Agua Bendita Pareos and Cover-Ups: The Coleccionista Edit and How to Tie Them

An Agua Bendita pareo is a printed beach wrap from Agua by Agua Bendita, cut in mini, midi and maxi lengths from pure linen and a cotton and silk voile, and made in Colombia to match the swim of the same print. The Resort 2027 pieces sit in our designer sarongs and cover-ups and on the Agua by Agua Bendita brand page, and our guide on how to tie a sarong covers the knots that work with all of them.

Key facts

• The Agua by Agua Bendita Coleccionista collection for Resort 2027 includes five pareos: two Lavanda midis, the Luna and Arte minis and the Tierra maxi.
• The Lavanda pareos are 70% cotton and 30% silk voile in one size; the Luna, Arte and Tierra pareos are 100% linen in sizes XS/S and M/L.
• The Tierra Castillo Pareo Maxi is the only new Agua pareo finished with hand-embroidered florals.
• The house care label for Agua pareos says dry clean, while the matching swim is hand wash only.

Coleccionista, the Spanish word for collector, is the house’s Resort 2027 collection, and it brings five new pareos in its three prints: Nostalgia, Isolda and Castillo. This guide covers the lengths, fabrics, sizes, knots and matching swim. For the full collection, start with our Agua Bendita Coleccionista Resort 2027 edit.

What is a pareo?

A pareo is a rectangle of cloth wrapped around the body and knotted at the hip, the waist, the chest and the neck. The word comes from Tahiti, and the garment belongs to Polynesian dress; the sarong is the Malay and Indonesian equivalent, which is why the two names are used almost interchangeably on the beach today. One length of fabric becomes a skirt, a dress and a halter top depending on where the knot sits.

Agua by Agua Bendita takes that idea and builds it out in its own fabrics. The house, founded in 2018 by Catalina Alvarez and Mariana Hinestroza as the luxury line of Agua Bendita, works in hand-illustrated prints, hand embroidery and natural fabrics. Three of the new five are sized to the body like a skirt, which matters for fit.

The Coleccionista pareos, piece by piece

1. Lavanda Nostalgia Pareo Midi

The Lavanda Nostalgia Pareo Midi is cut from a 70% cotton and 30% silk voile in the rose pink colourway of the Nostalgia print. Voile is a light, sheer plain weave that lets the air move through it. It comes in one size.

2. Lavanda Isolda Pareo Midi

The same Lavanda midi in the cream Isolda colourway, again in cotton and silk voile and in one size. A pale voile shows the swimsuit beneath it, which is the point when the top and the pareo share a print.

3. Luna Nostalgia Pareo Mini

The Luna Nostalgia Pareo Mini is pure linen in the bottle green Nostalgia colourway, and it is fully lined. Linen is woven from flax fibre, breathes well and creases in use, and the lining gives the mini more body and more cover than a single layer would. It comes in paired sizes, XS/S and M/L.

4. Arte Isolda Pareo Mini

The Arte Isolda Pareo Mini is the navy counterpart: pure linen, fully lined and sized XS/S and M/L.

5. Tierra Castillo Pareo Maxi

The Tierra Castillo Pareo Maxi is the longest of the five, in pure linen in the rose pink colourway of the Castillo print, and the only new pareo finished with hand-embroidered florals rather than a printed pattern. It is sized XS/S and M/L, and it suits a beach club afternoon and a boat day.

6. Gema Nostalgia One Piece

To match the Lavanda Nostalgia midi, the Gema Nostalgia One Piece is the rose pink swimsuit in the same print, with a round neckline, an American-cut leg and a full lining.

7. Ebano Isolda One Piece

The Ebano Isolda One Piece in deep navy pairs with the Arte Isolda mini. It has a demi-cup neckline, an American-cut leg, hand-embroidered florals and a full lining, in 81% recycled polyester and 19% elastane.

8. Durazno Castillo One Piece

The Durazno Castillo One Piece is the rose pink partner to the Tierra maxi, with a straight neckline and hand-embroidered florals of its own.

9. Tierra Navegante Pareo Midi

From an earlier Agua collection already at Coveti, the Tierra Navegante Pareo Midi is the same Tierra name at a midi length, for anyone who wants the shape without reaching to the ankle.

10. Gesto Andes Kaftan

If a wrap feels like too much knotting, the Gesto Andes Kaftan is the house’s slip-on alternative, also already at Coveti.

Agua Bendita pareos compared

Source: the Agua by Agua Bendita product pages, care labels and size chart, read by Coveti Editorial on 8 November 2026.

Linen against voile: which Agua pareo should you choose?

The fabric decides more than the print does. The two Lavanda midis are voile, a fine sheer weave in cotton with silk, which lifts in a breeze and lets the swimsuit show through. They are one size because a voile rectangle is wrapped and knotted, and the knot does the fitting. Choose voile for heat and for packing light.

The three linen pareos behave more like skirts. Linen has a drier, firmer hand than voile, it holds the shape of a knot and it creases in a way most people come to like on holiday. The Luna and Arte minis are fully lined, so they read as opaque, and all three come in paired sizes. Reading those sizes against the house body chart, XS/S covers a 65 to 70 cm waist and 90 to 95 cm hips, and M/L covers a 75 to 82 cm waist and 100 to 107 cm hips. Choose linen when the pareo has to go from the beach into a restaurant.

How to tie and wear an Agua Bendita pareo

The knots are the same ones used for any sarong; our step-by-step on tying a sarong has the detail. These are the ones that suit each Agua length:

• Hip knot, for the minis and midis: wrap the cloth around the hips with the print facing out, take the two top corners to one side and knot them low on the hip. The opening falls at the side of the leg.
• Waist wrap, for the Tierra maxi: wear it at the natural waist like a long skirt, with the Durazno one piece underneath and flat sandals.
• Halter dress, for a one-size voile Lavanda: hold the cloth behind you at chest height, cross the top corners in front and tie them behind the neck.
• Over a matching top: pair a mini with the bikini top in the same print, and the set reads as a two-piece outfit at a beach bar.
• Off the beach: a linen mini with a cotton shirt knotted at the waist works for lunch in town; see how to wear a wrap skirt.

For wider browsing, see our beach cover-ups guide, beach cover-up dresses, designer beach bags and wide-brim straw hats.

Matching the pareo to the swim in the same print

Every Coleccionista print runs through both the swim and the pareos, so a full look in one print is simple to build. In Nostalgia, the rose pink Lavanda midi sits with the Gema one piece, and the bottle green Luna mini with the Nopal bikini bottom. In Isolda, the cream Lavanda midi matches the Zucchini top and Melocoton bottom, while the navy Arte mini matches the Ebano one piece, the Primavera top and the Magenta bottom. In Castillo, the rose pink Tierra maxi pairs with the Durazno one piece. All the swim is 81% recycled polyester and 19% elastane, fully lined, a fabric that holds its shape and dries fast. Our Agua Bendita swimwear guide covers every piece, and embroidered bikinis explains the hand-worked tops.

Care differs between the two halves of the outfit. The house labels the pareos dry clean. The swim is hand wash only, never wrung and never dry cleaned, and the house asks you to keep sunscreen off the fabric, since chlorine, salt and sunscreen all wear down elastane. Rinse the swimsuit in fresh water after each swim.

Wearing an Agua pareo around the world

In the Caribbean and Latin America, including Cartagena, where the house has a store in the historic centre, the voile Lavanda midis suit the humid heat best, and our guide to what to wear in Cartagena covers the town. In Florida and California the linen minis cover the beach to lunch routine. In the UK and northern Europe, where a beach day can turn cool, a lined linen mini gives more warmth than voile. Across the Mediterranean the Tierra maxi suits a boat day.

In the Gulf, the Tierra maxi gives the most cover at a hotel pool and on a yacht, and the cooler winter months are the main beach season there. For packing lists, read what to pack for a beach vacation and cruise outfits.

Agua Bendita pareo sizing

Agua by Agua Bendita cuts in letter sizes from XS to XL. On the house body chart an XS fits an 84 cm bust, 65 cm waist and 90 cm hips, and an M fits a 94 cm bust, 75 cm waist and 100 cm hips. The brand offers no advice to size up and none to size down, so take your usual size; the models on the product pages are 177 and 178 cm tall and wear an XS. Full charts are in our Agua by Agua Bendita size guide. The two Lavanda voile pareos are one size. The Luna, Arte and Tierra linen pareos come in XS/S and M/L, so take the pair that holds your usual letter size, and check your waist and hips against the chart if you sit between the two pairs.

Frequently asked questions

What is an Agua Bendita pareo made of?

The Coleccionista pareos are cut from two fabrics: 100% linen for the Luna mini, Arte mini and Tierra maxi, and a 70% cotton and 30% silk voile for the two Lavanda midis.

What is the difference between a pareo and a sarong?

Both are rectangles of cloth wrapped and knotted around the body. Pareo is the Tahitian name and sarong the Malay and Indonesian one, and on the beach the two are used for the same garment.

How do Agua Bendita pareos fit?

The Lavanda voile pareos are one size and are fitted by the knot. The linen Luna, Arte and Tierra pareos come in paired sizes, XS/S and M/L, read against the house body chart.

How do you tie a pareo as a dress?

Hold the pareo behind you at chest height, cross the top corners in front and tie them behind the neck as a halter.

Can you wash an Agua Bendita pareo?

The house care label for its pareos says dry clean. The matching swim is the opposite: hand wash only, and never dry clean.

Does each Agua pareo have a matching swimsuit?

Yes. Each Coleccionista pareo shares its print and colourway with at least one swimsuit, such as the Tierra Castillo maxi with the Durazno Castillo one piece.

Read next: Agua Bendita swimwear, Beach cover-ups, Agua Bendita size guide.

By Coveti Editorial. Updated 8 November 2026.