Sandhya Garg — Style Guide · Updated October 2026
The Kaftan Cover-UpPool to Lunch to Dinner
How to wear it · Kimonos · Winter-sun packing · 8 pieces to shop · By Sandhya Garg, Project Runway designer
Quick Answer
To wear a kaftan cover-up from pool to dinner, choose one that is opaque at the body and long enough to stand alone as a dress. Wear it over your swimsuit at the pool, belt it with flat sandals for lunch, then swap the swimsuit for a slip and add heels and earrings for dinner.
- Pool: a kimono you can throw on wet, or a short kaftan over a one-piece
- Lunch: belt it, add flat leather sandals and a straw bag
- Dinner: a maxi kaftan in satin or embroidered georgette, with a block heel
- Fabric: cotton for daytime, georgette and viscose satin for night
- Kimono vs kaftan: a kimono opens at the front; a kaftan pulls on like a dress
A kaftan cover-up is the hardest-working piece in a vacation suitcase, and the most underrated. I design mine as the outfit you wear all day, which happens to work over a swimsuit too. You can see the whole range in my swimsuit cover-ups and beach kaftans.
I trained at London College of Fashion and at Alexander McQueen before Project Runway Season 13, and I grew up in India watching my mom and aunts embroider by hand. Both of those show up in how I cut a kaftan: generous through the body, with the print and the handwork doing the talking. Below: how to wear one from the pool to lunch to dinner, and what to pack for a winter-sun trip this December through March. If you want the dress edit rather than the how-to, I already wrote five kaftan-style dresses worth owning.
In This Guide
- What is a kaftan cover-up?
- Why the kaftan is the piece to pack this winter
- How to wear a kaftan cover-up from pool to lunch to dinner
- Shop the edit: kaftans and kimonos
- How to wear a kimono cover-up
- Kaftan cover-up dos and don’ts
- Packing for winter sun: Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii and cruises
- Shop by occasion
- Frequently asked questions
What is a kaftan cover-up?
A kaftan cover-up is a loose, straight-cut garment with wide sleeves that you wear over a swimsuit. It hangs from the shoulders instead of following the waist, which is why it feels cool in heat and covers without clinging.
The word gets used loosely, so here is how I sort them in my own studio. A kaftan is closed and pulls on over the head, like a dress with a neckline and big sleeves. A kimono opens down the front and wraps or ties, like a robe. A wrap kaftan sits in between: the volume of a kaftan with the open front of a kimono. And a kaftan dress is the same shape cut in a fabric heavy enough, and a length long enough, to wear to dinner without anything else.
A thin polyester cover-up does one job. A kaftan in a real print, in cotton jacquard or embroidered georgette, does three, and it is the reason I can pack for a week in a carry-on. [SANDHYA: add a real trip where one kaftan did the pool, lunch and dinner in a single day.]
Why the kaftan is the piece to pack this winter
Because the magazines have spent the whole year pulling it off the beach and into real life.
In June, Vogue’s shopping team called the caftan this summer’s nostalgic comeback and argued it is no longer just a throw-on cover-up. Their favorite new way to wear one is as a dress over pants, and they put it plainly: caftans are “at their core, a maximalist addition to any wardrobe.” Vogue’s swimsuit cover-up guide makes the same point from the other side, with printed caftans for heading back to the hotel and breezy dresses that go from the beach to a cliffside restaurant.
Who What Wear listed it in August among the autumn trends making a comeback, channeling Lee Radziwill and the Halston set, now in thicker fabrics and cooler-weather prints.
Resort 2027 lands in stores now
This is the part that matters for a December trip. Resort collections stay on the sales floor longer than any other season, as Vogue Runway noted in its Resort 2027 trend report, where color came through “sour and sweet, pastel and saturated” in unexpected combinations. WWD’s Resort 2027 contemporary roundup, timed for holiday shopping, saw billowy sarongs and caftans in Kobi Halperin’s look book, alongside butter yellow, bubblegum pink, lavender and pistachio across New York’s contemporary labels. And British Vogue’s winter-sun beach outfits, published in October, makes the case for prints, cocktail colors, dramatic accessories and layers for cooler evenings. A kaftan is all of those things in one piece.
How to wear a kaftan cover-up from pool to lunch to dinner
Same piece, two changes: what is underneath and what is on your feet. This is how I plan a resort day.
Pool · 10am to 1pm
Swimsuit underneath, flat sandal
Anything that dries fast and goes on wet. A kimono is easiest because it opens at the front. The Mor wrap kimono is knee-length, in soft organic cotton with tassel details.
Lunch · beach club or terrace
Belt it, add leather
Tie the waist, swap rubber sandals for leather ones, and add a straw bag. A short kaftan over a one-piece reads as a dress at a lunch table. The Morris wrap kaftan in cotton jacquard is cut for exactly this beach-to-bar stretch of the day.
Dinner · sunset and after
Slip or bodysuit, heel, earrings
Change what is underneath, not the kaftan. A maxi in viscose satin or embroidered georgette with a block heel goes anywhere with a tablecloth. The Duchess red kaftan has a waist tie and a side slit, so it walks well on a terrace.
My rule: if a kaftan only works over a swimsuit, it is a towel with sleeves. Before you buy one, ask whether you would wear it to lunch with nothing underneath but a slip. If the answer is yes, it will earn its space in your suitcase. For the dress-code side of that lunch, see my guide to resort casual attire.
Shop the edit · Kaftans and kimonos
Eight cover-ups that go from pool to dinner
Every print on this page is one I designed myself. Sizing is listed on each product page.
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How to wear a kimono cover-up
Open over a swimsuit at the pool, tied at the waist over a slip for lunch, and loose over a plain dress or white trousers in the evening. A kimono is a layer, and that is its whole advantage.
Over a swimsuit, open
Let it hang loose and let the sleeves move. A floor-skimming kimono over a one-piece is one of the most glamorous pool looks there is, and it takes four seconds. The BellaDonna kimono in printed georgette is gathered along the waist, with fuchsia and marigold fringe on the hem and cuffs.
Tied, as a dress
Wrap it, tie it and wear it as the outfit. This works best with a wrap kaftan that has enough fabric to overlap, like Morris or Mor, over a bodysuit or a fitted cami.
Over a dress, for evening
A sheer embroidered kimono over a solid slip dress is an easy dinner trick. It adds pattern and handwork without adding weight, and you can carry it if the night is warm.
Over denim, back home
I designed the Elyse kaftan to go over a swimsuit or over denim. A kimono is the one vacation piece that does not stop working when you land. My kimono cover-ups all layer this way.
Kaftan cover-up dos and don’ts
Most of what goes wrong with a kaftan comes down to fabric and what is underneath. Here is the short list.
✅ Do
01 · Choose the print first
A kaftan is a big, simple shape. The print is the design, so pick the one you love and let the cut follow.
02 · Pack a slip
A slip or bodysuit in a color from the print turns a sheer kaftan into a dinner dress in thirty seconds.
03 · Check it in daylight
Hold it up to a window before you travel.
04 · Define the waist when you want to
A tie or a belt. A kaftan lets you choose where the eye lands, and that choice can change by the hour.
❌ Don’t
01 · Wear a bikini to the restaurant
Under a sheer kaftan at a dinner table it looks like you forgot to change. Swap it for a slip.
02 · Buy one that smells of plastic
Thin polyester cover-ups trap heat and cling when damp. Cotton and georgette breathe.
03 · Wear rubber flip-flops to lunch
Leather or raffia sandals cost you nothing in comfort and change the whole outfit.
04 · Pack only neutrals
A beige cover-up disappears against sand. Resort dressing is the one place everyone expects color, so wear it.
Packing for winter sun: Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii and cruises
December through March is cover-up season for anyone escaping winter, and a kaftan solves the hardest part of packing for it: one piece covers the day and the evening. This is how I would build the suitcase.
Mexico · Cabo, Tulum, the Riviera Maya
Bold print, day to night
Beach clubs at lunch and long dinners outdoors. Pack one printed kaftan for lunch and one maxi for night, like the Taj. More ideas in what to wear in Cabo.
Caribbean · island hotels
Kimono plus a slip dress
Pool days and hotel restaurants. A kimono over a swimsuit by day and over a slip at night does double duty. My beach dresses pair with both.
Hawaii · resort and lanai dinners
Cotton by day, satin by night
Breezy evenings by the water. A cotton wrap kaftan for the day and a viscose maxi kaftan with a light layer for dinner.
Cruise · deck to dining room
A dressier kaftan for formal night
A kaftan over a swimsuit on deck, then a satin or embroidered maxi for the dining room. My resort evening wear covers cruise formal nights.
For a full list, my beach and resort packing list goes piece by piece, and the best beach outfits for before and after the swim covers what to wear on the sand itself. The Taj, Duchess and Espana kaftan dresses come in XS to 3XL; the kimonos and wrap kaftans are one size, cut generously. Everything ships from Scottsdale within 1 to 3 business days.
From the Designer
“A cover-up should be beautiful enough that you forget there is a swimsuit underneath it.”
Sandhya Garg · Project Runway Season 13
Shop by occasion
Frequently asked questions
What is a kaftan cover-up?
A kaftan cover-up is a loose, straight-cut robe or dress with wide sleeves that slips over a swimsuit. It drapes from the shoulders rather than following the waist, so it lets air move and covers you without clinging. The good ones work as a dress after you leave the pool.
Can you wear a kaftan cover-up to lunch or dinner?
Yes, if you choose the right one. For lunch, a kaftan that is opaque at the body works on its own with flat sandals. For dinner, pick a maxi kaftan in viscose satin or embroidered georgette, add a heeled sandal and earrings, and swap the swimsuit for a slip or bodysuit underneath.
What is the difference between a kimono and a kaftan?
A kimono opens at the front and ties or wraps, like a robe, so you wear it as a layer over something. A kaftan is usually closed, a pull-on dress shape with a neckline and wide sleeves. A kimono is the easier one to throw on wet.
What do you wear under a sheer kaftan?
At the pool, your swimsuit. Away from it, a slip dress or a simple bodysuit in a color pulled from the print. A sheer georgette kaftan over a matching slip looks deliberate; over a bikini at a restaurant table it looks like you forgot to change.
Do kaftans suit every body shape?
They are one of the easiest shapes to wear well. A kaftan skims instead of clinging, and a waist tie or a side slit lets you decide where to draw the eye. Choose the print you love first; the cut is generous enough to follow. My kaftan dresses come in XS to 3XL.
What should I pack for a winter-sun trip to Mexico or the Caribbean?
Two swimsuits, one kimono for the pool, one kaftan you can wear to lunch and one dressier kaftan or maxi for dinner. Add a light layer for breezy evenings, flat sandals, one heeled pair and a wide-brim hat. That covers a week of beach days and dinners.
Project Runway Designer · Original Prints · Made in Small Batches
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You Might Also Love
- 5 Kaftan-Style Dresses for Women (2026 Edit)
- The Best Beach Outfits for Before and After the Swim
- What to Pack for a Beach & Resort Vacation
- What Is Resort Casual Attire?
- What to Wear in Cabo
Sources: Vogue, caftans in the city · Vogue, swimsuit cover-ups · Vogue Runway, Resort 2027 trends · British Vogue, winter-sun beach outfits · WWD, Resort 2027 contemporary trends · Who What Wear, autumn comeback trends
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