why is loving you so hard to do?

​Recently we attended the Kitesurfing Armada on Hayling Island in the UK. It was a brilliant event that brought together the best of kitesurfing in the UK. Despite the lack of wind over the weekend, with the sun shining it had a great vibe and the pros were still out showing their skills on the foils. For Corallina Swim it was also the first time that we presented our bikinis directly to the public and we got to hear your feedback, good and bad. We loved hearing that you thought our prints were brilliant and you loved the bright colours. We understand that one of the biggest negatives was the price of our bikinis but it was great to hear that those of you that ended up trying on our bikinis understood that the reason for the price was our great quality fabric and great fit. Having only two people across the weekend try on a bikini and not buy was a great success! Nevertheless, we are always trying to find ways to bring down the prices of our bikinis for you. Corallina Swim was built off a love of bikinis and our aim will always be to spread them as far as possible, to as many people as possible.

However, what I really wanted to talk about it this blog was not to do with our product but rather a reflection on what people thought of themselves when they saw the bikinis. If I had a dollar for every person who came to the stand and said “oh I could never wear that” then I could probably close up shop and retire right now. As someone who is always trying to find bikinis that flatter and fit all shapes and sizes it was so frustrating to hear women putting themselves down before they’d even touched a bikini! And ladies, listen to your partners, 50% of the bikinis that were sold were down to the partner telling you how amazing you looked when you were trying to convince yourself otherwise!

Now I don’t want you to think that I’m being naïve, I fully understand that all women have bits of their body they would rather not share, I do too! I also know that bikinis don’t give much coverage but how do you prove to somebody that every body is a bikini body when they won’t even put the bikini on their body!?

From the beginning of Corallina Swim, we have never used stereotypical models in our campaigns. The aim has been to use real girls who can give our customers a real sense of what they will look like in our swimwear. I can promise you that the only editing done on our models its changing brightness and contrast but we never ever edit their gorgeous bodies. Lots of girls came to the stand who were bigger and smaller than our models and convinced themselves, without trying on a bikini, that they would never look as good as the girls on the banner!

My feeling was that the following sentences have been engrained into our brains by society like they’re the “correct” things to say. Ladies would say “I could never fit in that”, “I would look awful in that”, “I’d be hanging out of that one” in the same way as we’re taught to say please and thank yous. Ladies, if we want to spread movements like “Me too” and equality then it has to start from a little self-love. So, when you go shopping next time, whether it be bikinis or winter jackets, I dare you to say “why don’t I give that a go” or “that colour would look great with my eyes” before you let you judge yourself so harshly.

And when you’re ready to show off your unique beautiful body, Corallina Swim will still be here to make you feel like the star you are!
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Left to right: 
Erika wears Carval top and bottom in Hak Mat
Liv wears Guana top and bottom in Caribee
Erin wears Ginger top and bottom in Hak Mat