The Cool Swimwear Brand That Lets You Try On Suits At Home
By Andrea Cheng. Photos: Courtesy of Brand.
It’s a story that we all know too well: You need a new swimsuit, you resign yourself to the fact that a stressful swimwear search is in order, you try on what seems like a hundred styles in gross fitting rooms equipped with unflattering light and an equally unflattering mirror, and you end up settling for any one that fits.
Yeah, that no longer has to be the case—Tess De Paula and Melanie Travis have set out to revolutionize swimwear shopping with their new direct-to-consumer brand Andie Swim, which allows consumers to try on one-piece swimsuits from home.
“Melanie needed a swimsuit for a work retreat at a water park, and she couldn’t find a quality one-piece that fit her aesthetic—timeless, minimal, sleek—in her price point,” De Paula tells Glamour. “If you can easily book a doctor’s appointment on ZocDoc, then we should be able to shop for swimwear just as seamlessly and simply.”
Together, they polled women through online surveys, asked for their biggest frustrations, and figured out an at-home try-on system to make the entire experience as pain-free as possible. Next, they found a Los Angeles-based factory that specializes in high-end swimwear, and then they collaborated with a freelance swimsuit designer to create an edit of three one-pieces that reflected their personal styles: the Catalina, a black suit with a scoopneck and an oval cut-out in the back; the Tulum, a white sporty one-piece with criss-cross straps; and the Montauk, a navy style with a high boat neckline and a sexy low scoop back.
So this is how it works: Head to andieswim.com, choose your size and pay a $19 refundable deposit, a box with all three one-pieces will be delivered to your door. You try them on, send back any you don’t want in a pre-paid envelope, and pay for the ones you love—$125 for one, $115 each for two, and $105 each for three. (Each swimsuit that is returned has to have the original tags and liner on and is spot-checked thoroughly before going back into rotation; otherwise, it will be pulled out.)
“We wanted to get you out of the fitting room, because there is so much anxiety in that situation,” De Paula says. “Being at home is so much more relaxed and you can take your time. We also want to be like a friend to our consumer, which means we’re available on every platform—messenger, Instagram, Snapchat—to answer any question, like, what does the white Tulum swimsuit look like when it’s wet? We had Rachel on our team take a picture and send it over. We want that intimate, friendly relationship.”
So why only one-pieces?
“There are very few brands that are doing great fitting one-pieces and at a great price point,” De Paula explains. “And because we only have three SKUs, it simplifies our operation—we’re sending out the same curated experience for everyone. When you’re trying to mix and a match a lot of suits, it adds a level of complexity.”
Right now, they’re looking to expand their offering with new colorways (and even one print!), new styles, and maybe one day, two-pieces.
“We wanted women to feel comfortable, to feel like they can move around on the beach and not come out of their suit,” De Paula says. “We wanted to keep the styles timeless and appropriate for every occasion—and people are loving the experience and the construction of the suits.”
This story originally appeared on Glamour.
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