If you can’t go nude, at least get a decent suit

LOS ANGELES - The great cover-up is on, and it happened almost overnight: Spas - the last accepted venue for public nudity - have become discreet.

Unfortunately, most swimwear is designed for swimming in cool water, not sweating in a steam room. And who wants to immerse a beautiful, expensive suit in hot, chlorinated water instead of strutting it on the beach? If modesty is the new spagoing rule, then the challenge is to find a "spa suit," something discreet and durable that's also engineered to take the heat. Ordinary suits often don't stand up to the test.

Chemicals, steam and lotions quickly can fade fabrics and destroy stretch fibers. Suits with thick and heavy fabrics are too hot for the sauna, and the powerful jets of hot tubs can blow a bikini or tankini top right off your body. No one ever wants to be the subject of that water cooler banter.

A few brands are beginning to make suits that offer fabrics engineered to maintain color, shape and stretch. We tested a few in a variety of spa environments, even wearing them for a few trips down a 100-foot pool slide. Here's what we learned:

The Ultimate

Reebok has answered the needs of spa customers with its Water Fitness collection, a group of suits, $70-$80, made to withstand the rigors of aquatic exercise. The Xtra Life Lycra and the new Endurotex fabrics are said to extend the life of the suit by resisting chlorine, holding color, retaining shape and offering UV protection.

In our trials of a $78 tank suit, the fabric featured excellent breathability, stretch and support and a fast drying time. The built-in bra cups added shape and style. Most impressive, the light but supportive Silver Lining added a reassuring list of features: Silver particles woven into the lining claim to fight fungus and bacteria and minimize the acrid, chlorine odors. This suit also fit the best and became the go-to favorite.

The Athletic

Speedo, outfitters to dozens of Olympic swimmers, has your back - and front, too. The company has collaborated with experts in physiology, biomechanics and computational fluid dynamics (who knew?) to build top-tier suits for serious athletes.

For the rest of us, they've applied the lessons to Endurance+, a new chlorine-resistant fabric that the company claims can last up to 20 times longer than ordinary synthetics.

We put a T-back tank, the Side Splice Endurance+, through its paces. The $84 suit, made for water exercise and swimming, offered the best overall stretch and support of the three. The fabric also felt thicker. Engineered to stay put, the suit didn't budge, even when hitting the water after the intense water slide.