Bonjour Karen,

To supplement Chris' great answer, here is a third example:

le bord de la mer Méditerranée / Baltique = the shore of the Mediterranean / Baltic sea

-> the definite article 'la' is included as it specifies which sea one is talking about

Also, see link here on a similar topic: the-definite-article-or-not

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Hi Annissa,

Well, maillot de bain would be used to describe a generic swimsuit, a garment that men, women, or children would wear to go swimming.

If you wanted to talk about a speedo I would use -

slip de bain

A boy could wear a boxer/ short de bain also.

Take a look at the following page from a well-known catalogue -

https://www.vertbaudet.fr/garcon/maillot-de-bain.htm

Hope this helps!