Hello Hello!!!
First and foremost, thank you for checking out my new venture...BLOGGING! I was told by family and friends that I should blog about my obsession with Fashion, my swimwear line, my love for holistic health, my Pit bull Mix Lady Luck, my travels, Food, Interior Design, Lady GAGA, Shoes, Hair, Makeup and of course Bettie Page!!... Everything Dangerous!! hehehe
**************************************************************
I'm sure most of you want to know FIRST, WHY did I start Bettie "B" Dangerous Swimwear!?
Well in 2005 I was at El Camino College getting my AS in Merchandising and finished in 2007. I took a few extra classes that I didn't need for my Merchandising degree, just to break up the monotony. One was the Fashion Show production and the other Fitting & Alterations. Since I fell in love with all things retro, especially 40s & 50s dresses, I started to alter those, so they would fit me. I decided I would maybe remake those styles with a better fit and submit them to the Fashion Show; which was held at the end of the semester. Unfortunately I have no pictures of them, but one got featured in Apparel News!
It wasn't til the summer after the show, I started noticing the lack of hot & stylish swimsuits... Oh yeah, I always lived by the ocean and was found at the beach either in the water surfing, playing around or skateboarding on the strand. I would go through at least three swimsuits a summer; Roxy swimwear got a lot of my babysitting money and my awesome Moms money too! Back to my point on the " lack of hot & stylish swimsuits"... it was more like lack of materiel on the persons body, ha ha. It looked liked women were stealing there 10 year olds sisters swim bottoms and used band aids for a top!!! I started venturing off to the beach at peak times and observed what people were wearing. I was appalled, because a lot of these women had great bodies but didn't wear the right suit to show what there mama gave them!!! I knew noting about making swimwear, really, but I knew what I liked wearing and what made me feel comfortable and stylish. I started doing my research on swimwear shapes and designs, and then realized, holy smokes, it was right in front of me, the swimwear of the 40s & 50s REALLY flattered a woman's body! I went to the LA County Museum and was granted access to their magazine archives, from the very first magazine that had a woman in a swimsuit and proceeding. I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!
My brain was buzzing with ideas, color schemes, etc etc. So THAT'S when I said, I NEED TO MAKE SWIMWEAR! I asked guys, girls and family on what they thought was sweet, sexy and hey, a little dangerous! I played around with the ideas through the Summer and in the Fall semester. In my final semester at El Camino College, I presented my first swimwear collection. It was one style, a one piece with a detachable neck strap and boning in the bust. Oh yeah, I decided it needed to be in 6 colors! I laugh now, but at the time, I thought it was a brilliant idea. I made it in Red, Black, Navy, Emerald Green, Baby blue and Titanium. Everyone loved it and embraced my idea ! So after I graduated, I decided that I would start making these suits and selling them. But I needed a NAME!!! I couldn't think of anything clever... It wasn't till I went to my hair dresser, Jaclyn Jean and said Jaclyn, help me out here... what should I name it. She said well you love Bettie Page and you like things dangerous, right... I threw out "Dangerous Bettie" ? She said, that would work! So I googled it and found out a Country singer was called Dangerous Bettie in Texas. That wasn't going to work, was it!? ha. Back to the drawing board...?
Then the unfortunate happened. My grandma Lisa passed away. This was the grandma who took me to Florence Fabrics in Torrance, every Spring break since I was 7 years old. She taught me to sew and attempted to teach me crocheting. She showed me the importance of the hand of fabric (which I'm still anal about the hand of fabric, when it comes to my swimwear and clothes)! How to do different stitches. She taught me all that I know...
ANYWAYS... I decided I needed to pay homage to her, but how?!? Then it happened ! ! !
Grandmas real name was " Batishwa" ( where she got Lisa, I don't know). So I said well I will take the first initial of her name "B" and use it some how.
Low and behold,
Bettie "B" Dangerous Swimwear. Coincidentally my first initial of my last name was the letter B too. So it worked out !
So since 2007 til present, I have been making Sweet..Sexy..Dangerous Swimwear.
My inspirations are drawn daily by the silver screen actresses from the 40s & 50s, Bettie Page, Pin- ups and all tied together with a modern twist. I have branched out to two piece suits, more one pieces,
high waisted bottoms and different prints. My taste is constantly evolving. But my heart will always be in 40s & 50s era.
***I hope you enjoyed my story and continue to follow me on my blog and other social networks that I'm buzzing on. I will let you in my life of being a swimwear designer and all things that inspire me and what has made me who I am !
Sweet..Sexy..Dangerous
Bettie"B"Dangerous Swimwear
Love you all!
Xoxo
Nikki B
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
