Pamela Levenson designer of the Popina Swimwear brand offers five tips for Swimsuit shopping.  Pamela is based in Portland, Oregon, she sells her bathing suits on line, Wholesale at approximately 50 retailers in twelve states and from her brick and mortar Portland Swimwear boutique.

Tip #1 - Pick colors and prints that suit your skin and hair colors and then - “Just Try it On”!

Said so well by the housekeeper in the Movie Spanglish, it is surprising how many women come into my Swimwear Boutique with pre-conceived ideas of what is the best Bathing Suit for them.  There is no substitute for your own opinion and comfort level, try on a few things you think would never suit you, break all the conventional rules, you might just be surprised.  I always encourage the customers in my store to try on as much Swimwear as they have time for if they are not sure.  It is not uncommon that my customers will spend 1-2 hours trying on Swimwear, but why not, it should be fun!

#2 Go Retro

Personally I love Retro Swimwear styles, before the march to make Swimsuits smaller and smaller, there was a time that mystery and modesty had value.  1940’s-1950’s Bathing Suits are my favorite era, these Vintage Swimsuits did a great job of covering up the right stuff and still having a great sense of style.  Interestingly Retro Swimsuitsare now fashion forward, if you want to have a fun, unique look from the crowd, retro is a great way to set yourself apart and have a great fun look!

# 3 Care for your Suit

Chlorine and Spandex have a very tenuous relationship.  It makes me very optimistic that there has been a trend toward converting skin drying, swimsuit destroying chlorine pools into saline which is way less harmful to swimwear.  If you are using your suit in a pool, be sure to wash it out with a mild detergent and hang it to d.  I have heard stories that if the chlorine is strong enough (like you can smell it - yuck!) and a suit has been left in a ball un-rinsed, a suit will literally disintegrate in days.

#4 Try a Tankini rather than a One Piece

Our most popular Swimwear style is the Tankini.  My Tankini styles are designed with “Meet and Greet” Sizing which means for an averaged woman’s body, the bottom of the Tankini meets the top of the Swimwear Bottoms so that it has the look of a One Piece Bathing Suit.  There are many advantages to a Tankini from a One Piece Bathing Suit first off the convenience of…….well let’s just say it, going to the bathroom.  With a One Piece Swimsuit you basically need to undress, a Tankini is much more bathroom friendly.  Second, with Tankinis you can mix and match tops and Swimwear Bottoms.  A great way to stretch a budget is to buy one top and two bottoms or two bottoms and one top that coordinate.  One extra piece gives you a whole new outfit!  Finally, for those with longer torsos who have difficulty finding a One Piece Swimsuit that fits right, a Tankini will provide most of the coverage of a One Piece Swimsuit.

#5 Try to have fun

Swimwear buying for many women is an experience of dread.  My Portland Swimwear Store is located next door to a Dentist, if I polled some of my shoppers I think some would rather have their teeth drilled than to try on Swimwear; in fact my very first store customer cried when she tried on a swimsuit.  Many women are way too hard on themselves.  I am sensitive to these feelings and that is a big part of why I created my line and when designing my Portland Swimwear Store I took great lengths to try to make it a fun and comfortable place to try on Swimsuits.  I strive to create swimwear that allows women to feel good about themselves and create an environment that makes the process fun.  But lets face it some of us do not have perfect bodies, in fact probably 5% of women have the to die for bod, and believe it or not, the women with the perfect bodies can often be the hardest on themselves!  So remember, you are buying Swimwear because you love to have fun and when you put on your suit you will be in the water.  Life is too short lets swim!

Retro Swimsuits by Jantzen are on the way to the Portland Swimwear Boutique Popina Swim.  Jantzen is the innovator of swimwear and used to have their headquarters in Portland, Oregon.  A couple years ago Jantzen moved their operations from Portland to Miami when they were purchased by Perry Ellis. 

Alas, not a Portland company any longer but the good news is that since Perry Ellis purchased Jantzen there has been some reinvigoration of the Jantzen brand.  Jantzen has looked back to their roots and their innovation of the past to reinvent retro.  Earlier this week we placed an order for the Jantzen Vamp suit shown below.

A picture can say 1,000 words, but as you can see Jantzen does get it, not only a great retro flavored suit with all the stylings such as a modified privacy panel and the classic strapless look but a great piece of art work with the contracting colors and the vintage boat.

Although Jantzen is manufacturing Swimwear in Portland any longer, Popina is very excited to bring Jantzen Swimwear back to Oregon and are proud to offer Portland’s largest selection of Women’s Swimwear.

Vinideus Wine Bar in NE Portland will be hosting Popina to preview our 2009 swimwear line on Thursday, 10/09/08 at 7pm.  This will kick off a three four day celebration to welcome the start to Cruise Season!

Day One Thursday, 10/09/08 at 7pm will feature a bathing suit fashion show at Vinideaus Wine Bar.  Vinideus is one of the best kept secrets in Portland, nestled in the Beaumont Village of Northeast Portland next door to the Alameda Brew Pub.  There will be five professional models from Murphy Talent Group who will be doing two “looks” a piece.  Vinideus is owned by Dominique, a native of the South of France (Aix-en-Provence).  Dominique has done amazing job of creating the casual, warm and quaint of the South of France.  Below are some preview pictures of designer Pamela Levenson’s 2009 Popina Line.

The address of Vinideus is 4759 NE Fremont, web address is www.vinideus.net.

Day Two, Friday, 10/10/08, kicks off the Huge Cruise Season Kickoff Sale at Popina.  All swimwear will be 15-75% off.  Purchases over $125 will receive a free pair of A.J. Morgan Sunglasses.  Saturday night will be open late, from 5-7pm come in to meet designer Pamela Levenson who will be offering Tropical drinks to get you in the mood!

Popina’s Portland Swimwear Shop is located at 4831 NE 42nd Avenue.

Wholesale Swimwear pricing is available to select merchants for Popina Swim Bathing Suit Styles.  Popina Swim is for the woman who believes you don’t have to “show it all” to be sexy and you don’t want to be afraid of falling out of your Bathing Suit when you reach over to pick up a sea shell!  Popina has a classic Pin Up Bathing Suit Style, inspired by fashions of the 1940’s and 1950’s, modernized with swimsuit construction and fabrics of today.

Popina is currently available in at 40 specialty shops, spas, boutiques, hot springs and sports clubs in 10 states including Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Would you like to carry Popina in your store?  Do you have a suggestion for a store near you that might like Popina?  Contact Popina Swim at info@popinaswim.com!

Pin Up Swimwear?  Popina Specializes in Bathing Suit styles with retro flair, our Rockabilly Swimwear styles appeal to women who want to have classic style and believe you don’t have to show it off to be sexy.  All of Popina’s swim suits are made in the U.S.A.  Below are a few of the Retro Halter styles with Pin Up, Rockabilly styling.

Retro Swimwear Photos where taken prior to the awesome Back Fence PDXevent at Tour de Crape on June 19th.  Back Fence PDX is an incredibly fun story telling event that occurs bi-monthly.  Typically when I think of storytelling I think of bearded old men rocking on their front porch telling stories that make you say by-gosh.  This is not Back Fence PDX, this event brings together a great variety of amateur, but mostly professional story tellers/writers who take turns telling very fresh, current stories.  The hosts of this production  Frayn and Melissa have very natural chemistry together, keeping the night moving forward, with a fun and smooth grace. 

I have finally had a brief moment to post some of the Retro Swimwear pre-show shots - Popina Swim, Portland’s Bathing Suit Boutique participated in a half time Retro Swimsuit show, hopefully someone who attended can send those shots on to me - I would love to see them!

 Retro Swimwear Photos

(more…)

Vintage Swimsuits everyone loves them, but they get old and they are not the most comfortable.  I had the same frustration before I started my company, I loved the styles of the past but could not find just the suit for me, that was fun, flattering and fashionable.  I have created an alternative to hitting the thrift store, Vintage Swimsuit style with modern construction and fabrics.

Below are pictures of my more popular Vintage Bathing Suits.

Retro Swimsuits are our specialty at Popina Swimwear.  We have taken Vintage Swimsuit styles of the past and updated them using modern construction techniques and fabrics.  The Retro Halter adds a simple boy cut leg to the traditional One Piece Halter to create a fun Pin Up Swimwear feel.  At Popina our philosophy is that you don’t have to show it all to be sexy our Modest Swimwear is fun, flattering and fashionable.

Bathing suits–we love them!

I’ve never written fan mail before, but I had to let you know how   
much my daughter loves the two swimsuits that arrived today. So   
cute, so wearable! Our thanks for this great, fashionable alternative.

Leah   Amherst, Massachusetts