10 Super Helpful, Unique Beach Cover-Up Ideas

By Illustrated by Olivia de Recat
Jul 24, 2017 @ 3:00 pm
Olivia de Recat

Tunics, sarongs, ponchos, kaftans, wraps...call them whatever you want. They're beach cover-ups, and there are way too many options to choose from. We at InStyle.com do our best to narrow down your options, but as shoppers ourselves, we know it can still be overwhelming. That's when a little something called humor comes in handy.

Meet Olivia de Recat, a Seattle-born illustrator and writer who currently works on The Late Late Show with James Corden. She personally has been using a "thick layer of sand as a swimsuit cover-up for 26-years," according to her, so she is the perfect person to ideate on some...alternative approaches to cover-ups.

"Some approach disrobing at the beach with unbridled confidence, others with crippling anxiety," de Recat tells InStyle.com. "In this series, I imagined a less-than-enthused beach goer finding increasingly absurd ways to cover up."

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1 of 11

Squad Floatie

Olivia de Recat

Because floating flamingos aren’t just for the ‘gram.

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2 of 11

Grandfather’s trench coat

Olivia de Recat

For those covert beach days.

3 of 11

Thick layer of sand

Olivia de Recat

Effective, environmentally friendly and free? We’re sold. 

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4 of 11

Wine barrel

Olivia de Recat

Bonus points if you drink the wine first.

5 of 11

Fitted bedsheet

Olivia de Recat

Go from bed burrito to beach bum.

6 of 11

Bearskin rug

Olivia de Recat

They do say that two heads are better than one.

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7 of 11

Extra large box of pizza

Olivia de Recat

How do you get an empty box that big? You’ve got to eat your way there. Win-win.

8 of 11

Extra large paper bag

Olivia de Recat

When you’re super serious about avoiding any and all tan lines.

9 of 11

Fake Picasso painting

Olivia de Recat

Nobody can argue that you’re not a work of art.

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10 of 11

Some guy

Olivia de Recat

We call this one 'making use of your surroundings.' Yeah, that’ll do.

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