Waterlust swimwear

Waterlust makes swimwear that prioritizes sun protection using recycled polyester blended with spandex. Their prints are inspired by conservation projects in the Southeastern United States, with 10 percent of profits going to causes related to the inspiration behind each print. Each piece is made in Guatemala.

The Repreve-spandex fabric feels high quality and provides UPF 50+ sun protection, the highest rating possible. For me, this translates to skipping sunscreen application wherever I have coverage from their fabrics and still avoiding sunburn. Ultimately, even with the creation of “reef safe” sunscreens that exclude chemicals known to adversely impact reefs, mineral sunscreens that rely on particles of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide that have the ability to block light by coating surfaces probably aren’t that great for reefs either. Covering up as much as possible has greatly reduced the amount of sunscreen I consume. I’ll be monitoring wear to make sure I don’t rely on them for sun protection once the fabric starts to thin or otherwise wear out too much.

The product description says that the fabric is “mechanically engineered for quick dry, moisture wicking and breathability,” and this is true as far as I can tell. Even though the fabric feels like it has a sturdy weight, it dries fairly quickly, feels like it wicks moisture, and is very comfortable to wear, even in the summer heat. I tried another popular recycled water bottle fabric and didn’t like how it felt. I like this Repreve fabric much better and can’t really tell that it’s polyester from the feel of it.

I found the fabric to be opaque and squat proof, but note that because of the way the fabric is knit, the fabric ‘separates’ a little when it is stretched beyond a certain amount. The fabric is only printed on its unstretched surface so when it stretches past a certain point, unprinted white fabric between the printed rows of fabric are visible but opaque. You might be able to avoid this overstretching effect by sizing up.

I ordered a few of their pieces and found that while sizing may vary a little between styles, overall the size chart was accurate enough such that exchanges were unnecessary. I thought the leggings ran slightly small, the 8 inch shorts ran slightly larger than the leggings, and the reversible top ran true to size. The bottoms were tag free and the top had an innovative tag that tore completely, cleanly off! The leggings have a raw hem which is supposed to prevent water from bubbling up your legs. So far, I’ve found this to be true, which is rather amazing! The inner leg seam has bar-tacks stitched across the seam at two inch increments so you can cut the inseam between 23 and 31 inches without the inseam unraveling.

I like that the fabric is also supposed to be sun and chlorine resistant and look forward to testing this out over time.