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01A number on the fabric, and what it is not

Ocean Blues UPF 50+ Swimwear

The four pieces cut in a UPF 50+ fabric: the long-sleeve boyleg athletic suit, the long-sleeve molded-cup zip suit, the eight-inch pocket board shorts and the three-inch high-waisted swim shorts.

  • 4 styles
  • 14 colourways
  • S to 4XL size run
  • $9.49 to $34.99

Colourways on this page: Black, Paisley Floral, Navy Blue, Neon Striped, Color Block, Sky Blue, Blue Leaf, Colorful Blocks, and 6 more.

UPF is to fabric what SPF is to sunscreen, and UPF 50 means the dry fabric lets two percent of ultraviolet, UVA and UVB both, through to the skin it covers; it is the lowest rating the Skin Cancer Foundation puts its seal on. Four Ocean Blues pieces are cut in a fabric with that number: two long-sleeve zip suits, one with a built-in bra and a boyleg and one with a molded cup and an underwire, and two pairs of board shorts, the eight-inch with a pocket and the three-inch high-waisted. Together a suit and a short cover from the wrist to mid-thigh.

What the number does not cover is the rest of you and the rest of the day. It says nothing about the hands, the face, the neck or the legs below the hem, where the American Academy of Dermatology still wants a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, and a fabric that is wet or stretched loses some of its rating and turns more transparent. The strongest sun in the continental United States falls between ten and four in daylight saving time, and shade at noon does more than any suit. A UPF suit is the piece for a long day on the water; it is not a reason to skip the rest.

Every colourway here is priced on its own; the Ocean Blues range keeps the figures current and the till is what decides.

02About these pieces

Questions about Ocean Blues UPF 50+ Swimwear

A number on the fabric, and what it is not

Does Ocean Blues UPF 50+ swimwear work when it is wet?

Less well than dry. The Skin Cancer Foundation says stretched or wet fabric loses some of its protection and turns more transparent, and gives a white T-shirt as the example, about UPF 7 dry and 3 wet. A rated swim fabric starts far higher, so it keeps most of its cover in the water, but the number on the card is the dry number. Sunscreen under the suit for a long swim is not a bad idea.

Do you still need sunscreen with an Ocean Blues UPF suit?

Yes, on everything the suit does not cover. The American Academy of Dermatology wants a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher on uncovered skin even under protective clothing, and the Skin Cancer Foundation says to reapply every two hours and straight after swimming. Water-resistant labels hold for forty or eighty minutes in water, not a day.

Which Ocean Blues pieces carry the UPF 50+ fabric?

Four: the long-sleeve boyleg athletic suit, the long-sleeve molded-cup zip suit, the eight-inch pocket board shorts and the three-inch high-waisted swim shorts. The surf rash guard, the third long-sleeve suit, does not carry the rating, and no bikini top, tankini or bottom does. The card prints UPF 50+ where the product data has it and nowhere else.

03Nearby

Where people go next

Every Ocean Blues size, every colourway

Every size, colourway and set in the Ocean Blues range sits behind this button, with the price from our last update against each one.