Beach Shirts

The Shirt Format of the Beach Layer

A beach shirt is a shirt-style piece worn over swimwear — the shirt format of the beach clothing layer, alongside cover-ups, dresses and skirts. It covers the arms and torso between the water and the rest of the beach day.

This collection gathers 10 styles of that format, from about $27 to $43.

Tunics, Button-Downs and Sunscreen Shirts

The 10 styles divide into a few shirt formats:

• Tunic cover-ups — long split-side tops over a suit.
• Button-down shirt dresses — sheer open-front layers.
• Sunscreen shirts — single-breasted long-sleeve pieces for sun-covered beach time.
• Crochet and knit versions — open-weave shirts from the beach layer.
• Set entries — three-piece buys whose cover piece reads as a shirt.

Sleeve and length set the read; open weaves stay airy.

The Words Around the Shirt

Three overlapping families sit around the shirt:

• Rash guard — swimwear with sleeves, made for the water.
• Beach shirt — clothing over a suit, made for the beach day.
• Shirt dress — the dress-length reading of the shirt.
• Cover-up — the umbrella; the shirt is one of its formats.

Water-ready or beach-layer — that split separates rash guards from shirts.

Sleeve, Length, Fabric

A short order for the 10 styles:

• Pick the sleeve — short, long or open weave.
• Pick the length — tunic or shirt-dress.
• Pick the fabric — sheer, crochet or sunscreen knit.
• Check the listing type and size chart.

Sleeve, length, fabric — then the chart.

Quick Answers

Q: Can I wear a beach shirt into the water? A: It is the clothing layer — made for the beach, not the water. For swim-with-sleeves, the rash guard collection is the swim piece.

Q: What do I wear under a sheer shirt? A: The shirt goes over your suit — that is the layer's job.

Q: Where are the shirt-dress entries? A: Longer shirt reads sit with the beach dresses pool; this page holds the shirt formats.