These two Saodimallsu pieces would end up in the same beach bag, but they solve different problems. One is a crochet-style cover-up top, an open-knit viscose tunic you pull over a swimsuit or a tank. The other is a high-waisted two-piece bikini with a striped bandeau top trimmed in a double ruffle. If you are packing for a trip and have room in the budget for one new thing, you need to know which of them is the better bet.
The cover-up sells at $19.97 and has 4.4 stars from 1,321 Amazon ratings. The bikini sells at $39.99 and has 4.2 stars from 968 ratings. On paper they are close. In the buyer text they are not.
What decides it is how much risk you can take on fit and hardware. The cover-up has one well-documented habit, it runs large, and one weakness, it snags. Both are easy to plan around. The bikini asks you to pick one size for a top and a bottom that buyers often find fit differently, and a group of buyers report that the clasp at the back of the top broke within a few wears. That is harder to plan around.
Saodimallsu Crochet Cover-Up Top
$19.97at our last price check
Saodimallsu High-Waisted Bandeau Ruffle Bikini
$39.99at our last price check
Two pieces, two very different jobs
The crochet cover-up: a loose tunic full of holes
The cover-up is a pull-on top in an open, crochet-look knit. In the photos the pattern is a lattice of diamond and hexagon shapes with solid bands between them, finished at the hem and cuffs with a narrow ribbed edge. The holes are large enough that you see straight through to whatever is underneath. Every photo shows it over a camisole or a swim top.
Its bullets throw a lot of style words at it at once: "short sleeve", "3/4 length sleeve", "off shoulder", "scoop neck". The detail table settles some of that. It lists a V-neck, 3/4 sleeves and a tunic top style. The photos agree: a wide V at the front, sleeves that end between elbow and wrist, and a body that drops past the waistband of shorts to around the hip. The off-shoulder look comes from the size of the neckline. In the studio shot the model has pulled it to one side so it slides off one shoulder, and the bullets say you can wear it "one shoulder or up".
Sleeves are cut wide, almost a batwing, and the body is boxy. That shape is the reason the top reads as relaxed rather than clingy. It also explains a good deal of the sizing talk later on: a top cut this loose leaves a lot of room before it ever touches you.
Color is harder to pin down. The detail table names the shade Khaki, and the photos show a soft taupe. Buyers mention others. One says "the gray is a silver color which is beautiful and very rich looking", another wore it "Pretty in pink", and a third says "The hot pink gets comments". One buyer liked hers enough to order "3 more in various colors". So there is a spread from neutral to bright, and the neutrals are what you would wear over the most swimsuits.
The ruffle bikini: retro lines, modern push-up
The bikini is a two-piece in a striped fabric. The detail table calls the color Yellow, and the photos show a pale yellow and white pinstripe that reads as tan or butter at a distance. The top is a bandeau, a straight band across the bust, finished with two tiers of ruffle along the top edge. The bottom is a high-rise brief that comes up to the navel in the photos.
According to the bullets, the top has "adjustable padded push up bras" and "removable adjustable spaghetti straps", so it can be worn strapless or with straps. The photos show it strapless. A double ruffle on a bandeau does real work on a small bust: it adds visual volume at the top edge and hides the line where the padding sits.
That back view matters, because the listing contradicts itself about how the top closes. The bullets say "pulls on style". The detail table lists the closure as "Elastic, Push Up". The brand story further down mentions a "buckle closure". In the back photo you can see a fastening at the center of the band, and buyers repeatedly talk about a "back clasp", which is exactly the part they report breaking. We take the buyers and the photo at their word: there is a clasp.
As for the high-waisted bottom, it is cut fairly straight across the leg in the photos, with the side seams curving up toward the hip. That cut is what gives the suit its 1960s look, and one buyer calls it exactly that.
Fabric: viscose openwork against stretch polyester
The two pieces are made of opposite materials, and that shapes everything else about them. Here is what each listing states.
| Spec | Crochet cover-up | Ruffle bikini |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber | 100% viscose | 80% polyester, 20% elastane |
| Stretch | Non-stretchable | Medium stretch |
| Weight class | Lightweight | Medium weight |
| Closure | Pull on | Back fastening (listing says pull-on, elastic and buckle) |
| Fit type on listing | Regular | Stretch |
| Care, detail table | Machine wash | Hand wash only |
| Care, elsewhere on page | Hand wash recommended, machine wash in a laundry bag, no bleach | Brand story says "machine washable" |
| Fit to Size Sentiment | Neutral | Positive |
Viscose is a fiber made from wood pulp. It is soft against the skin, drapes downward rather than standing away from the body, and feels cool, which is why buyers keep using the words "light" and "cool". The listing says the knit has no stretch, so the openness of the stitch is what lets it move. The weakness of a viscose openwork knit is that every loop is a place for a ring, a bracelet clasp or a rough rock to catch. Hold that thought for the durability section.
The bikini fabric is a standard swim blend. Twenty percent elastane is a high share, and it is what lets a bandeau stay up without straps and a high-waisted brief hold its shape on the stomach. The bullets describe it as "quick-drying". Buyers are split on its weight. One calls the suit "lined but still see through". Another says plainly that it is "not nice seersucker material like it appears to be", which suggests the stripe in the photos looks more textured than the fabric feels. Seven of the 16 mentions of fabric quality are negative.
Oddly, the detail table lists the cover-up's season as "Fall", which sounds odd for a beach piece but matches how buyers use it. Several call it a sweater rather than a cover-up, and one says it is "just light enough to give you a cover style but not warm to make you sweat". An open knit in viscose traps very little air, so it reads as a layer without adding warmth. On a cool evening by the water it will not keep you warm. On a sunny afternoon over a tank it will not overheat you.
Fit and sizing
The cover-up runs large
The size theme on the cover-up is the only one of its eight topics where complaints outnumber praise: 80 mentions, 47 negative. Read the excerpts and the complaint is consistent. It comes up big.
| Buyer's own words about size | What they normally wear | What they ordered | How it came out |
|---|---|---|---|
| "5' 3" and 130 pounds" | Medium | Small | "fit much better" |
| "6ft 1 187 pounds" | Size 12 | Large | "a bit big but definitely works" |
| "I wear and 18" | 18 | 2X | "a little oversized", "very flattering" |
| "I am 203 Lbs" | XL to XXL | Large | XL was too big, Large fit |
| "I normally wear a large or extra large" | L or XL | Medium | "It's oversized" and fits |
A pattern runs through them. Several buyers went down one size, one went down two, and they were happy. Only one excerpt goes the other way, saying it "runs a tad small but is ok". Another buyer sized up deliberately "for a baggier look and it worked perfectly".
So how should you choose? If you want the top to sit like the photos, loose but with the shoulder seam near your own shoulder, take one size down from your usual. If you want the off-the-shoulder look the studio photo shows, or you are wearing it as a true cover-up over a swimsuit, your usual size will drape further and slide off a shoulder more easily. Amazon rates the fit to size sentiment as "Neutral", which fits that split: the top fits, just bigger than expected.
There is also a body note in the excerpts. One buyer found it "a little bulky at the waist line". On a boxy knit with no shaping, the hem stands away from the body, and if you are short-waisted the extra width ends up around your middle.
The bikini's top and bottom disagree
The bikini's sizing problem is more awkward, because you buy the top and bottom together. The sizing theme on the bikini runs 14 negative mentions against 4 positive. When you read the excerpts, the complaints point in two directions at once.
| Buyer's report | Top | Bottom |
|---|---|---|
| "the top was just too big and could adjust at all" | Too big | "fit to size" |
| "Top was overly large" | Too big | "fit well" |
| "the top is a little bigger than I expected" | Big | Not mentioned |
| "The top fits perfect, the bottoms are a little small" | Fits | Small |
| "if you have a booty go a size up" | Not mentioned | Small |
| "the leg holes were awkwardly placed and really tight on my thigh" | Not mentioned | Tight at the leg |
Put plainly: the top tends to run large and the bottom tends to run small. That is the worst combination for a set sold in one size, and one buyer says what many must think: "Wish the suit was sold separately". A bandeau that is too big has nowhere to go but down. A brief that is too small cuts in at the leg and the hip.
There are happy buyers too. One is "5'3, about 140#", ordered a medium and calls it "very flattering and comfortable". Another says it "Fits true to size" and "Keeps the girls in check". The fit theme as a whole is positive, 70 of 87 mentions. Amazon labels the fit sentiment "Positive". The people it works for seem to share a shape: a small or moderate bust and moderate hips. One buyer says outright that the top "is flattering for a small bust".
Our reading: if your bust is small relative to your hips, the set is likely to work in your usual size, and if anything you may want to go up for the bottom. If your bust is fuller and your hips narrower, the top is the part most likely to fit, and the high-waisted bottom the part most likely to bind. Either way, order with the return window in mind.
Coverage
Coverage is the bikini's best feature. Buyers say the bottoms "are actually high waist (they cover up my belly button)" and give "great coverage on the booty". One calls it "mom bod approved". Another bought it for a teen daughter and says it is "cute but not revealing". A buyer who usually wears fuller bottoms found them "a little more cheeky than I typically wear", so "full coverage" in the detail table is a relative term. The coverage theme sits at 21 positive against 6 negative.
The cover-up's coverage is the opposite by design. It is see-through. Buyers who wear it off the beach all add a layer: "I wear it over a tank top", "Definitely need to wear something underneath", "I wore a black tank top under it". If you picture it as a sweater for the office, picture the tank under it too.
Bikini buyers describe a particular kind of beach day, and it is a useful clue to who it suits. One says she "wore it all weekend playing with my kids". Another can't wait "to chase my toddlers" in it. A parent bought it for a teenager because it is not revealing. These are people who want to move around in a suit without adjusting it every few minutes, and for them the high waist and the snug bandeau are the selling points. It is less clearly a suit for lying still and tanning, although one buyer says it was "comfortable to lay out in" as well.
Care and how they hold up
The cover-up snags
The care line for the cover-up reads: hand wash recommended, machine washable with a laundry bag, do not bleach. The detail table just says machine wash. One buyer, otherwise happy, adds that it "probably should be washed on gentle or delicate cycle". Use the laundry bag. An open knit loose in a drum catches on zips, hooks and other clothes.
Snagging in wear is the bigger issue. Three separate excerpts mention it: "material snags easily", "it picks easily", and "Snags easily be careful with jewelry". One buyer received a top where the lace "was ripped with a large hole on the side", which reads as a defect on arrival rather than wear. If you wear stacked bracelets or rings with raised settings, expect to pick at it.
Against that, the quality theme is strongly positive, 148 of 166 mentions. Buyers call it "well made", "delicately made", "Good quality and good weight". These are not contradictions. The knit is well made for what it is, and what it is will always be easier to catch than a jersey tee.
The bikini's clasp
The bikini's table says hand wash only, and that is the rule we would follow for any swimsuit with 20% elastane, whatever the brand story says about machine washing. Beyond that one line, the listing gives no care detail.
Durability is where the bikini loses ground. Ten of 14 durability mentions are negative, and the excerpts name one part. "The clasp part on the back broke after only wearing twice." "Back clasp broke after three times of me wearing it." Another calls the back clasp "cheap &flimsy" and says it "doesn't stay together well". A bandeau holds itself up by tension around the ribcage, and all that tension runs through that clasp. When it fails, the top is unwearable.
The other side exists. One buyer has had hers for three years and says "Colors have not faded". Another found "seams look well sewn with no frayed edges". So the fabric and stitching can last. The clasp is the single point of failure, and if yours survives the first few wears it may be fine for seasons.
Straps get a quieter mention. The listing says they are removable and adjustable, and a buyer singles out "that the straps are removable" as a plus. If the bandeau worries you, wearing the straps for swimming and taking them off for photos is one way to hedge, though no buyer says straps fixed a top that was too big.
Color is a smaller trap. Two buyers ordered the colorway listed as "pink" and got red. "It's definitely not pink, it's red." If you want a soft pink, don't count on this listing.
What buyers say
The crochet cover-up
Sixty-eight percent of the cover-up's ratings are five stars and only 8% are one or two stars. Comfort is mentioned 50 times and never negatively. Appearance gets 152 positive mentions against 3. The low ratings in the excerpts come down to size and the occasional snag or hole, which matches the theme counts.
So comfortable, just light enough to give you a cover style but not warm to make you sweat.Amazon buyer
Topic counts as Amazon groups them on the product page, read November 14, 2026.
The excerpts also show how far beyond the beach people take this top. Buyers wear it over a satin dress, over tanks, as something "a little more dressy". One ordered three more colors. For a cover-up, that is a lot of non-swim wear.
Value comes up 45 times, 37 of them positive. Buyers call it "Great value" and "Great sweater at a great price", and one who was unsure at first says that "once you see the detail, you can see that it is worth it". At $19.97, the open-knit detail is what people feel they are paying for, and most think it is enough.
The ruffle bikini
The bikini has 60% five-star ratings and 11% one- and two-star ratings, above the line where we go looking for reasons. The excerpts give three: the top and bottom sizing mismatch, thin or see-through fabric, and the clasp. Appearance, by contrast, is nearly unanimous, 76 of 79 mentions positive.
Hides the areas I feel uncomfortable with, but still allows some skin to show and is so flattering.Amazon buyer
Topic counts as Amazon groups them on the product page, read November 14, 2026.
There is one more positive worth noting because it answers a common worry with bandeaus. A buyer reports that "the top did not slip when I turned over or moved around", and another says "The bandeau style fits tight so it's not going anywhere". When the size is right, the top stays up.
How they compare
Side by side, the two listings look like this.
The competitor search we ran was for women's crochet cover-up tops, so the table below is a fair test of the cover-up. It says little about the bikini.
Prices, ratings and monthly purchase counts as shown on Amazon search results on November 14, 2026. Highlighted rows are the products reviewed here.
Saodimallsu's cover-up holds its own. Its 4.4 stars from 1,321 ratings sit level with Bsubseach (4.4 from 1,890), ZESICA (4.4 from 1,484) and SHEWIN (4.4 from 1,717). HUICHANG rates slightly higher at 4.5, but on 196 ratings. MakeMeChic shows 5 stars from just 6 ratings, too few to mean much. The "Womens Crochet Shrug Y2K Hollow Out Bolero" at 4.1 from 551 is the weakest-rated established listing in the group, and it is a different garment, a cropped shrug rather than a tunic.
What the table can't tell you is which of these tops has the same roomy cut and snag problem. Most open-knit cover-ups share the second issue. If you like this shape, the Saodimallsu has as large a pool of ratings as any in the group and an average to match.
For the bikini, the useful comparison is with your own drawer. If you already own a high-waisted bottom that fits you, the strongest move may be a separate bandeau top, which avoids the set-sizing problem entirely. For more two-piece options, our BMJL swim review covers a sporty high-waisted bikini, and the Pinup Fashion swim review looks at a three-piece bikini and several cover-ups. For a cover-up in a different shape, see the Halife V-neck cover-up.
Which one, for whom
| If you are... | Buy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Packing for a beach trip and want one new piece | Cover-up | Higher rating, fewer failure points, wears off the beach too |
| Self-conscious about your arms | Cover-up | Buyers call it a cover for exactly that, in a light weight |
| Small-busted and want a retro suit | Bikini | Ruffle adds volume, high waist covers the navel |
| Fuller-busted with narrow hips | Neither, or bikini with caution | Top may not stay up, bottom may bind at the leg |
| Wearing heavy jewelry daily | Bikini | The cover-up snags on rings and bracelets |
| Swimming laps or playing hard in the surf | Neither | A single back clasp is the bikini's weak point |
| Between sizes in the cover-up | Size down | Most buyers who changed size went smaller |
The brand pages for each piece are on the Saodimallsu site: the crochet cover-up top and the high-waisted ruffle bikini. More reviews are in swimwear and beach.
Who should buy, who should skip
Buy the cover-up if you want something light to throw over a swimsuit that also works over a tank and shorts in town. Order a size down unless you want it to slide off the shoulder. Skip it if you can't keep jewelry off it, or if you need a top you can wear without a layer underneath.
As for the bikini, buy it if you have a small bust, want genuine high-waisted coverage and like the 1960s stripe-and-ruffle look. Check the back clasp closely after the first few wears, while you can still return it. Skip it if your top and bottom sizes differ, if you dislike thin swim fabric, or if you want a suit that takes rough use.
Verdict
Our pick is the crochet cover-up. It does one job well, its weaknesses are known and manageable, and 84% of the buyers who rated it give four or five stars. We recommend it for beach trips and for anyone who wants an airy layer over warm-weather basics, in one size smaller than usual. We recommend the bikini only if your body matches the buyers it suits, a small bust and moderate hips, and you accept the risk of a fragile clasp. We don't recommend the bikini if you need different sizes top and bottom.
Buy the crochet top, think twice about the bikini
The crochet cover-up is the safer buy: 4.4 stars, few complaints beyond snags and a roomy cut, and it works off the beach as well as on it. The bikini looks good and covers well, but tops and bottoms fit different bodies, the fabric can be see-through, and several buyers report the back clasp breaking within three wears.
- Cover-up: light, airy viscose open knit that buyers wear well beyond the beach
- Cover-up: 4.4 stars from 1,321 ratings, with comfort mentioned 50 times and never negatively
- Bikini: a genuinely high waist that buyers say covers the belly button
- Bikini: double ruffle bandeau that buyers say stays put
- Cover-up runs large; many buyers size down
- Cover-up snags on jewelry and rough surfaces
- Bikini sold only as a set, and tops and bottoms often need different sizes
- Bikini back clasp breaks for some buyers after two or three wears
Best for: The cover-up suits anyone who wants a light, see-through layer for the beach and for tank tops in town; the bikini suits small-busted swimmers who want high-waisted retro coverage.
Skip it if: Skip the cover-up if you wear chunky rings and bracelets daily; skip the bikini if you need a top and bottom in different sizes or a suit that will see heavy use.
Where the numbers come from. Prices, star ratings, rating counts and monthly purchase badges were read from the product pages on November 14, 2026; they move daily. Fabric, sizing and dimensions come from the product specifications. Buyer quotes are Amazon reviews as the product page shows them, linked to the full review where Amazon gives one. See how we review.
