The coverage rule that separates a rashie from togs Under the Australian standard AS 4399:2020, a swim garment gets a UPF rating from how much skin it covers as well as from its fabric. The rating refers to both the design of the garment and the fabric. To claim a rating, clothing should, as a minimum, cover the torso …

Two countries that both teach swimming at school What should a child wear to a school swimming lesson? In England and in Victoria the lessons themselves are compulsory, so the answer matters to every family with a primary-age child. Where the two differ is in who writes the kit rules. England has a national list from …

Does a label that calls itself "fit-first" actually fit better? Baku says yes, repeatedly, across its own site: "Fit, function and fashion are always at the forefront of our design process," and "BAKU is all about perfect-fitting swimwear that inspires women to feel confident & amazing!" Those are strong claims from a …

Which tog rating do UK hotels actually put on their beds? No one publishes a survey of the duvets in British hotel rooms, so the best guide is the firms that supply them. Richard Haworth, a Manchester linen maker that carries the "By Appointment to His Majesty The King" warrant, advertises British manufacture since …

A clothing brand that shares its letters with a warmth rating The tog is a British measure of warmth. Bensons for Beds explains that it was "taken from the term 'togs', an informal word for clothing (which derives from the Roman 'toga')," and that it was first created by the Shirley Institute, "the Manchester-based HQ …

Soft stretch or long life: the fabric decides Two pairs of togs can look identical on the hanger and wear very differently in a chlorinated pool. The difference is the fabric. Funkita, the Australian swim brand, builds its whole range on a polyester fabric that, its FAQ says, "contains no elastane which is the …

For babies, the answer is no duvet at all The NHS says a baby's room should be "between 16C to 20C", and that a cot should be kept clear of "pillows, duvets, cot bumpers, loose blankets, soft toys". So the first answer to "what tog duvet for my child?" depends on age. For a baby under 12 months, UK safer-sleep guidance …

The tog is the same; the duvet is not Which? tested 24 duvets with a panel of 40 testers and found that "the best synthetic duvets in our test scored just as highly for comfort as feather and down options, and in some cases surpassed them." So the answer to "which feels warmer, down or synthetic?" is not as simple as …

A brief made in the factory that once made Speedo Budgy Smuggler still makes its swimwear in Sydney, in a factory it says was used by "some great Australian brands before us like Zimmerman, Jets and of course Speedo itself when it was Australian owned." That is the claim that sets it apart from most of the swim brief …

Two value brands, two different pitches Silentnight and Slumberdown both sell low-priced duvets to UK shoppers, and both cover the tog ratings most households need. They sell themselves differently. Silentnight leads with its name: its site calls it the "UK's most trusted sleep brand" and offers a "Lifetime product …