String Bikinis: What to Know Before You Buy
A string bikini ties instead of fastening. The top is built from triangle panels that tie at the neck and back, and the bottom closes at the hip with a tied string rather than a sewn waistband. Girlie Vault sells that build three separate ways. String Bikini Tops alone, String Bikini Bottoms alone, and a String Complete Set that puts both pieces in a single listing, one print, one size, one order.
If you already know you want the tied, minimal-coverage cut and you're deciding between ordering pieces or the set, this is the guide for that decision. It covers what a Complete Set actually includes and what changes about sizing when the two pieces ship together. It also covers what the size range printed on the label really covers before you buy.
What Girlie Vault's String Complete Set Actually Is
Girlie Vault's String Complete Set is its own collection of 134 products. It shares no listings with the standalone String Bikini Tops or String Bikini Bottoms collections, 134 products apiece in their own right. Buying from one doesn't give you access to prints from the others; a Complete Set print exists only as its own top-and-bottom listing.
Every Complete Set is built the same way regardless of print. The top carries removable padding and ties at the neck and back; the bottom closes with a side tie instead of a single pull-on waistband. Both halves are cut from soft recycled polyester with double-layer construction and UPF 50+ sun protection.
The size chart itself is also more common here than on the pieces sold alone. Only 9 of the 134 standalone String Bikini Bottoms listings carry a size guide at all, and just 3 of the 134 String Bikini Tops do. The Complete Set carries one on 124 of its 134, the one place on this line where a buyer is actually likely to see printed measurements before ordering.
One Size Decision Instead of Two
Because the top and bottom sell as a single product, they also size as a single product. One Size selector covers both halves at once, instead of choosing a top size and a bottom size on their own. That's a real trade against buying the pieces individually.
Girlie Vault's own two-piece guide walks through why sizing a top and bottom independently is normal and often useful. A Complete Set trades that flexibility for a single decision and a single listing to check before you order.
What you gain in return is simplicity at checkout. One product photo to compare against what you actually want, not two separate print listings to line up by eye. The Chill Confidence String Complete Set is a straightforward example: one page, one photo, top and bottom shown together before it goes in your bag.
The Size Guide's Real Ceiling
Sizing on a Complete Set is one decision rather than two, and the range is straightforward:
- Every print runs XS through 2XL, so the print you want and the size you need never pull against each other.
- One letter buys both halves, so there is no top size to reconcile against a bottom size.
- The set is printed once you order it, so the colourway you pick is made rather than pulled off a shelf.
That single letter is the one thing worth thinking about before you order. If your top and bottom sizes usually differ, the pieces sold separately are the better route. A Complete Set commits you to one letter for both halves, which is simpler to order and less forgiving if you are between sizes.
Worth checking the dropdown on the print you want, since four of the 134 stop a size lower than the rest.
Sun Protection and What Else Is on the Label
UPF 50+ is consistent across the entire Complete Set line, all 134 listings, not a claim limited to a handful of prints. That rating describes the fabric at rest. A wet or stretched suit lets more UV through than the dry number suggests, so sunscreen underneath is still worth doing on a long beach day.
A few other things Girlie Vault states on every Complete Set page, worth knowing rather than discovering after your order arrives:
- A visible stitch can show at the bottom's crotch seam, a normal result of the two-layer construction, not a defect.
- The brand's own care note asks for a rinse in clean water right after wearing it, ahead of any chlorine or salt buildup, to help the print and elastic hold up longer.
- The top's padding is removable, so the cup shape isn't fixed if you'd rather wear it without.
That habit applies to the whole set at once, since both pieces come from the same order and see identical wear.
Verify the Print Before You Buy
One more thing worth doing before you order: look at the actual photo, not just the print's name. Names on this line don't always describe the color you'll get.
- Ombre Black Leopard Print: despite "Black" in the name, the print photographs as a pink-and-lavender leopard-spot pattern with teal accents, nothing black about the ground color at all.
- Grey Heart: the heart half of the name is real. A large heart outline sits across the back of the bottom, filled with paisley scrollwork and dark navy dots, and the same motif breaks up the top panels. The grey half is not: both pieces read steel blue.
That's two prints out of 134, and the name doesn't always match the photo elsewhere on this line either. A Complete Set is a single photographed listing rather than two prints you're trying to match by memory. Checking the actual image before you order takes the same effort as checking a size chart.
Once color and size both check out, the String Complete Set collection is where every print lives on one page. Easier to compare there than hunting through the standalone tops and bottoms separately.
Your Top String Bikini Questions, Answered
What Is a String Bikini?
A string bikini has thin ties instead of a fixed band. Triangle panels form the top, tied at the neck and the back, and the bottom secures with a tie at each side rather than closing as a single waistband. Those ties set the actual fit, not a fixed size.
How Should a String Bikini Fit?
The top should sit smooth against your chest with no gapping under the arms, and the bottom should feel snug at the hip without cutting in. Retie either side to adjust. Constant readjusting while standing still means a tie change, not a different size.
Are String Bikinis True to Size?
Ties make a string bikini more forgiving than a fixed-band style, since you set the final fit yourself. Girlie Vault's own Complete Set runs true to its printed chart within the sizes it actually sells. That's XS through 2XL on nearly every print, not the larger range on the bullet point.
Is a Matching Bikini Set Better Than Buying Separates?
Neither is better outright. A matched set means one size decision and one listing to check, simpler at checkout. Buying pieces separately costs more attention, but it lets you size the top and bottom independently and mix prints. That's the case Girlie Vault's own two-piece guide makes for going that route.
A Complete Set isn't a shortcut version of buying pieces separately. It's a different decision, one size and one print instead of two, worth choosing on purpose rather than by default. Check the size range it actually sells before you order, since the printed chart runs further than the dropdown does. That gap between the chart and the checkout is the one thing worth remembering about this whole line.
