As this swim season comes to an end, retail companies have seen an increase of women veering away from skimpy bikinis and sexy one-pieces, and more toward newly surfacing modest swimwear.

"It is the new sexy," Deborah Nixon, a former nurse and retired captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, told The Wall Street Journal. "When you get older, you don't want that much exposed."

Nixon is a consumer of HydroChic, one of many modest swimwear companies targeting religious and conservative women. The style is a fashionable, sporty look — similar to what surfers and divers wear — with collections ranging from swim dresses and skirts to leggings and T-shirts.

SEE MORE: How faith is making modest fashion trendy

According to The Wall Street Journal, HydroChic was founded by Orthodox Jewish women who were searching for fashionable beachwear for women with strict dress codes. Other companies, such as House of Fraser, have targeted Muslim women with their swim and sportswear, according to DailyMail.

Undercover Waterwear is another company that started to cater to religious Jewish women, but its market — and the markets of other modest clothing companies, like ModLi — has expanded to the interest of not only religious women, but also women who are generally more modest and are looking for less sun exposure, have children or are plus-sized, Fortune reported.

“The more the bikini becomes popular, the more women will look for alternatives so that they too will feel confident and good about themselves at the beach,” Nava Brief-Fried, creator of ModLi, told Fortune.

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