Water Shirts

If the tight fit of a swim shirt is not for you, try a water shirt, a loose fitting swimming pullover which feels good and looks great on shore or in the water, both wet or dry.

Water shirts are similar to swim shirts but loose fitting for extra comfort in hot weather. They keep you fresh and cool when wet.

UV protection is safer and easier with long sleeves and matching pants. They stretch four ways, are soft and dry fast.

Loose Fit for Comfort

The loose fit allows for more ventilation on land than tight swim shirts, but causes a little bit more drag when swimming. The "T-Shirt Style" has become very popular, derived from swim shirts for maximum UV sun protection. You can wear it for extended periods on the beach, in the pool or water park, or anywhere you or your children are outside and need sun protection.

Hot Weather

One question we often get:
"Will long sleeves make me too hot?"

The answer is that long sleeve water shirts are no hotter than short sleeve shirts when you are in the water because you will feel the water temperature.

However, at the end of the day, your arms won't be sunburned. Another advantage of long sleeve rashguards is that you can stay cooler when wet out of the water.

The longer sleeves give you more wet surface to evaporate and cool your body. They also provide better sun burn protection.

Holiday Outfit

Combine your water shirt with jeans or lightweight cargo pants into a stylish and casual amphibian outfit for warm climates like Thailand, where swimming in clothes is the expected norm.

This is really comfy and dries quickly, so you can jump into the water whenever you want and still look good at the beach side restaurant.

Reader Comment

All Day Long

by Tom, Galway, Ireland (while on holiday in Thailand)

The loose fit of water shirts and pants is great in hot weather when you go into the water often. These are my favourite swimming clothes. They dry so quickly I can keep them on when I come out of the water. The soft fabric feels good on the skin when dry and even better when wet.

All summer long and on holiday I wear water shirts with matching loose fitting pants or jeans for full sun protection. If I get too warm I simply jump into the water to chill a bit.

As I come out of the water, these wet swimming clothes keep me fresh for a short while. When they dry and I get too warm, I just get them wet again in the pool or under the shower. Great stuff for your holidays.