DOS CARAS
The Two Faces of Swimwear
When two women have been best friends for 15 years, what do they do to bond? They start a swimwear line.
Syncletica Maestas and Aida Soria met when they were working as teens in a toy/gift store at the San Diego Zoo. Then when they graduated from high school, they went their separate ways.
Maestas traveled to New York to attend Parsons School of Design, studying design and management. Soria attended California State University–San Diego and became a news producer at KUSI-TV.
Soria, who books talent for one of the morning news shows, came across a press release for Fashion Week San Diego. She thought the two friends should take their love for swimwear and make their own line of beachwear for a woman who wanted to feel comfortable in her suit and have a little more coverage.
In February 2012 they applied to enter Fashion Week San Diego. By October, they were on the runway with a line of swimwear called Dos Caras, which means “two faces” in Spanish.
Because of a blogger attending the runway shows, the pair was invited to Nolcha Fashion Week in New York. “It’s been a real roller coaster,” said Maestas, who does the design and production. “We didn’t even anticipate getting into Fashion Week San Diego, let alone putting together a company in a year.”
But they have a full collection of 42 pieces ready to go for Spring/Summer 2014 with three different themes. There is La Sandia, or “watermelon” in Spanish, which has vivid pinks, pistachios and white and has a girlie look. Del Mar, or “from the sea” in Spanish, is dominated by blues and has a sporty theme. And La Sirena, or “the mermaid” in Spanish, is filled with blues and pinks and classic silhouettes.
Wholesale prices range from $60 for a top or bottom to $120 for a one-piece.
“We don’t have skimpy swimwear,” Maestas said of the collection, which has more coverage. “Our whole thing is we want to be able to wear our swimsuits in front of our uncles, fathers—our family.”
For more information, call (619) 400-9171.
