Mom Beach Style Is Taking Over Our Feeds & Our Favorite Movies

A cursory scroll through social media in summer means avoiding Love Island spoilers, seeing how Sabrina Carpenter can out-cute herself, and finding new ways to be jealous of celebrities and friends who are sprawled out on various boats on bodies of water around the world. We do love a good Dua Lipa-endorsed itty-bitty bikini and other sexy takes on swimwear, but for a fresher feel, consider dressing like a mom (or a very stylish French woman) for your PTO this year.

This isn’t a groundbreaking way of dressing, just maybe a reaction to the wee little two-pieces spotted on regulation baddies throughout the Insta-verse. Alexa Chung decamped to the Amalfi Coast and provided the springboard for our reporting, hopping on a boat in a lady cardigan, high-rise swim bottoms, and a head scarf. She also posted snaps wearing lacy Dôen shorts with raffia accessories and a button-down thrown over a simple red ‘kini.

Moms Kylie Jenner and Rihanna are also informants on covering up more whilst poolside, whether in Barbados or Forte dei Marmi. Kylie’s matchy polka-dot set is both innocent and studied, while Ri quirks it up with a bandana and divisive Puma jelly sandals. The key underlying all of these ‘fits is the shed-ability of layers, with at least one screwball accessory to add the necessary question-mark over everything.

Indeed, going down the rabbit hole of more simple-minded (and more conservative) beach fashion led us back to Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Gucci Lido campaign, whose shirt-and-one-piece combination were pulled directly from Jean Seberg’s 1958 Bonjour Tristesse costume. We also admired Chloë Sevigny’s fashionable turn as an icy stepmom-to-be in Durga Chew-Bose’s 2025 update on the same film. Perhaps it’s more fitting to call this an ode to European style, where more is left to the imagination than with a nipple-baring bikini.

So yes, while you’re probably not going to wear a pareo and/or caftan while cruising through downtown Ibiza for a 2 a.m. dancing pitstop, consider the stylistic possibilities of embracing a more mature look when hitting up Kennebunkport, Noto, or whatever beachside locale you’re jumping to before Labor Day. Mature doesn’t mean stuffy, though: Let’s call it “sun-conscious” rather than “modest,” because there’s nothing modest about pattern-clashing and wearing jellies. Embrace your inner Tanya McQuoid, Meredith Blake, or Chung this summer.