Anne Cole

If you want the coverage of a one-piece with the freedom of a two-piece, the tankini is exactly what Anne Cole set out to invent. The label introduced the silhouette in 1998 precisely for women who wanted modesty and comfort without giving up style, so a well-fitting Anne Cole tankini delivers on the brand's original promise. Most shoppers find the support and flattering shaping make it a confident, repeat-summer buy.

Anne Cole has been shaping American swimsuits since the 1950s, and that long practice shows in the support, shirring and fit that reviewers tend to praise. The construction holds up season after season for most wearers. As with any swimwear, check the size chart for your specific style and rinse a new suit before its first long wear to keep the color looking fresh.

Reach for an Anne Cole tankini when you want mix-and-match flexibility and easy bathroom breaks, since the tank-style top pairs with a bikini bottom. Choose a one-piece when you prefer maximum coverage and a streamlined look for swimming or water sports. Anne Cole designs both with shaping details, so the decision is really about how much coverage and versatility you want.

Yes. Anne Cole introduced the tankini in 1998, pairing a tank-style top with a bikini bottom, and the brand is most known for this invention. Its success spawned a whole family of derivative styles, including the camikini, with its camisole-like straps, and the strapless bandeaukini. So when you buy an Anne Cole tankini, you are shopping the label that created the category.

The Scandal Suit is a one-piece designed with mesh inserts, and it made history as the first swimsuit to break $1 million in sales, back in 1964. It is one of the designs that built Anne Cole's reputation decades before the tankini arrived. The suit captures the brand's knack for turning a daring idea into a genuine commercial milestone.

Anne Cole (1926–2017) was an American swimwear designer who began working in sales and marketing for Cole of California, her father Fred Cole's knitwear company, in 1951. After decades of designing women's swimsuits, she launched her own eponymous label, Anne Cole Swimwear, in 1982. She is best remembered for inventing the tankini in 1998.

Yes, Anne Cole is an American swimwear brand with deep roots in mid-century California. It grew out of Cole of California, the knitwear company founded by Anne Cole's father, Fred Cole, before becoming its own eponymous label in 1982. That heritage of American swim design is central to the brand's identity.

During the Cole of California era, the brand attracted some of Hollywood's biggest names, including Esther Williams, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. That glamorous following helped establish Anne Cole's pedigree in American swim design long before the tankini. It is a heritage the modern label still carries.

Yes. In 2021 the brand expanded beyond the pool and beach into ladies' activewear with Anne Cole Active. It was a natural step for a label whose swimwear has always balanced support with ease of movement. If you like the fit of the swim line, the activewear is built on the same instinct.

Anne Cole Swimwear is currently owned by InMocean. The label continues under that ownership while keeping its focus on the swim designs the brand is known for. So the name you see on a current suit carries forward the heritage that Anne Cole herself built.

Swimwear selection is widest from late winter into spring, when new-season styles and sizes are freshly stocked, so that is the moment to grab the cut and color you want most. End-of-summer is the classic window for picking up remaining stock once ranges thin out. Whichever you choose, buy the size your style's chart recommends rather than chasing a number.