By
Rodger L. Hardy
Deseret Morning News
SPRINGVILLE — When Tara Tipton and her family, including three
young women, went looking for modest swimsuits for their winter trip
to Hawaii last year they came up empty-handed.
It was winter so the selection was sparse, she said of the Utah County
malls they visited. But even in the summer, modest swimwear is a rarity,
especially for younger women, she said.
But then Tipton, a clerk in the business license division for the
city of Springville, remembered a license she registered for a business
that specializes in modest swimwear. She found the Web site for "'Ohana
Swimwear" and in just two days the suits were delivered. Styled
similar to a wet-suit, they covered well and didn't ride up, exposing
skin the women would rather keep under wraps, she said.
Jackie Rawlins founded the Internet-based company three years ago
after she, too, couldn't find modest swimwear to her liking in local
stores. When she plays in the water with her four children she doesn't
want to have to worry about her swimsuit, she said.
"I'd wear shorts or T-shirts with my suit to make certain I
was amply covered," she said.
She knew other active women, like Tipton, were fighting the same battle
with the swimwear that was available when they wanted to water ski,
Jet Ski or just play in a public pool. While more modest competition
swimsuits are available, they are generally too pricey for most women,
she said.
When Rawlins started 'Ohana Swimwear in March 2003 she knew nothing
about the apparel industry. Yet in 10 weeks she was able to get product
available and online, launching her Internet business…
"That's unheard of," she said of her speed getting to market.
"We made 500 suits that first year and sold 350."
Still, she struggled to find a good fit in manufacturing, switching
several times.
"Once I got into (the apparel business) it was a lot easier,"
Rawlins said.
Manufacturing and sales figures doubled each of the next two years.
Last year she sold some 1,700 suits.
While most of the sales were outside Utah that first year "because
most Utah buyers didn't know about us," Utah is now leading the
nation in buying the suits she designs and has made in Southern California.
She has sold suits, both one-piece and separates, in every state in
the nation and several European countries, including England, Germany
and Switzerland. Inquiries have come from Australia and Malaysia,
but shipping is too expensive to those areas to result in sales.
Sizes range from toddler (2T) to 24. The separate tops are as much
as 5 inches longer than the popular apparel that's often the choice
of surfer girls, she said.
“They can put their arms up and their belly still doesn't show,"
Rawlins said.
Rawlins pinpoints two type of customers: women who like the sporty
looks cut to cover the legs to mid-thigh and those who want a modest
swimsuit for religious reasons, primarily Catholics, Muslims, Mormons
and women who live in the Bible Belt. The heavier material she uses
in the suits' construction adds to the modesty, she said.
"I've received over 200 e-mails thanking me (for creating the
suits)," she said.
Prices are as modest as the suits. Advertising is primarily word-of-mouth,
although a Google search on the Web for modest swimwear usually puts
her in the top five on the list. Because her business is so rare she
doesn't have to pay to be that high up on the search engines, Rawlins
said.
Her dedication has paid off. Last year her business won a "Best
of State" medal in the apparel subcategory in production and
manufacturing.
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