• See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source

Every summer is good for celebrity swimwear watching, but this has been a bumper year for observing the A-list on the beach … and on the yacht, at the bar, poolside.

We've had the Beckhams on board Seven for weeks on end, we've had Jennifer Aniston's posse (including Courteney Cox) on their yacht off Mallorca, we've glimpsed the Sussexes on the beach in Portugal, Amanda Holden – fast taking over from Liz Hurley as the most prolific poster of swimwear shots – everywhere, and the cavalcade shows no sign of letting up.

Here's what we've learned, so far, about midlife beach dressing from the most experienced holidaymakers on the planet...

STICK TO THE ONE-PIECE RULES

In celebrity world, the one-piece – if it's glamorous and well cut – occasionally bumps the two-piece off first position.

But competition is stiff out there, so it has to be just right and make the wearer look better than they do in a bikini (see Bella Hadid in her Prada swimsuit).

DON'T: Keep wearing the Past-Its-Best-One-piece. Kate Moss, 52, is currently holidaying off the coast of Formentera near Ibiza and has been pictured diving off a yacht in a plunge-front halterneck black swimsuit – one of at least three that she keeps in rotation. Sadly this one needs retiring soon.

We've all experienced this hazard of the favourite one-piece: getting stuck in the used-to-be-great, now past-its-best swimsuit that no longer does the contouring and containing job it once did perfectly. It happens to the best of them, eventually, especially if you don't rinse them and dry them carefully (fairly sure Kate is not big on swimwear maintenance); they end up losing their shape and stretch and become gappy on the legs, clingy on the stomach and generally saggy. All the worst enemies.

DO: As Goldie Hawn, 80, has been doing this summer and wear your favourite black one-piece with a sarong knotted around the hips. It's the baggy legs that are the very worst and this solves that in an instant, plus covering any tummy bulge.

DON'T: Keep wearing the Past-Its-Best-One-piece. Kate Moss, 52, is currently holidaying off the coast of Formentera near Ibiza and has been pictured diving off a yacht in a plunge-front halterneck black swimsuit

DO: Bella Hadid was spotted living fearlessly aboard the luxury superyacht Seven Sins as she launched herself into the ocean during a day off the French Riviera

MAX YOUR COVER-UP

We live in sun-damage-aware times and however good you want to look, there are times when you need that extra bit of cover.

This is what rash vests are made for, or beach cover-ups, or a light, long-sleeved shirt. If you improvise you tend to look like someone at the Ryanair check-in who has been forced to wear some of the contents of their suitcase to reduce the weight of their luggage.

THE RASH VEST ALTERNATIVE

DON'T: Do as Katy Perry, 41, did at Les Palmiers beach club in Saint-Tropez, when she wore what looked like an oversize crochet scarf to protect her chest and shoulders from the sun (particularly necessary if you're wearing a strapless swimsuit).

Example B is Jennifer Aniston, 57, who opted to wear her long-sleeved grey rash vest draped over her front, arms hanging down the back – perfectly practical, we've all done it when we feel our chest starting to burn – but certainly not glamorous. A fine cotton white shirt to match her soft white cotton shorts would have been much prettier.

DON'T: Do as Katy Perry, 41, did at Les Palmiers beach club in Saint-Tropez, when she wore what looked like an oversize crochet scarf

DO: As Eva Longoria, 51, did in what is the top fashion cover-up of 2026 – wear a check bikini under a matching long, check shirt and shorts

DO: Wear a long-sleeved shirt and shorts (aka 'co-ords'). Better still, do as Eva Longoria, 51, did in what is the top fashion cover-up of 2026 – wear a check bikini under a matching long, check shirt and shorts. The new fab four-piece.

THE GLAMOUR MAXI

DO: Channel Liz Hurley. She's 61 and still breaking all the rules of grown-up bikini wearing – this month she's been pictured wearing a mint halterneck bikini with chain-link bikini bottom sides (even less wearable than string bow-tied).

Needless to say she looks as amazing as ever but, note, these days you will find her mostly wearing a light and breezy cover up over her bikinis.

The one she's wearing here is a classic Hurley cover-up: open, split to the thigh, sheerish and floaty, so it doesn't appear to be covering up much at all, but crucially it's long (short offers no protection) and loose and provides just enough camouflage where you need it.

The issue – as everyone who has worn a bikini over 50 knows – is not so much how you look straight-on, as what occurs when you move about. The drape of an open, sheerish cover-up blurs your silhouette and gives as much protection as you want it to.

DON'T: Get carried away and wear your floaty beach cover-up over a matching swimsuit in the manner of Tess Daly, 57. And don't pop it on over tailored shorts. The rule is swimwear underneath only. Ideally skip the heels too.

DO: Channel Liz Hurley. She's 61 and still breaking all the rules of grown-up bikini wearing – this month she's been pictured wearing a mint halterneck bikini

DON'T: Get carried away and wear your floaty beach cover-up over a matching swimsuit in the manner of Tess Daly, 57

THE MATCHING SARONG

Another glamorous alternative is the sarong/long wrap skirt that's made to match your bikini, but this is a three-piece that has to be handled with caution. It can look dowdy, especially in black, and because the fabric is stretchy it isn't always flattering.

DON'T: Opt for a too small cover-up. Katy Perry, back in July, in the South of France again, wore a chocolate-brown, halterneck bikini with matching sarong – but the trouble with this is it didn't sit right and it was pulled too tight, so one leg was permanently on show. With a sarong you want full coverage with room for movement or it's not enough protection (for lunch in Saint-Tropez's exclusive Le Club 55) and it doesn't create a flattering line below the waist.

DO: As Goldie Hawn does and wrap around a fabric sarong tied high on one hip.

AND DO WEAR BIKINIS

The bikini versus one-piece debate continues (should you over 50? Can you ever over 60?) but the fact remains that there are celebrities with bodies that look just as good in bikinis as they did 20 years ago – maybe better.

There are however a couple of golden rules for bikini wearing post-50, even if you have a body that could make the cover of Sports Illustrated.

BOTTOM BALANCE

The picture of Jennifer Aniston doing plank exercises on her yacht holiday made headlines because she's as fit as she was in the days of Friends, but had she known she would probably have opted for a neat pair of fitted bikini bottoms, not the soft, foldover sort.

DON'T: Opt for messy, unstructured bottoms. And if you are wearing a thong bottom, or any XS style, make sure your top is not two tiny triangles on a couple of strings (Eva Longoria got the memo).

DO: Wear a wide-brimmed hat. If you look at pictures of Longoria in her orange bikini her straw hat brim is more or less the width of her shoulders which balances out the micro bottoms, and at the same time makes her look more elegant and much less exposed. Magic.

DON'T: Opt for messy, unstructured bottoms. PictureD: The American Actress Jennifer Aniston enjoying a sun-soaked summer getaway in Mallorca, Spain

DO: Wear a wide-brimmed hat. If you look at pictures of Eva Longoria in her orange bikini her straw hat brim is more or less the width of her shoulders which balances out the micro bottoms, and at the same time makes her look more elegant and much less exposed. Magic.

DO: As Amanda Holden, 55, did and match a floral bikini with sporty drawstring mini shorts in the same colour and keep a fraction of the bikini bottom on show

THE DOUBLE BIKINI BOTTOM

Well, it's really shorts worn over bikini bottoms, but the sort of relaxed short shorts you only wear as an extra layer over your bikini bottoms to feel a bit more covered when you're moving around – plus they're very flattering.

DO: Do as Amanda Holden, 55, did and match a floral bikini with sporty drawstring mini shorts in the same colour and keep a fraction of the bikini bottom on show. That's the look. The alternative is soft, almost sheer, cotton pull-on shorts, like Jennifer Aniston's.

DON'T: Wear smart tailored shorts over a one-piece – as Tess Daly has been pictured doing. Sorry Tess.