Bikini Haus

It's finally Summer here in Toronto so, naturally, all we can think about is swimwear.  Maryanne Terzis from Bikini Haus stopped by The Hautecast to chat with us about this season's hottest trends in swimwear and how to feel confident in your bikini body.

Transcript

0:00:00.0 S1: Hello Gorgeous. Welcome to the Hautecast, a podcast featuring Toronto's hautest shopping center, Bayview Village. I'm Carly. I work on the marketing team at BV and I am so excited to host a podcast about all things fashion, food, beauty, decor and everything in between. It's finally summer here in Toronto so naturally, all I can think about is swimwear. Maryanne Terzis from Bikini Haus stopped by the Hautecast to chat with me about this season's hottest trends in swimwear and how to feel confident in your bikini body. So get comfy, maybe grab a glass of veuve and let's jump in.

[music]

0:00:41.0 S1: It's a million and one degrees in Toronto right now so we finally we hit summer so what better guest to have than Maryanne from Bikini Haus. So welcome, Maryanne.

0:00:48.3 S1: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

0:00:50.2 S1: I'm so excited to talk to you all about summer. I wanna know how Bikini Haus came to be. So what's your background and how did you get to owning this boutique? 

0:01:00.9 S2: My background wasn't in retail but I've been either leading companies or running businesses for years and most recently before Bikini Haus, I was running a wine agency and I decided that I was probably better off working for myself, because I felt that I was constantly spinning my wheels and was being told no in various positions and I loved bikinis, I love the Caribbean and back in 2016, when I founded the company, Instagram was kind of non-existent. It was Facebook and maybe Instagram, people were just starting to transition so if you're looking for something, you're Googling it.

0:01:43.8 S2: So I was constantly Googling cheeky bikini, sexy bikini, all these bikinis that weren't available in our market and I'd be going on vacation and people would be coming up to me, constantly coming up to my fiance saying "Sorry buddy. My wife sent me over here. She wants to know where she got her bikini from." So it just became comical that every time we were on the beach, 10 people that day were asking me where I was getting my bikinis from.

0:02:11.3 S2: So I was working really hard. Working really hard trying to get to the next level and one day he asked me, "What would you do?" And I said, "Well, I'd probably bring bikinis to Toronto." and he's like "So do it." And I was like, "What do you mean, just do it?" And he's like, "Just do it." So I quit my job a couple of months later by the time I got the courage to do it, contacted the brands that I was wearing and said, "I wanna create an online store." and so they immediately said, "Absolutely." It was pretty easy for me at that time but I guess, 'cause I knew the brand so well and I started to build an online store and then in 2017, we had a studio with a dressing room so we were taking shopping by appointment 'cause it was, "Well, what is it that you don't like about bikini shopping and how can we improve on that?"

0:03:00.6 S2: So spacious dressing room, great lighting, privacy, attentive service and then here we are today, which leads into your next question.

0:03:15.0 S1: Yeah. I was gonna say, I know Bayview was your first brick and mortar. So what was it about Bayview? 

0:03:19.8 S2: So I've always shopped at Bayview Village, because it has a really great ambiance. It's not super busy, feels very boutique. It was close to home and one day... So I would come here all the time, I would go to the Restoration Hardware and I would go to the Chapters and then one day it wasn't there anymore and then I saw something... Saw a pop up and pop ups, I guess, had just started. Well last year, within a year and a half, I would say.

0:03:48.1 S1: Yeah. It was like a new phenomenon.

0:03:50.5 S2: And so I inquired and the person that I inquired said, "No, that space is no longer available 'cause it's gonna be the LCBO." And I said, "Well, this is my brand. This is my website. This is my Instagram. If there's ever an opportunity, I'd love to hear from you." So I got a call the next day, they were like "we want to come meet with you." So it was really exciting and they showed me the space that we're in now. So we came here June 1st last year and we're still here and we're looking at making it permanent. So just kind of exploring everything but I do have to say that the leasing department definitely tried to... I was very... I was nervous, I was scared.

0:04:36.7 S1: Quite scary opening your first store.

0:04:38.9 S2: It was very scary. It was so scary and I don't have a retail background so the encouragement that I got and just trying to eliminate all those fears that I had speaking to someone. It's just that support that you need in order to be able to sustain... Just get through it. We already had an established brand but just having the convenience, especially... North Toronto comes here and then South Toronto's coming up because of all the congestion and we're really excited about the new development that's coming so...

0:05:15.9 S1: It's gonna be amazing.

0:05:16.9 S2: We feel like we got in at the right time.

0:05:20.3 S1: From the minute I first walked into your store, I remember seeing all of your decor and how clean it was and pink and gold and pretty and I was like "I love it here."

0:05:26.5 S2: Thank you so much.

0:05:27.3 S1: Perfectly.

0:05:28.4 S2: Thank you. We get a lot of compliments on that and I feel like that's... Whenever I go and pick out pink colors and I show them what I'm looking for and they're like "Oh millennial pink." And I'm like, "We had millennial pink before the millennium." But yeah, it just kind of that rustic elegance, that's what we try to create and people do compliment us all of the time when they come in, not just for the aesthetic but they feel it's an approachable environment. Kids run in our store all the time.

0:05:58.3 S2: It's so open. So much room to...

0:06:00.6 S2: They run in, they dance, there's grandparents that come with their grandkids every day and it's every single day and they do their little dance at the front of the store and it's very cute. So that's very important, more so than how it looks, is how does it feel? And that's a big part of our brand is how people always... People will never forget how you made them feel so...

0:06:25.8 S2: We drill that into all of our staff in terms of our training and when we're having bad days or what have you, it's like look, it doesn't matter if someone's having a bad day, you do your best and people won't remember that. Not everyone's happy all the time but you have to be.

[laughter]

0:06:48.8 S1: Well and that's one of our favorite things about Bayview Village, is the community and we want it to feel like a community and you guys do a great job of...

0:06:54.3 S2: Thank you, thank you.

0:06:56.4 S1: Blending into the community but standing out at the same time. What I wanna ask you is; what makes luxury swimwear? You can buy bathing suits anywhere for all different price ranges and all different styles so what is it about your brands that set them apart? 

0:07:09.8 S2: So fabric and fit. Swimwear is so intricate. It's tailored. If it's not tailored, it's not gonna fit well. If the fabric isn't soft, doesn't have the right amount of stretch, isn't high quality to be able to sustain wear and tear then, it's not luxury. Luxury isn't bling. Luxury isn't... We do have some with very fine Italian fabrics and lace and chiffon but I would say a luxury swim wear line is definitely one that is tailored to fit properly.

0:07:53.0 S2: We do have some luxury accessories as well, that's super trendy. Some emerging designers that are coming to the market now, which is really cool with Instagram, how we can find all kinds of different designers versus our love-hate relationship with Instagram. It's great for sourcing new suppliers and we try so many different brands. We'll purchase them at retail just to try it out before we even connect and if we're not familiar with it, we try it, we test it and if it doesn't stand up, then we're not gonna carry it.

0:08:29.8 S2: The swimwear market is very, very saturated right now and you can't look at a photograph and think that it looks like a million bucks in a photograph. Well, if it doesn't fit properly and that fabric does not feel like better, that's not luxury swim wear.

0:08:46.2 S1: And with your swim wear for the most part, can you swim in it? Can you get it wet.

0:08:48.4 S2: You can swim in everything. It's all water-friendly, the hardware is heat-resistant, it won't tarnish.

0:08:54.5 S1: The heat-resistance, I feel like is so important.

0:08:57.6 S2: Yeah, there's a lot of... When we have the jeweled pieces on the mannequin in the window and we hear people commenting be like, that would burn my skin and I'm thinking, well... I know I know. So the hardware, usually it's European hardware and again, it's limited so they're only purchasing... The designers are only purchasing a certain amount of this hardware and once it's done it's done and the collections are gone so they're expensive because they're exclusives. They come up with different styles and with different collections but everything is swim-friendly. The one thing is patterns, different types of fabrics, I would stay away from chlorine.

0:09:40.6 S1: Yeah. For sure.

0:09:41.6 S2: Chlorine is very damaging to your swimwear.

0:09:43.9 S1: Absolutely.

0:09:45.1 S2: Extremely damaging. So if you're someone who's gonna be in the water a lot, then I wouldn't invest in something that's over $300 I guess.

0:09:56.0 S1: Well, I feel like I saw an article on Facebook a few weeks ago about some online swimwear brand that are super cute but then you get them wet and the dye from the fabric runs out and people were complaining and they had a note on their website that said something like "For pool side posing only."

0:10:08.8 S2: Oh Gosh! 

0:10:11.9 S1: It's not a swim wear.

0:10:15.6 S2: I feel like... The reason why that exists is because of Instagram obviously and fashion has become so disposable. That's great if that's your brand but at the same time, it's kind of over the fast fashion.

0:10:31.5 S1: Yeah definitely.

0:10:36.1 S2: To be perfectly honest, I feel like quality... I mean, there is that. We're never gonna be that. We're always gonna be a premium brand, premium products. We're gonna stand behind our products. I mean, wear and tear is inevitable with anything; with a pair of shoes, with a handbag, with a jacket, with a zipper on your jeans, things are gonna happen but we don't want to deal with the brand that where the color is gonna run when you get wet. We're not gonna be that Instagram only bathing suit.

0:11:03.8 S2: We are looking for less expensive pieces, maybe for the millennial because their parents may not want them to be spending $350 on a Frankies Bikini all the time but I mean, the quality still has to be there so...

0:11:21.2 S1: Well and it's interesting that you talk about tailoring because those are things that you think about when you think about luxury clothing or other luxury fashion, is tailoring and fit and fabric and all those things and I don't know that I've ever really thought about those things in terms of swimwear.

0:11:34.6 S2: Yeah, that's the reason why it's so expensive.

0:11:37.7 S1: Makes sense.

0:11:40.9 S2: 'cause if you're just going to sew something the way you would sew a regular hem, well then on a body, on that part of the body, it's gotta hold in place. If it's too tight, if the elastic doesn't have enough stretch to it, if the seams aren't cut right, then it's just... It's gonna be a mess. It's the only piece of fabric that you have covering your bum and then never mind tops as well, right? So if you're looking for something that has... Needs some kind of support, you want a well-fitting... A well fit suit. Some suits are made better than others but I mean, for the most part, if you're spending... If you're buying designer swimwear, then you should be getting that fit.

0:12:25.9 S1: And so when shopping this season, because it's finally summer, can't get over that it's finally warm out. What is in store right now, what's on trend? What's coming up, what's exciting in swimwear.

0:12:37.8 S2: Okay I know slow out of the gate but it's nice and warm now.

0:12:44.1 S1: Finally...

0:12:47.7 S2: And maybe in previous years, I remember September is warm and then we get into mid-October and it's 24 degrees so we're hopeful.

0:12:54.4 S1: And then it's vacation time.

0:12:55.3 S2: And then it's vacation time. That's right. So right now, we're in the summer collection for swim, which we've been stores start receiving usually around April, May and the most recent trend right now, I would say the hottest thing right now is tie dye.

0:13:12.3 S1: I love that.

0:13:12.4 S2: So tie dye.

0:13:14.5 S2: We knew it was coming and it's obviously been part of the whole fashion scene as well but tie-dye swimwear right now is... We can't keep it in stock long enough. Bikini Haus likes to offer all current trends. We are about the current trend, we rarely have a previous season. We sell all of our pieces very quickly so what we've been doing is promoting the tie-dye suits from Sofia Richie and Frankies Bikinis so there's a new collab between them. There's a pink and there's a blue so whenever the Kardashian or some celebrity or influencer is wearing something, then it just becomes a need.

0:13:56.9 S2: So we're really happy that the response to the tie-dye, because sometimes we do what we like, we do what we think is gonna work well so we've seen a lot of the... In Miami, just last weekend for Swim Week, we saw a lot of tie-dye for the resort season so we're so happy that we jumped on it first. So the tie-dye, the triangled bikini is back and I'm actually really happy about that. The designers are starting to go back to the bikini.

0:14:29.8 S1: The classic bikini.

0:14:30.6 S2: We saw a lot of high-waist sports tops, we saw a lot of the same, everybody was trying to do what they thought everybody wanted, in my opinion and even for Bikini Haus, it's like we're on a reset. We're not gonna do what's popular. We're gonna do what we believe is a great style. Great print, great colors, we're curating everything for the next season. So the bikini industry has also done that reset, which delights me. In addition to the triangled bikinis, the tie-dye bikinis, there is a seersucker... A type of seersucker fabric, that's one size fits most. I brought it to show you.

0:15:12.0 S1: Oh cool! 

0:15:13.7 S2: But it's super stretchy, it's one size fits most, also comes with various style bottoms, high waist, a moderate coverage. I actually have a video I can show you later, when we were in Miami, 'cause I asked the model, "Okay, now, can you spread it so that it can become full coverage?"

0:15:31.4 S1: 'Cause you would wonder also, if that would be see through.

0:15:33.5 S2: It's not, it's amazing. So it was very popular in the 80s so they brought it back. I think it's probably four years, maybe four or five years but we've been carrying them since we had our studio and we loved the brand, we weren't sure how everyone was gonna feel about it because it's... What the Toronto market looks for in swim, versus the stuff that we see, you never know but I do believe that now, they kinda trust us as the experts. So we brought Bondi in and it sold out in less than a week so we just got more back in stock today because we can put it on women who are in their 60s and then a teen or a tween, someone from a double zero to a size 10 and there's so many different styles that you can mix and match and they're buying several at a time.

0:16:26.8 S1: That's wild.

0:16:27.8 S2: Yeah, it's a really good brand and it's hand cut and hand dyed in Australia and we like the Australian brands. I feel like they're very ahead of the curve.

0:16:37.2 S1: They know what they're up to.

0:16:37.8 S2: They know what they're doing, yeah and then, the one pieces. One pieces are super on trend. I think one pieces with belts are very popular. So even if it's something that's sexy and is gathered and very high cut in the front, kinda open in the back, with that little tie or Onia, the WeWoreWhat collection, with the demi-cup and the belt. It's very, very pretty. So yeah, it's actually really cute. I'm very excited to show you what's coming.

0:17:03.8 S1: Well, everyone listening needs to go in and feel that Bondi swimwear 'cause it's super, super soft and I can't even describe how comfortable that would be.

0:17:11.3 S2: I think this is one of those things where you have to put it on and you can't look at... If I were to hold up the bottom to you, you'd be like "There's no way I can fit in that." and it's...

0:17:20.8 S1: It's like a slinky.

0:17:21.9 S2: It's a slinky. It basically expands and contracts so it'll also mold to you so when I tried it, I tried to stretch it out more when I was wet but I thought "Well, let me see." So I got out of the water and I said to my fiancé, I'm like "Look, honey." I'm like "Look, it's like completely full coverage now," and when it gets wet, it stretches even more but it goes right back to shape, it's phenomenal.

0:17:49.1 S1: Oh, that's perfect. It seems like the type of thing that would be good for playing in the water a little bit, like a [0:17:54.4] ____.

[overlapping conversation]

0:17:54.5 S2: Oh absolutely, absolutely and I did have it in the chlorine and it didn't fade and it didn't... I have a hot pink one so I've been testing it just to see. Swimwear fades, it will. People can't expect that it won't. So again, we just kinda go through all the testing phases.

0:18:10.5 S1: I was gonna say, spend the money to ensure that it won't fade quickly.

0:18:13.9 S2: Yes, yes.

0:18:14.5 S1: You'll get your wear out of it. So along with your swimwear, what are your ultimate beach bag essentials? 

0:18:22.0 S2: I always bring a spray tan with me. I always do that, because you never know what the weather is gonna be like. Sometimes I just want that glow. If I was somewhere, a tropical destination and I want to even out, if I burn my décolleté or something, most importantly SPF, 'cause I'm blocking my face, I'll wear a 100 SPF on my face and my décolleté and I will spray tan myself. I definitely need my cell phone, my AirPods and some hand cream moisturizer and lipstick, lip balm.

0:18:54.1 S1: I love that you're carrying so many accessories now, at Bikini Haus.

0:18:58.2 S2: Oh I know.

0:19:00.0 S1: I saw you guys have so many sunglasses now and that's amazing.

0:19:00.7 S2: So many sunglasses and Quay... My gosh, yeah, sunglasses. The Quay sunglasses are great, because if anything happens to them when you're on vacation, you're not devastated.

0:19:08.8 S1: That's the thing, they're good quality but they're not a million dollars.

0:19:11.1 S2: They're under a hundred dollars. They're under a hundred dollars. Our price point's really good because we just... We want people to find an abundance of things every time that they're coming in, we always want things looking new and providing options so I think we're probably one of the best price for Quay sunglasses and they're made in Australia and they are always collaborating with super cool celebrities, the J-Lo ones were amazing and we brought in a lot of those. So yeah, the sunglasses are huge. We're gonna be bringing more apparel.

0:19:44.5 S1: Oh, I like that.

0:19:45.3 S2: We're gonna be doing a lot of clothing.

0:19:46.5 S1: Cool.

0:19:46.9 S2: Yeah. Very, very soon too. So we're gonna be starting off with some cover-ups that are... I definitely think that they're gonna... It's gonna be a crowd-pleaser but then we also ordered some stuff when we were at Miami for resort, for holiday, we have dresses coming. We have jumpsuits, we have more accessories, we have knitted robes and crochet pants and things so it's really exciting.

0:20:14.4 S1: Well, we love a one-stop shop. Somewhere where I can go to go get all of my vacation things in one place.

0:20:18.8 S2: Yeah, that's what we're gonna be doing, yeah.

0:20:20.2 S1: It's perfect.

0:20:20.6 S2: Yeah, we're gonna just try to... We're gonna try something different. Now that we've been here for a full year, we know what people are looking for, we know what we can accommodate with staying true to our brand and the bottom line is, clothing is... I even find it difficult to shop for myself sometimes. Some of the pieces that I really like that fit me well because they're tailored well for someone of my body type and then I can't find them ordering online so I'm like "Well, I did that with bikinis, why don't I try that with clothes? We'll see what happens." [chuckle]

0:20:54.6 S1: Yeah, the model worked in one way so hopefully...

0:20:57.3 S2: Right, yeah. So yeah so that's what we did. So we ordered quite a bit in clothing and swim.

0:21:04.8 S1: Yay! 

0:21:04.9 S2: Yeah.

0:21:05.6 S1: Well, you're such a beach lover, I wanna know what your favorite beach destination is.

0:21:10.2 S2: I almost don't wanna tell you.

[chuckle]

0:21:12.1 S1: You don't wanna give all your secrets. [chuckle]

0:21:13.8 S2: Well, you know what, now all the celebrities are going but Turks and Caicos has been my favorite island for the past 15 years.

0:21:21.0 S1: I have never been there.

0:21:21.9 S2: Oh my gosh. Well, I don't know, it's quiet.

0:21:24.7 S1: Yeah.

0:21:25.4 S2: But I love the water, I love the ocean. So I'm a scuba diver.

0:21:28.3 S1: Okay, cool.

0:21:28.4 S2: Well, I haven't been diving for three years but... So I'm a certified diver and I would always go to different destinations that had really healthy coral reefs. Turks and Caicos, I kind of just landed upon but it was just... It's perfect. The water is like bath water. It's shallow, a lot of Canadians. It was supposed to be Canadian province back in the '60s.

0:21:55.2 S1: Oh, really? 

0:21:56.4 S2: Let's Google this later.

0:21:56.6 S1: Yeah. [chuckle]

0:21:57.3 S2: Apparently, it was going to be our Hawaii.

0:22:00.4 S1: Huh, that's so interesting.

0:22:01.6 S2: So then that didn't happen so every time I would go to Turks I would ask, "Okay, what's going on? Who's in government now? What's happening with the Canada Turks and Caicos thing?" So they're like, "Well, the residents want it," 'cause obviously they wanna our healthcare and there's all of this great opportunity 'cause it's under British rule but there's a very, very high import tax. So that revenue now...

0:22:18.4 S1: Now, I wanna Google it and I wanna know what's going on.

0:22:20.6 S2: So they've gone back and forth and I'm always so mad that I didn't buy a place years and years and years ago.

0:22:27.9 S1: There's an article from two years ago where it says... The title's "People still want Turks and Caicos to become Canada's 11th province."

0:22:33.4 S2: Yup.

0:22:34.5 S1: Wow.

0:22:35.1 S2: Can you imagine? 

0:22:35.9 S1: That would be amazing. We need a Hawaii [chuckle] that's not as far as Hawaii.

0:22:40.5 S2: Right.

0:22:41.3 S1: Wow! 

0:22:41.8 S2: So it's a beautiful place. I love it. The idea with Bikini Haus was I'm going to have it in Turks and Caicos. I was gonna open my first store in Turks and Caicos.

0:22:50.6 S1: And then you'll just move down there. [chuckle]

0:22:51.7 S2: Oh my God. I would love it. So it's definitely my favorite place. I love it a lot and I just hope that we can find more Canadian designers. We did find one in Miami...

0:23:03.0 S1: Awesome.

0:23:04.4 S2: That I'd like to work with, not swim, more apparel but it's difficult because we don't... The people who are doing swim, well it's like... Well, show me something.

0:23:13.9 S1: Australia. [chuckle]

0:23:15.3 S2: Right but even if there's Toronto swim designers, if there's something that's a luxury brand or if it's unique and... We don't like to bring in brands in that compete with each other. When we're curating the collections, we'll ensure that well, we're not gonna have three animal prints from three brands that do the same thing. So there is definitely... There's a process, there's a strategy to what we do. [chuckle]

0:23:41.3 S1: Well, no, that's great because you don't wanna be competing with yourself. You don't wanna...

0:23:43.6 S2: No, no and we also... We feel like sometimes if you've given... There's too much, we also don't want it to be so heavy and so overwhelming because then I think when people come into the store and they see, it's like "Oh, you guys have tons. I'll come back next week." and it's like "Okay."

0:24:02.1 S1: Maybe not. [chuckle]

0:24:04.1 S2: We don't.

0:24:04.9 S1: Yeah.

0:24:05.1 S2: Because you see it hanging but we might not have a medium, we might not have a large, whatever it is. So our holding is when you see swimwear elite, to collect your swim, basically. You have to buy it when you find it. Just like an evening gown or just an outfit for something. Who wants to shop last minute for anything? The worst last-minute shopping is shopping for a trip, for a bikini before your trip.

0:24:27.2 S1: Well, especially because they're so revealing, you want it to fit and look perfect and...

0:24:30.7 S2: You wanna feel good, you wanna be ready. When you get there, you can't... What are you gonna do? Unless you're in... Somewhere where you can shop, right? 

0:24:38.8 S1: Well that kinda leads perfectly into my next idea is that I love the concept of every body is a bikini body, that everyone can wear a bikini. So do you have any tips for women to feel sexy and confident in their swimwear no matter what their body type or their age or anything? 

0:24:55.1 S2: Yes. Lots of tips.

[chuckle]

0:24:57.4 S2: So if you're... I feel like... So a bikini, you have to know... We have a lot of women coming in and they're like, "I don't like this and I don't like this and I don't like that." You have to be in the right mindset. If you have to shop for a bikini and you're not looking forward to it, I suggest go and get a spray tan.

0:25:17.7 S1: Yeah.

0:25:18.0 S2: A thousand percent, get a spray tan because not only is it gonna give you the color, it's gonna smooth out your skin. You're going to look flawless, basically, you're gonna... The dimples on your bum or the back of your leg or whatever it is that's bothering you, it's probably gonna be minimized. If not, you're not even gonna see it. You're gonna feel better so it's all about looking better, feeling better, right? I do believe in that. You're gonna feel more comfortable trying on a color that maybe you wouldn't because you don't think it's gonna go with your skin tone right now. So I think definitely to get in the right mindset and then do your prep, do your spray tan prep. Look on the website of the place that you're shopping if they have an e-com store or call in advance and say, "Do you have this, that?" And the other thing, get them to put it aside for you. A good sales person is going to help you and would be expecting you.

0:26:04.8 S2: We do this in the store all the time. If there's someone calling and asking about an item, we'll ask them, "Are you going away?" "Yes, I'm going away on Saturday and I'm going on a... It's a 40th birthday and I just had a baby and I have no time to whatever." And it's like, "Okay, okay. So when did you have your baby?" "Six months ago." "Okay so do you want to hide your tummy?" "Yes." "Okay so we have high-waist options. What size bra are you wearing? What size jeans are you wearing? How tall are you?" And, "Okay, these are the things that we're looking at." And then we pull the pieces and at least that way they have a friend, right? So it's not like that everywhere, I know but I feel like if you show someone... If you're shopping somewhere and you really know what you're looking for, then at least that you...

0:26:52.2 S2: You're doing a little bit of prep and you're putting yourself in the right head space, right? 

0:26:56.2 S1: Well and it feels like one of those online, like find the perfect bikini for your body but it's in person, which is even better.

0:27:01.9 S2: You have to be open-minded, yeah.

0:27:02.5 S1: It's like going through the quiz of like, "What are you looking for? What cut do you want? What body parts are you gonna hide? What do you wanna accentuate?"

0:27:08.8 S2: And coming... And you need to come out... Well, we always ask, "What do you wanna show and what do you wanna cover?" People tend to put on swim and just leave it there and it's like, "No."

0:27:16.2 S1: You adjust it.

0:27:17.3 S2: You've gotta adjust it. Exactly. So you've gotta adjust it to kinda show what you want and cover what you don't, right? So the minute that we do stuff like that, then we see them like they're turning around, they're looking at themselves in the mirror, you can tell they feel good, right? And that's what a bikini should do. It should make you feel good. If you don't feel good in it, don't buy it.

0:27:36.8 S1: Yeah, that's...

0:27:37.2 S2: Absolutely not. Don't buy it and if you don't find anything you love... I feel like we have tons of stuff that we've put on to bodies that otherwise would think they would never look good in but I think it's definitely about keeping an open mind, doing the prop, being ready, knowing that you have a friend that's gonna help you, 'cause that's what we try and accomplish, it's you feel like you're shopping in your best friend's bedroom, right? 

0:28:03.7 S1: Yeah.

0:28:03.8 S2: You should be fine.

0:28:04.5 S1: And you're your own worst enemy, when you're on the beach, no one's looking at you...

0:28:07.8 S2: No one's looking at you.

0:28:08.5 S1: Thinking, "Oh, look at her showing off this."

0:28:11.0 S2: Yeah and you have to transport your mindset to that. Like you have to remember... Like even for myself, being in Miami and I was... I mean, honestly, it's just like that phrase, "There's nothing better than being in a bikini." They're really... I felt so good but I'm in that environment, I'm in the tropics, right? It's one thing if you're here in the summer or even at the cottage, it's just different, it's just more... So much more liberal, right? So when you're traveling abroad, a bikini on the beach is supposed to be minimal. I'm not saying it needs to be a thong but I mean, it shouldn't be an outfit. Wear something that's well fit, that's gonna give you the coverage that you need, that's gonna be comfortable in the water, that's gonna dry fast, right but for the most part, I think Bikini Haus, it's because we're not mainstream, we're not for everyone.

0:29:05.8 S2: We offer cheeky coverage, cheeky to moderate coverage on trend styles for the cool girl, for the chic woman and the accessories so for the most part, they're more excited to meet us and find us versus, "Oh, I don't know if I wanna come in and try things on." But we do have some of... We do have that clientele and we just do our best to... Like if they're going away, they need to shop.

0:29:30.9 S1: Like I know that when I initially look at bikinis at Bikini Haus, I immediately like "Oh, I can't wear those. I don't look like a girl from Miami. I'm not that... That's not me." But once you go in and try them on, it's fun and like you try on things you wouldn't normally try on.

0:29:45.7 S2: Well, this is the thing. It's difficult 'cause we wanna create this really approachable environment but at the same time, a bikini is a bikini, right? So we have the Boys and Arrows brand, which is super rad and it's cool, it's edgy but it's kinda sporty at the same time. It's really appropriate. We find it's like our crowd-pleasing brand and then there's Frankies Bikinis too, where there's a lot there. So sometimes the way that we have things merched, if we've got really skimpy stuff, the entire store isn't super skimpy.

0:30:13.4 S2: A tailored suit that is moderate coverage, it'll look more flattering than a full coverage, 'cause the full coverage has no structure to it, it's just one big piece of fabric. So when it gets wet, it's gonna sag and it's gonna bunch.

0:30:28.4 S1: Well, that's where that Bondi or Bondi...

0:30:29.7 S2: Bondi.

0:30:30.2 S1: Bikini is gonna be awesome.

0:30:31.7 S2: It's amazing.

0:30:32.5 S1: It's gonna be the perfect...

0:30:33.5 S2: We can't believe the demand for it. We were shocked.

0:30:36.9 S1: I need to come try one on.

0:30:37.7 S2: You can try one on. We just got some in. We got some more pieces too. They're super cute.

0:30:41.0 S1: Amazing.

0:30:41.7 S2: Yeah.

0:30:41.9 S1: Well, lastly, I just wanna ask what's next for Bikini Haus debut, what's new, what's coming, what should we be excited for? 

0:30:47.2 S2: Well, the apparel for sure so we definitely wanna bring in some new apparel. We'd like to bring in some more accessories as well, some hats, maybe some house wears. We have access to a lot of cool brands and we see a lot of cool stuff and we like testing things so I think we're gonna do a lot of testing to see how it goes and be ready for the holiday season, 'cause last year we weren't sure. We just kept going month to month and we didn't know what we were gonna be bringing, know what Christmas looks like. So definitely maybe some more holiday gift sets and things like that.

0:31:23.9 S1: Now that you're a seasoned Bayview Village.

0:31:25.9 S2: Now I'm a seasoned Bay... It's been... I know. Can you believe it? 

0:31:28.5 S1: It's wild. Over a year.

0:31:30.0 S2: It's so wild. I can't believe it.

0:31:31.8 S1: And we're so happy to have you here.

0:31:33.2 S2: Yeah, I'm happy to be here. It's definitely... And we hope that we've been bringing new people to the mall as well because we always go "I haven't been in Bayview Village in years." And we're like, "Yeah."

0:31:48.0 S1: It's changed a lot. Well, I know every time I walk by your windows, there's something new and exciting that makes me wanna pop in so...

0:31:56.9 S2: Yeah, we're just trying to keep the love, just trying to keep bringing great pieces in, we definitely... So we carry up to 3X in beach buying, which is great.

0:32:09.7 S1: It's so awesome.

0:32:10.2 S2: So we've been trying to do that. We're doing more tops. We're getting there, we're trying to... As long as it fits with our brand, we're just gonna be bringing in pieces that we think that Canadians would like, right? 

0:32:22.3 S1: Well, everyone, make sure you go and follow Bikini Haus on Instagram, first of all, because it makes you wanna go to a beach immediately and it's so inspiring for summer and go tell Maryanne what you like and what you want and so that's how you're gonna find your best bikini at Bikini Haus.

0:32:36.2 S2: Thank you, Carly.

0:32:36.8 S1: So thank you so much.

0:32:37.8 S2: You're welcome. Thank you very much, this is great. This is fun.

0:32:40.4 S1: Okay.

0:32:40.7 S2: Now let's go try on some swim.

0:32:41.8 S1: I know.

0:32:44.7 S1: Thanks for tuning into the Hautecast. If you liked what you heard, please feel free to rate and subscribe on your podcast app. Don't forget to stay up to date on the latest and greatest at bayviewvillageshops.com and follow us on social media @bvshops. Until next time...