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| Salt Swimwear 2014 - Sesa-Lucy Bikini in Moroccan Summer Print |
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| Salt Swimwear 2014 - Sesa-Lucy bikini in Teal |
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| Salt Swimwear 2014 - Lola-Claudia Bikini in Black |
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Salty Sweeeet! Salt Swimwear 2014 is Coming Ashore
We totally stand by Salt Swimwear. If you have not discovered their adorable bikinis...well, shame on you! Their stuff is just as sweet as can be. This season we picked up 2 styles, each in 2 different color ways, for a total of 4 new bikinis for 2014. AND, what's more they are reversible, so really you've got eight bikinis to review here, but who's really counting. Each one is a winner! Here's just a peak of what's to come. We'll reveal more about the 2014 SALT swimsuits that will be arriving in a few weeks. Here's just a li'l salty snack:
~ C
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Why Do Bikinis Cost So Much?
It's just a little scrap of fabric, cut and sewn into a couple of tiny pieces that hardly cover anything, right? Well, speaking from experience, I can tell you that a LOT goes into the making of a great bikini. I was a swimwear designer for many years and I could not believe how detailed and precise everything had to be to create a beautiful, well fitting swimsuit. From the fabric, to exacting design, to swimwear safe findings, every minute, painstaking detail was important. If your pattern was off just a 1/8 inch, the swimsuit may fit completely wrong. After all, a bikini is a very fitted piece of clothing compared to a tunic, or sundress and it has to go through many more fittings to really fit well.
Besides all of the details that go into making swimwear, there's also the logistics. Most swimwear is sold in the US, but hardly any of it is made in the US. The designer may be American, but to get his or her samples and production done just right, he or she usually has to do a lot of travelling back and forth to foreign counties and must be able to communicate effectively with the manufacturer, as well as with the fabric and findings vendors. A single miscommunication can result in a sample, or Gawd forbid, a whole production, done wrong and then time and precious resources are wasted.
Don' t forget, swimwear is a seasonal industry, with a very short window to get the product out the door and sold and last year's fashion statement isn't worth nearly as much. The designer puts it all on the line...it's risky business. He or she could lose all of their money in a delays, or simple error that isn't caught along the way. A dear friend once told me that, "Swimwear production is a slippery slope," and I know that she's absolutely right because anything can go wrong and many times does.
I once had lunch with a very experienced patternmaker who shared my love for swimsuit design. She told me that she had once worked for a well known, discount, swimwear retailer. Of course, I was envious until she let me in on the details. She worked with them for over three years, trying to fix their bad patterns and poor fit. The company's swimsuits were being manufactured in child labor sweatshops, in a small, foreign country. Most of the people working on these swimsuits weren't even old enough to wear a bikini, not to mention that their Muslim tradition prevented that anyway. They had no idea of what the swimsuit should look, or fit like. My friend came home from that job with dubious thoughts. She had hoped to improve the line, but the result was that the labor was cheap, the fabric and other materials were low quality and the end result was still a cheapy bikini that looked like a cheapy bikini.
My advice to customers is that you usually get what you pay for. Don't settle for a swimsuit just because it's inexpensive. It's better to buy a good label on sale, than it is to buy a low priced, bad label. Shop carefully, watch the sales, which are usually around this time of year. Always ask questions and never settle. You'll find a wide assortment of high quality swimsuits on sale now at Tropi-Ties Swimwear. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@tropi-ties.com.
~ C.
Besides all of the details that go into making swimwear, there's also the logistics. Most swimwear is sold in the US, but hardly any of it is made in the US. The designer may be American, but to get his or her samples and production done just right, he or she usually has to do a lot of travelling back and forth to foreign counties and must be able to communicate effectively with the manufacturer, as well as with the fabric and findings vendors. A single miscommunication can result in a sample, or Gawd forbid, a whole production, done wrong and then time and precious resources are wasted.
Don' t forget, swimwear is a seasonal industry, with a very short window to get the product out the door and sold and last year's fashion statement isn't worth nearly as much. The designer puts it all on the line...it's risky business. He or she could lose all of their money in a delays, or simple error that isn't caught along the way. A dear friend once told me that, "Swimwear production is a slippery slope," and I know that she's absolutely right because anything can go wrong and many times does.
I once had lunch with a very experienced patternmaker who shared my love for swimsuit design. She told me that she had once worked for a well known, discount, swimwear retailer. Of course, I was envious until she let me in on the details. She worked with them for over three years, trying to fix their bad patterns and poor fit. The company's swimsuits were being manufactured in child labor sweatshops, in a small, foreign country. Most of the people working on these swimsuits weren't even old enough to wear a bikini, not to mention that their Muslim tradition prevented that anyway. They had no idea of what the swimsuit should look, or fit like. My friend came home from that job with dubious thoughts. She had hoped to improve the line, but the result was that the labor was cheap, the fabric and other materials were low quality and the end result was still a cheapy bikini that looked like a cheapy bikini.
My advice to customers is that you usually get what you pay for. Don't settle for a swimsuit just because it's inexpensive. It's better to buy a good label on sale, than it is to buy a low priced, bad label. Shop carefully, watch the sales, which are usually around this time of year. Always ask questions and never settle. You'll find a wide assortment of high quality swimsuits on sale now at Tropi-Ties Swimwear. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@tropi-ties.com.
~ C.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Some Indie Thoughts On Indah Swimwear 2014
I just LOVE Indah Swimwear and the new, 2014 collection is so dang cute! They always go out on a limb when everyone else just plays in the sand. Ya gotta giv'm some kudos for that. The newest DIVE collection features some sweet little bikinis in traditional fabrics. But what really caught my eye were the neoprene swimsuits...yes, I said Ne-O-Prene!!!! Ouch! They're sexy and adorable!!!
Here's just a peek of the neoprene and non-neoprene swimsuits from 2014 Indah Swimwear:
More about the 2014 Indah Swimwear collection in a later post. Tah Tah for now.
~ C.
Here's just a peek of the neoprene and non-neoprene swimsuits from 2014 Indah Swimwear:
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| Indah Swimwear 2014 - Neoprene |
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| Indah Swimwear 2014 - Neoprene |
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| Indah Swimwear 2014 |
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| Indah Swimwear 2014 |
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| Indah Swimwear 2014 |
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| Indah Swimwear 2014 |
~ C.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Boys+Arrows 2014 Front and Center
Last post...we showed you the backsides of several Boys+Arrows Swimwear styles. (IOHO, some of the cutest bikinis for the 2014 season.) An now... without further adieu...the other side of the coin, (err...bikini,) so to speak.
Look for the new 2014 Boys + Arrows Swimwear to start arriving soon at Tropi-Ties!
~ C.
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
Look for the new 2014 Boys + Arrows Swimwear to start arriving soon at Tropi-Ties!
~ C.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 - Giving Us Some Back Talk
Boys + Arrows Swimwear is at it once again... Stirring things up at the beach and poolside with their latest wares for 2014. This season's collection focuses on the back view details...some extra strapiness here, some flouncy ruffles there...it's all pretty darn cute. Here's a preview:
There's more in store...to be continued.
~ C.
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
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| Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014 |
There's more in store...to be continued.
~ C.
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