SWIM/SURF

Lolli Swim: All Things Gidget and More

As a kid growing up in Upland, Calif., Vy Nguyen swam practically every day. If she wasn’t in a swimming pool, she was at the beach. “I was just obsessed with swimming and the beach,” said the founder of Lolli Swim.

So, when she wanted to start a clothing collection, it was only natural that Nguyen would gravitate to swimwear. “I have never been into specific trends, and in swim there are no rules,” the designer said. “You can do bright sun colors, add ruffles or whatever you want. It is so much more.”

Nguyen honed her fashion skills while in school at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., where she studied fashion merchandising. While in class, she worked as a preproduction and merchandising assistant at the juniorswear company Swat Fame.

After several years of working in production and sales, she decided in 2010 to dive into swimwear. She launched her line by doing a trunk show at a friend’s house in Laguna Beach, Calif.

At the time, her signature piece was a bikini bottom with a big black bow on the back. “Everybody thought I was crazy,” she said. But that didn’t stop her. She did more trunk shows and eventually got into some local boutiques. “From there it grew,” she explained.

These days, you can find Lolli Swim at Diane’s Beachwear in Torrance, Calif.; Molly Browns in Laguna Beach; Best Swimwear in Hermosa Beach, Calif.; and several Urban Outfitter locations. Retail prices for Lolli Swim range from $75 to $179.

Lolli Swim is for the girly girl who likes pastel colors and feminine appliqués. Nguyen draws inspiration from her days watching “Gidget,” the 1960s TV show about the prototypical sun-loving, beach-bunny teenager.

For her upcoming “Stay Golden” collection for Resort 2018, there are feminine silhouettes with a retro feel from the 1960s. There are classic string bikinis, bandeaux with shoulder-tie tops, underwire bikinis and one-pieces ranging from mid- to minimal coverage.

“This collection, instead of having so many prints, has solids with pastel embroidery to grow up a little bit. It is still the classic California-beach inspiration, lots of cotton-candy sky colors with pastel hues,” Nguyen said.

Fabrics for the Resort 2018 season feature a mix of delicate appliqués, soft stretch velvets and shiny rib textures, and there is an elevated take on vintage florals using hand-embroidered accents for added texture and attention to detail.

Lolli Swim is manufactured in California, China and Bali, Indonesia, where garment workers are skilled at hand embroidery and macramé.

For more information, visit www.ilovelolli.com or send an email to info@ilovelolli.com.