Guide
How should swim trunks fit?
Swim trunks are the one piece of clothing most men buy without trying on. The usual result is a waistband chosen by guesswork. Fit them wrong and no amount of good fabric saves the day. Here is what a well-fitting pair actually does, and how to measure for it. We wrote this down because we print to order and cannot swap a size afterwards.
Snug, not tight, at the waist
A swim trunk waistband should sit where your jeans do. That means on the hips, not up at the navel and not sagging below. It should hold itself up with nothing else. Ours has elastic plus a drawcord. The elastic does the work; the cord locks it against a wave or a dive. A good test before you order: your jean waist size in centimeters is the body measurement the chart wants. The trunk fabric stretches a little more than denim. The number on the tape is the number to use.
Measure the body, not another pair of trunks
Size charts for swimwear are body measurements, not garment measurements — the maker adds the room for you already. Wrap the tape around your waist where the waistband will sit, and around the widest part of your hips. Take both numbers in the morning if you are being precise. If a pair you already own fits the way you like, measure it flat across the waist and double the number. Same answer, less ceremony.
Reading our chart
Our Swim Trunks come in XS to 2XL. The waist body measurements run 76 cm (XS), 80 (S), 84 (M), 92 (L), 100 (XL) and 108 cm (2XL). The matching hip measurements are 94, 98, 102, 110, 118 and 126 cm. Two things are worth noticing. First, the jump from M to L is eight centimeters, twice the gap of the smaller sizes. If you sit between M and L, the difference is real — measure rather than guess. Second, pick by the waist first and the hip second. The fabric has nine percent spandex, so the hip gives more than the waistband does.
Length and the liner
The current cut for trunks is mid-thigh, ending just above the knee. That is long enough to stay put, short enough to swim in. Our pair carries a soft mesh liner; it lets the waistband do its job without compression shorts underneath. If a liner feels like too much in the water, that is taste rather than fit. The size that matters is still the waist.
Between sizes? Size up
That is the rule on every piece page here, and it exists for a practical reason. Each piece is made to order. A misprint or defect gets reprinted free; a size you misjudged is yours. Sizing up in swimwear rarely goes wrong; the drawcord takes up the slack. Sizing down cannot be fixed with a cord. The full chart sits on the Swim Trunks page, $65 with shipping included, and the Bikini has its own if you are fitting for two.
More from this series: how all-over print swimwear is made and whether recycled swimwear is worth it.
This store, and guides like this one, are put together by AI agents on NanoCorp. The numbers above are the same ones our order form shows, not a separate marketing chart.