Good Surf is In the Air...

Mendo Surf - Mike Kew

You can smell it.  As fall settles in, the leaves begin to change, the air has a certain snap to it and the mist billows over the range.  It has that sweet, salty smell to it and there's an energy, an electrical charge that fills the sky.  As soon as the first whiff drifts across my nose, I gather the dogs into the car and head to the sea.  The ocean is rambunctious and impatient.  The waves are choppy and still not settled into their winter, rhythmic pattern.  The surfers are all out at the cove, wetsuits on, but just looking and waiting for a real set to come in.  We head up the coast and two guys are out at Manchester, but there's not much worth riding...not yet.  But, the waves will come...maybe not today, but very soon. Fall is upon us and the waves will soon be rolling in...definitely by Thanksgiving Day.

~ C

2014 Swimwear - Sandy Bottoms and Knotty Details

Swimwear is heating up this season.  It's skimpier, sexier and has us all tied up in knots!  The 2-piece is certainly outselling the one-piece swimsuit and the cheeky bottom bikini is back from last season in full force.  So are multi-strings and knots that are in all the right places.  Tribal prints are big and color blocking is making a scene.  Fringe is hanging in there, (pun intended.)  The retro, high-waist bikini bottom hasn't gone away this year either, (Although one should not expect this style to generously help a flawed figure.  It's styled for showing of a girl's curves, not hiding them.)

Bikini - Cheeky Bottom

I can only guess why the swimsuits are once again, going through this, "minimizing effect."  They tell me that it's all part of an economic cycle.  The fact is, the girls with the most disposable income right now are very young and uber-stylish.  Think, "Daddy's girl, cozied up in her private school dorm room, on a late night, online, shopping spree."  What?  You're are not part of that demographic group?  I can definitely sympathize.  Even when I went to college, I wasn't one of those girls.  (I made my own bikinis, but that's another story.) 

Knotty Swimsuit Details

However, may I say, for those of you that can wear those teeny-tiny, itty-bitty bikinis, my hat's off to you!  You only live once and hey, we all have our day in the sun.  (May I digress...) I can clearly recall sauntering down the beach one fine, sunny day in my 19-year-old body and a cute li'l bikini to match.  I had just gotten out of the water after a morning of body surfing.  I was dripping wet, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin, while making my way back to my towel, when a cute, 60-something couple came strolling the shore towards me.  The portly man was continuously gawking my way, which prompted his little, rotund wife to get more than just a tad angry.  She came stomping up to me, face a scowling and shaking her finger wildly in my face. 

"You're not always going to look like that.  You'll see!!!  You really think you're something, but that figure won't last!  Mark my words...you're not always going to look like that!!!" 

"Yeah, but I look like that now," I replied with a big, sweet, sarcastic smile.  (I might have even batted my salty/wet eyelashes to rub it in.)

The 2014 Sandy Bottom Look

I was a smart ass, to say the least.  I knew she was right then and alas, I definitely know it now.  ::sigh::  Ah...memories...I'll never see THAT figure again.  But, I have to say, it was one of the highest compliments I ever received regarding my looks.  I'm proud of that.  Thank you, little rotund lady!  And my dear, Miss bikini buyer, you should be proud too!  Let's face it, beach life is for the hedonist.  It's for showing off your sex appeal and perhaps showing a little more skin than is to be expected.  So, go for it girl!

~C
 

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:




Salt Swimwear 2014 - Sesa-Lucy Bikini in Moroccan Summer Print



Salt Swimwear 2014 - Sesa-Lucy bikini in Teal



Salt Swimwear 2014 - Lola-Claudia Bikini in Black

 ~ C

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.

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:


Indah Swimwear 2014 - Neoprene



Indah Swimwear 2014 - Neoprene



Indah Swimwear 2014



Indah Swimwear 2014



Indah Swimwear 2014



Indah Swimwear 2014

More about the 2014 Indah Swimwear collection in a later post.  Tah Tah for now.
~ C.

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.



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014

Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014

Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014

Look for the new 2014 Boys + Arrows Swimwear to start arriving soon at Tropi-Ties!

~ C.

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:


Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014



Boys + Arrows Swimwear 2014

There's more in store...to be continued.

~ C.