Published April 2026 · Updated April 2026 · By the La Moda Merchandising Team · 6 minute read
If you run a beach boutique, resort gift shop, or cruise retail operation, one question runs your whole year: when do you place your wholesale swimwear order? Order too early and your floor is stale by peak season. Order too late and you're missing the print trend or, worse, out of stock when walk-ins peak.
This is the buying calendar we wish every new boutique owner had when they placed their first La Moda order. It's based on 25+ years of wholesale orders across US boutiques, resort stores, and cruise retailers — and the patterns that separate boutiques that sell through from boutiques that get stuck with July markdowns in September.
The five retail seasons that matter
Most wholesale swimwear suppliers will tell you there are two seasons: "spring" and "fall." That's the way the trade shows are scheduled (Coterie February and September, Magic February and August). But if you're running an independent boutique or resort retail floor, your customer calendar is actually five distinct buying moments:
- Spring Break (January–March) — the first high-volume swim sell-through of the year
- Early Summer + Memorial Day (April–May) — peak pre-summer restock, when buyers come in to refresh before vacation
- Mid-Summer (June–July) — the largest single sales window; also when boutiques run out of size ranges
- Late Summer / End-of-Season (August–September) — markdown + closeout, but also pre-Caribbean-winter buying
- Winter Caribbean + Cruise (October–December) — resort and cruise retail buying, when US tourism goes south
Each of these sales moments has a corresponding order moment that happens 6–10 weeks earlier. Miss that window and you'll be ordering out-of-season.
Month-by-month order calendar
Here's how we suggest boutique buyers schedule orders across the year. Dates assume domestic US shipping (2–4 business days from La Moda's warehouse):
November (year prior): Place Spring Break orders
This is the single most commonly missed window. Spring Break starts in late February — school district calendars peak in March. If you want stock on the retail floor by late January, place your wholesale swimwear order by mid-November the year before. This captures early-January shipment and gives you a 3-week merchandising cushion.
What to order: bold prints, younger-skewing silhouettes, mixed-pack bikinis that let customers build coordinated looks. Our Wholesale Swimwear and Wholesale Kaftans collections drop new prints in mid-October — order within four weeks of drop for best availability.
January–February: Early Summer restock
By mid-January, Spring Break stock is on your floor. Now you're thinking about Memorial Day and the June walk-in peak. Place early-summer orders in January and February, particularly for the categories that sell out fast: coordinated sets, paired swim + cover-up looks, and resort-color palettes.
Pro tip: this is also when you want to open a wholesale account if you've been waiting. Get approved in January and you can place your first order in time for the Memorial Day push.
March–April: Peak-summer order
The biggest domestic retail moment is the 6 weeks between Memorial Day and July 4th. If you want fresh stock for that window, your peak-summer order should land no later than April. That means ordering in late March or early April at the latest. Our March drop (which lands the first Monday of March each year) is typically the strongest seasonal drop for this window.
May–June: Mid-summer fill-in
By June, you'll know which styles are selling through. The smart play is a mid-summer fill-in order — not new styles, but more stock of the pack sizes you've already validated. This is also when to restock cover-ups and resort wear, which tend to sell through faster than pure swim during June heat waves.
July–August: Late-summer + pre-Caribbean order
August is the underrated planning month. US boutiques start closing out swim while cruise and resort retail (especially Florida, Caribbean, and Mexico-adjacent) start ramping up for their high season (November–March). Place late-summer closeout orders and pre-Caribbean resort orders in August. We ship both from the same warehouse, often in the same week.
September–October: New drop + cruise + holiday resort
La Moda's fall drop lands the first Monday of September. This is when cruise and resort buyers (especially for November cruise embarkations) place their largest orders. Cover-ups, kaftans, and resort dresses dominate this order.
The restock signal: when to reorder
Independent buyers ask us constantly, "when should I restock?" The practical signal: when a pack is 50% sold through, reorder. With our typical 2–4 day ship from Miami, you can be restocked inside a week — before your shelf goes bare.
This is where La Moda's Miami warehouse edge matters most. US-based brands without domestic fulfillment typically quote 4–6 weeks for restock. We quote 4–6 days. The difference between those two numbers is the difference between capturing or missing a sell-through window.
What to avoid
- Don't over-commit to Q1 before Q4 data is in. December retail results should shape January ordering. If your December was soft on a particular silhouette, don't reorder it for Spring Break.
- Don't skip the August restock. It's the most underused buying moment. Most boutiques are mentally "done" with swim by August but that's when you should be stocking for October cruises.
- Don't wait for a sell-through before your first restock. By the time you're at 80% sell-through, your restock is hitting while the window is closing.
Bookmark the drop dates
La Moda's scheduled drops each year (adjust for when you're reading this):
- Early March — Spring/Summer swim drop
- Early May — Mid-summer fill drop
- Early July — Resort and cover-up drop (for cruise and Caribbean retail)
- Early September — Fall/Winter resort drop (heavier kaftans, longer cover-ups)
- Mid-October — Holiday + early Spring Break preview drop
Wholesale buyers get email notifications 2 weeks before every drop. Make sure your merchandising email preferences are turned on when you open your wholesale account.
Ready to order?
Whether you're a new boutique planning your first buying year or a multi-location cruise retailer syncing up to our quarterly drops, we're here to help you get the calendar right. Browse Wholesale Swimwear, Wholesale Kaftans, Resort Wear, or the full Wholesale Overview to start. Questions before you order? Email the merchandising team — we answer every inquiry personally.
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