A regenerated Italian polyamide suit, lined edge-to-edge and finished with elastane for return, is built to outlast a single summer. Whether it does or doesn't comes down to six small habits — none of them complicated, all of them worth the two minutes.
1. Rinse in cool fresh water within an hour of swimming
Salt, chlorine, and the sunscreen you couldn't avoid all break down elastic fibres if they sit in the cloth. Rinse the suit under cool tap water as soon as you're somewhere with a sink — even at the beach club. Don't wait for "laundry day."
2. Hand-wash flat, not in the machine
A washing machine — even on delicate — twists a suit's panels against each other and snags the lining. Soak in cool water with a teaspoon of gentle detergent (not regular laundry powder, not fabric softener). Press the suds through the cloth with flat palms for thirty seconds. Rinse twice.
3. Never wring it out
Squeezing the water out the way you'd wring a dishcloth permanently distorts the panel cut. Lay the suit flat on a dark towel, roll the towel up like a sleeping bag, and press down with both hands. The towel absorbs everything.
4. Dry flat, in shade
Direct sun fades pigment in a single afternoon — particularly on deep blacks and saturated tones. Dry the suit flat on another dry towel, in a shaded, well-ventilated spot. Indoors is fine. Avoid hanging by the straps; the wet weight pulls the shoulders out of shape.
5. Tumble dryers will kill it
Heat is the single fastest way to retire a swimsuit. The dryer's drum melts the elastane micro-bonds that give the suit its return — once it goes through one cycle, it never quite holds the body again.
6. Pack it dry
If you're moving between locations during a trip, let the suit dry fully before folding it into a bag. A damp suit pressed against itself for six hours grows mildew that smells like the inside of a hire car.
One more thing
Two suits, rotated, last roughly three times as long as one suit worn daily. The elastane needs a full day to recover its shape between wears. It is, genuinely, the cheapest performance upgrade you can give yourself.
Shop our one-pieces and bikini sets. All Palma Riviera swim is cut from a regenerated Italian polyamide blend with the same care guidelines above.