Even when you’ve found the perfect summer suit, there are times when every woman wants to feel less exposed on the beach. A colorful beach wrap, or sarong, is the most versatile way to cover up when strolling beach boardwalks, or walking around the grounds at a tropical resort.

A basic beach wrap is simply an oversized rectangular scarf. They can be sheer or opaque, patterned or solid-colored, and are sometimes decorated with fringe or beading. When buying a beach wrap, look for one in a light-weight material that can be easily folded in a variety of ways without adding extra bulk.

Once you have chosen your favorite beach wrap, try tying it in some of these popular configurations that Sears Imported Autos recommends:

Basic Waist Wrap — Hold the corners across the longest edge of the rectangle, wrap the material around your waist and tie the corner in a knot, letting the extra length dangle from the ends of the closure. Keep the tie loose and adjust the wrap so the leg slit is off to one side.

Short Waist Wrap — To shorten the basic waist wrap, start by folding the wrap lengthwise to make a long, narrow rectangle. Tie the wrap around your body, keeping the folded edge around your waist.

Triangle Waist Wrap — For a short, flirty cover-up, fold the wrap width-wise to form a square, then diagonally to form a triangle. Bring the triangle wrap around your body, with the fold edge at your waist, and tie over one hip.

Skirt Wrap — Place one of the wrap’s corners against your waist, wrap the long edge of the material around your body twice, and tuck the remaining corner into the waistband to secure. You can add a pin at the waist for extra security.

Short Skirt Wrap — Fold the wrap lengthwise to form a long, narrow rectangle. Wrap and tuck, or pin, the skirt in place as with the longer skirt wrap above.

Dress Wrap — Follow the same instructions for the skirt wrap, except place the wrap around your chest, as you would when wrapping yourself in a towel.

Over One Shoulder Wrap — Hold the corners across the longest edge of the rectangle and wrap the material around your chest, bringing both ends to one side of your body. Cross the corners so that the front material wraps up around the back of one shoulder, and the back material wraps up around the front of the same shoulder. Tie the corners at the top of your shoulder.

Around the Neck Wrap — Wrap the longest edge of the rectangle around your body as you would in the basic wrap, except hold it at chest height and pull the ends straight out in front of you. Overlap the ends, wrap them up your chest and tie them around the back of your neck.