Warmer weather is finally here. Which means it’s time to stock up on summer staples like sunblock, shorts, and bathing suits to enjoy some fun in the sun. If your child has outgrown last year’s suit, you’re probably already shopping.

But before you click “add to cart” on whatever color catches your eye, there’s one factor most parents don’t think about: how that suit looks underwater. Because color perception changes significantly beneath the surface, and in an emergency, those few extra seconds it takes to spot your child can matter enormously.

Related: 5 water safety tips to share with all your kids’ caregivers this summer

ALIVE Solutions Inc., an aquatic safety group founded by a longtime lifeguard and drowning investigator, put swimsuit colors to the test in both lake water and pool water — and their findings may change how you shop.

Swimsuit color tests

The lake test

Swimsuit-color-test-underwater-lake
ALIVE Solutions Inc.

In the lake test, neon yellow, green, and orange fared best. Most other colors practically disappeared.

“We placed each color on the surface (first row images), second row images were from shore level perspective, and third row are from a slightly elevated perspective — simulating standing on a boat/dock view,” ALIVE Solutions noted.

One finding worth flagging for families who split time between the pool and open water: neon pink, which performs well in pools, does not hold up in lake or river water. The cloudier conditions of natural water wash it out significantly. For lake days, stick to yellow, green, or orange.

The pool test

Swimsuit-color-test-underwater-pool
ALIVE Solutions Inc.

In the pool test, the team compared photos of the swimsuit colors both still underwater and with surface agitation simulating a child kicking or struggling.

Again, neon colors like pink, orange and yellow stood out most clearly.

The best color swimsuit for lake water and pool water

Both tests, lake water and pool water, confirmed that neon colors were most visible under 18 inches of water. The bottom two performers in both environments were white and light blue — colors that don’t just blend in, but can actually be mistaken for a cloud reflection, a shadow, or a pile of leaves on the pool floor.

“Our bottom two colors are white and light blue (check out how they disappear) and our top choices would be neon pink and neon orange,” ALIVE Solutions explained. “Although the darker colors show up on a light pool bottom they can often be dismissed for a pile of leaves, dirt, or a shadow so I tend to stay away from those colors when possible.”

Related: A drowning investigator’s plea to parents about water safety goes viral

What about patterned suits?

ALIVE Solutions also tested patterned swimsuits and found that patterns — even bright, busy ones — reduce visibility compared to solid neon. The pattern breaks up the outline of the child’s body underwater, making it harder to identify quickly. If you’re choosing between a neon solid and a neon print, the solid is the safer call.

Why the swimsuit color test matters

According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1–4 in the United States, and rates have been rising — toddler drowning deaths increased 28% between 2019 and 2022. Most childhood drownings happen quickly and silently, which is exactly why visibility aids like suit color, paired with active supervision, matter.

As ALIVE Solutions founder Natalie Livingston, who has spent years investigating drownings, puts it: “As a drowning investigator, you hear so many people say they saw something underwater, but they dismissed it because they thought it was a shadow, or a towel, or a pile of leaves. Having a bright color can make a person look twice.”

That said, suit color is a supplement to supervision — not a substitute for it. “The bright and contrasting colors help visibility,” ALIVE Solutions notes, “but it doesn’t matter what color your kids are wearing if you aren’t supervising effectively and actively watching.”

A version of this post was published May 28, 2021. It has been updated.