Our swim is an investment in thoughtful, heart-forward craftsmanship. 


We take particular pride in making swim that lasts. As @sinquee once posted about her 23-year-old MM bottoms: "There are many miracles out there. This one is the bikini miracle...No other suit can claim this kind of elasticity. I wish I could inject it in my face." 


Swimwear works harder than almost anything in your closet: it has to perform wet and dry, stretched and relaxed, in chlorine and salt and sun, and still maintain the shape and fit you love. We partner with some of the very best mills and factories so every suit rises to the occasion. 


No suit lasts forever - nothing well-loved ever does! It's like the "6 months or 60,000 miles" warranty for a car: the more you wear a garment, the more you expose it to the elements, the sooner it will wear out. (And just like a car that sits untouched in a garage, even a suit tucked in a drawer will naturally age over time!) 


But with a little TLC, your Malia Mills suits will go the distance. We are honored when gals tell us they've passed their beloved suits on to the next generation of hell-yes women.


Here are some of our tips for extending the life of your swim:

WHEN WEARING YOUR SWIM...

•

AVOID EXCESSIVE CHLORINE (ESPECIALLY HOT TUBS!)


We run extensive testing on our fabric to ensure that it can withstand moderate chlorine exposure, but hot tubs and recently shocked pools crank that up to 11 (and add heat and bromine, to boot). These intense chemicals break down the elastane in your suit, thereby losing the ability to stretch & recover.

•

AVOID ROUGH SURFACES.


Rock walls & concrete can snag the delicate fibers of your suit (in the industry we call this "pool abrasion"!)

•

TAKE CARE WITH SUNSCREEN & LOTIONS.


These can be stubborn to wash out. The best play is to slather on your SPF and let it soak in first, then suit up. When reapplying, try to avoid getting it on your swimwear. 

•

ALTERNATE SUITS.


Like us, fabric needs time to fully relax & recover between showtimes. 

Your suit should always be totally dry before putting it back on! 

•

WASH BY HAND - EVERY TIME.


Even if you don't go in the water, your body oils, lotions and sunscreen, and maybe a bit of that margarita are still hanging out on your suit. See our wash instructions below. 

HOW TO WASH YOUR SWIM

1.

HAND WASH ONLY.


Our go-to move is to just hop straight in the shower and lather up, then rinse off. Or you can toss it in the sink for a soak. But definitely no washer/dryer - the agitation and heat will take their toll! 

2.

USE GENTLE SOAP.


Harsh detergents can do real damage to elastane. Stick to mild soaps: anything that's OK for your skin (as long as it doesn't have any oil moisturizing additives, which bind to and coat suit fibers) is A-OK for your suits.

3.

UNHOOK ALL HARDWARE.


When strap hooks stay in the loops, chlorine and salt get stuck there and eat away at the metal. 

4.

LAY FLAT TO DRY.


Hanging your suit causes water to drag down the fabric, adding weight and tension and stretching out the fibers. 

5.

DRY IN THE SHADE.


Just like skin, fabric feels the effects of sun damage - the more a fabric bakes in the sun, the faster it will fade.