What Nobody Mentions About Shopping Peony in Australia

Pointelle has a particular quality in the hand. The tiny open-work eyelets break up the surface of the knit, so the fabric reads as textured and slightly translucent rather than flat, and it moves with the body instead of standing away from it. Peony’s current edit leans on that texture for three pieces in the same Seashell colourway: a midi, a mini and a shift. Together they say a lot about where this Australian swim label is heading. The brand built its name on swimwear, but most of what we’ve curated from Peony this season is dresses. They’re soft, considered, coastal pieces designed to go from the sand to a long lunch without a full outfit change.

Prices in the edit run from $120 for a string bikini top to $460 for the most elaborate midi, with most pieces landing between $300 and $440. That puts Peony at the upper end of the Australian swim-and-resort space. The question for most shoppers isn’t whether the brand is worth it. It’s which pieces earn that price. Here’s our take.

Swimwear Roots, Resortwear Ambition

Peony’s clearest point of difference is how its prints and colourways travel across categories. The same named colourway shows up in a bikini and a dress, which makes the collection feel like a wardrobe rather than a run of one-off pieces:

• Enamour appears in both the Essential String Tri ($120) and the Gathered Midi Dress ($440).
• Provence covers the Panelled Midi Dress ($460) and the Samantha Maxi Dress ($420).
• Gardenia links the Embroidered Midi Dress ($336) and the Embroidered Poets Mini Dress ($304).
• Seashell runs through all three pointelle dresses.

This is where Peony separates from its closest peers. Matteau takes a pared-back, minimalist approach to swim and resortwear: clean lines, solid colours, very little ornament. Solid & Striped is built around graphic stripes and a sporty, preppy beach look. Fella Swim is glamorous and swim-first, with dresses as a side note. Peony sits in a softer, more romantic lane. It uses shirring, gathering, embroidery and draping, and it treats the dress as just as important as the swimsuit. If your holiday wardrobe is mostly dresses with a bikini underneath, Peony is designed for exactly that.

The Essential String Tri is the clearest entry point. At $120 it’s the most accessible piece in the edit and sits comfortably within the Australian swim segment. It’s also the easiest way to try the Enamour colourway before deciding on a matching dress.

A string triangle is the most adjustable bikini shape there is. The ties let you set the coverage and the fit at the neck and back, which makes it a forgiving first buy from a brand you haven’t worn before.

The Dresses Are the Reason to Shop Peony Now

Ten of the twelve pieces in our current Peony edit are dresses, and that’s where the brand’s design voice is strongest. The detailing is specific and intentional. Each dress is built around one technique, whether that’s panelling, gathering, draping, embroidery or pointelle, rather than layering several at once.

The pointelle trio

If one story defines this collection, it’s the Seashell pointelle. The Pointelle Forever Midi Dress ($440) is the hero. The Pointelle Rosie Mini Dress ($380) and the Pointelle Shift Mini Dress ($360) offer shorter, simpler takes on the same textured knit.

Pointelle suits an Australian summer because the open texture keeps it from feeling heavy, and the knit gives you movement without the crumple you’d get from linen. A midi in this fabric works over swimwear at the beach, then with sandals and a woven bag at dinner. If you plan to wear it across a full season of weekends, $440 makes more sense than it does for a dress you’d only bring out once.

Between the two minis, the Shift is the more relaxed silhouette and the lower price. It’s the one to choose if you want the pointelle look in an easy, throw-on shape. The Rosie suits buyers who want a little more shape.

Gathered, panelled, draped

The Gathered Midi Dress ($440) in Enamour is the matching-set play. Wear it over the String Tri and the look is deliberate and polished with almost no effort.

Gathering adds volume and softness, so this is a dress that moves well on a breezy day. It’s a natural pick for anyone who prefers a fuller skirt to a body-skimming cut.

The Panelled Midi Dress in Provence is the most expensive piece in the edit at $460. Panelling is a more structured technique than gathering. Shaping comes from the seams rather than from extra fabric, which gives the dress a cleaner, more tailored line.

If you’re choosing one Provence piece, compare it with the Samantha Maxi Dress ($420). The maxi gives you more drama for slightly less. The Panelled Midi is easier to wear in the daytime and in town.

The Draped Maxi Dress in Claire de Lune is the eveningwear option, currently listed at $384 (full price $480). Draping is the most fluid of Peony’s techniques. It’s the piece to choose for a wedding abroad, a sunset dinner or anywhere the dress needs to do all the work.

The embroidered pair

The Gardenia embroidered pieces are among the more accessible dresses in the edit. The Embroidered Midi Dress is currently $336 and the Embroidered Poets Mini Dress is $304. Embroidery adds surface detail that reads well in photos and up close, and the “poets” styling of the mini points to a romantic, slightly vintage mood. The Amelia Midi Dress in Florentine, also $304, sits at the same level and is a good option for anyone who wants a Peony midi under the $350 mark.

Choosing Well at the $400+ End

Peony’s dresses are priced closer to dedicated resortwear than to swimwear. Four pieces sit at $420 or above, which is above the $100–$300 range most of its swim peers occupy. The aesthetic, the coordinated colourways and the detailing justify that, but it pays to be deliberate. A few guidelines:

• Buy the piece you’ll repeat, not the piece for one event. The pointelle midi and the gathered midi both work in daytime and evening. The draped maxi is more occasion-led, so its current $384 price makes it easier to justify as a special-event dress.
• Use the colourway system. A dress that matches a swimsuit you’ll actually wear gets more outings. Enamour is the easiest colourway to build into a set, starting with the $120 String Tri.
• Treat the swimwear as a statement. The Shirred One Piece in Olivine is $360. That’s a considered spend for a swimsuit and above what Solid & Striped or Matteau typically ask for a one-piece. What you get is texture: shirring adds dimension and a body-skimming fit that a plain one-piece doesn’t have.

Shirring gathers fabric along elasticated lines, so it naturally adapts to the body and adds visual interest through the torso. It suits buyers who want a one-piece that doubles as a bodysuit under a skirt or wide-leg pants. That versatility is how a $360 swimsuit earns its place.

Worth noting: the swim offering in this edit is small, with just the String Tri and the Shirred One Piece. If you want a broad choice of swim cuts in one place, you’ll find more options from swim-first labels like Fella. Peony’s strength right now is the dress-and-swim pairing, not swim range.

The Matteau and Solid & Striped Shopper Who’ll Love This

Peony is a natural next step for a few kinds of shopper:

• The coordinated packer. You like a holiday wardrobe that works together, and you’d rather buy a bikini and a dress in the same colourway than mix and match at the airport. The Enamour, Provence, Gardenia and Seashell stories are made for this.
• The Matteau customer who wants more softness. If you love Matteau’s quality-first resort approach but want more romance, through embroidery, gathering and textured knits, Peony gives you that without leaving the same price conversation.
• The Solid & Striped fan ready to move beyond stripes. You appreciate a polished beach look but want prints and textures that feel less graphic and more feminine.
• The destination-wedding guest. The Draped Maxi and the Samantha Maxi are made for warm-weather events, and they’ll come out again for summer dinners afterwards.
• The texture lover. If you tend to choose fabrics with surface interest, the pointelle trio is the most distinctive thing Peony is doing this season.

Shoppers who might look elsewhere include those who want a deep swim-only range in many cuts, or who prefer stark minimalism. For the latter, Matteau’s plain, architectural pieces will feel more natural.

Peony in a Nutshell

• Best entry point: the Essential String Tri at $120. It’s an easy way into the brand and the start of an Enamour set.
• Signature piece: the Pointelle Forever Midi Dress at $440. It’s the clearest expression of where Peony is going.
• Best occasion dress: the Draped Maxi Dress in Claire de Lune, currently $384.
• Best under $350: the Embroidered Poets Mini, Amelia Midi and Embroidered Midi, all between $304 and $336.
• Statement swim: the Shirred One Piece at $360. It doubles as a bodysuit.

Peony has grown from a swim label into a resortwear brand with a real point of view: romantic, textural, and built around colourways that link the bikini to the dress. Choose the pieces you’ll wear across a whole summer and the prices make sense. Explore the full Peony collection on Miss Nelly Boutique and start with the colourway you’re most drawn to.