella, and the cotton blend has a softness the technical stuff never manages. For the man whose summer kit already runs to Oxford shirts, espadrilles and a sun-warped paperback, here's the match.
Vilebrequin x Fabrice Hyber Pescador Moorea
This spring's collaboration with French artist Fabrice Hyber—a Venice Biennale Golden Lion winner—scatters a loose watercolor of fish across a pale ground. It's the rare print—antithetical to a gift-shop souvenir, the first of three capsules the house is rolling out through 2027.
Tom Ford Straight-Leg Mid-Length Dégradé Swim Shorts
No one arrives at an $850 swim short by accident. Tom Ford knows that, which is why these lean fully into the fantasy. The hand-painted gradient washes from cobalt into burgundy, while side buckles keep the waist clean and uninterrupted. Excessive? Certainly. Then again, moderation has never been the house specialty.
Paul Smith Dual-Toned Striped Swim Shorts
One leg is striped in orange, the other in blue. On paper that sounds like a terrible idea. In practice, it feels exactly like the sort of visual mischief Paul Smith has spent five decades getting away with.
Gucci GG Poplin Swim Trunks
There are subtler ways to dress for the beach, and Gucci has no use for any of them. The interlocking GG covers nearly every inch of these trunks, turning one of fashion's most familiar logos into pool attire, although the black-and-grey palette pulls it back from the brink.
Loro Piana Bay Mid-Length Swim Shorts
A deep red swim short with a white drawstring is the rare solid that holds up against teak and white linen, which is reason enough to wear one to lunch on the deck before you've been anywhere near the water. The technical shell sheds a swim in minutes, so you can go from the sea to the bar without a clammy walk in between, and there's a Velcro pocket at the back for the room key.
Hartford Classic Swim Trunks
French brands have a habit of making casual clothes feel as though they've already lived a good life. Hartford garment-dyes these trunks, then brushes the fabric until it feels soft enough to suggest years of wear. The result lands somewhere between a swim short and something found in an old photograph of the Riviera.
Frescobol Carioca Salvador Swim Shorts
There comes a point in every man's life when he realizes he does not need another print. Frescobol Carioca built much of its reputation on understanding that moment. The Salvador is cut clean through the thigh, dries quickly and comes in seven colorways that never compete with the scenery.
Fedeli Madeira Printed Straight-Leg Swim Shorts
Up close, the print resolves into a tiny diamond lattice of cobalt, brown and white, the kind that passes for solid navy across a terrace and only reveals its intricacy when someone leans in. Fedeli builds these from its Airstop technical cloth, which beads water and dries on the walk back from the sea, and finishes them with a small fish-shaped carabiner at the waist.
Etro Printed Swim Trunks
Etro has spent decades making the case that a pattern can be sophisticated in the right hands. Tropical motifs tangle with the house's signature paisley over a deep red ground, and the result looks entirely at ease somewhere between Comporta and Bodrum.
Charvet x Thorsun Large Paisley Swim Shorts
Paisley is one of those motifs that spends years looking hopelessly dated before suddenly appearing sophisticated again. This returning collab with swimwear brand Thorsun borrows the pattern from Charvet's tie archives and scales it up dramatically, letting deep reds and violets spread across a dark ground.
Zegna Rio Swim Shorts
Zegna cut these from a paper-dry taupe shell and finished them like trousers, with a hook-and-zip fly and a clean side-tab waist in place of the usual schoolboy drawstring. The neutral is the move, a swim short that disappears under a linen camp collar and carries you from a lounger to a long lunch without a costume change.
Sundek Washed Nylon Taffeta Swim Shorts
Before luxury swimwear became a category, there was Sundek. The California surf brand has been making nylon taffeta trunks since the Eisenhower administration, and this pair feels pleasantly untouched by trend cycles. The garment purposefully welcomes color fading, so it looks lived-in like something pulled from a Ligurian beach attic.
Commas Lunar Botanica Classic Swim Short
Most floral swimwear looks as though it was chosen by committee. Sydney label Commas avoids the trap. White botanical illustrations drift across a dark ground that feels closer to a vintage textile than a tropical print, making this one of the few patterned shorts that improve the longer you look at them.
Oas Elowen Swim Shorts
Cut from brushed quick-dry shell, this pair is splashed with a surreal garden motif that reads art-school sketchbook. The fit is relaxed and straight, with a comfortable mesh lining and an elastic drawstring waistband that doesn’t dig. A hidden zip pocket keeps your room key or card out of the sand.
Sid Mashburn Zip-Front Standard Swim Shorts
Made from a lightweight and quick-drying nylon shell, these streamlined shorts offer a stellar fit, per the American brand’s reputation for sartorial prowess. A standout feature is the drainage hole that prevents waterlogging. Though the Standard model has a 4.5-inch inseam, the style is available in a longer inseam for those seeking more coverage.
