Guest blogger Marina here, Quality Control Manager and
seamstress for those KaiKinis you love so much. The most wonderful Andrea
asked me to step in for this post and talk about my first experience with a
KaiKini. Little did she know that…
I have a confession to make.
My first time owning and
wearing a bikini wasn't until after I started working at KaiKini (gasp!). As in, my first KaiKini was my
first bikini! Up until that point, I’d never bought a bikini before. Like,
NEVER EVER. Why, you ask? Truth be told,
I’m pretty self-conscious. Similar to many other girls out there, I easily find
fault with what I see in the mirror, especially when it comes to my bikini
body. I pretty much never felt 'bikini
ready.' I was never comfortable enough
to show that much skin so I stuck with unflattering, ill-fitting one pieces and
tankinis. It took a move to Hawaii and a job at KaiKini to open my eyes to the
possibility of wearing something other than the potato sacks I was used to.
There is something really awesome about Kauai. Actually,
there are a TON of awesome things about Kauai, but there is one thing in
particular: girls here, of all shapes and sizes, ROCK their bikinis. From high
coverage to barely there Brazilians, women here strut their stuff and are proud
of it. Never before have I seen as much self-confidence as I've seen walking
the beaches of this beautiful island. And you know what? Self-confidence is
contagious. If all of these women could kill it in a bikini, why couldn't I??
And this is where KaiKini comes in. When I first started
working with Taryn and the girls, I had this mental block about our Kinis. NO
WAY would I EVER wear something so cheeky and revealing!
A little known fact about KaiKini (Shhhh! Don’t let Taryn know I told you!):
As quality control manager, I make sure that every single
piece produced in our small studio is up to our high standards. If there is ever a flaw in one of our suits
that cannot be fixed, like a hole in the fabric or broken elastic, it will
sometimes end up in one of the KaiKini girls’ Kini collections. (Side Note: The downside to being such an
awesome team of seamstresses is that flaws like this RARELY happen but when
they do, the first thing everyone asks is, “What size is it?!”). We all have
a few castaway, un-sellable bikinis in our possession and it was a suit like
this that had the honor of becoming my-first-bikini-oh-my-god!
I remember it like it was yesterday… it was a black Okole
with a hole. Now, the awesome thing about our Okole bottom is that not only
does it offer more coverage than a Kai, but for girls out there who may not be
as well-endowed in the booty department (like yours truly) it has this awesome
ability to give what you've got some extra oomph! Thanks in large part to the
scrunch in the back, the Okole silhouettes your bum and gives it a nice heart
shape, magically making it look, well, better. When I first tried it on, while still
self-conscious and not ready to wear it in public, I did have to admit that my
tukas looked the best it ever has in a swimsuit. No saggy fabric or ‘diaper butt’ here!
So that was my first experience with a KaiKini. I have to
say, it’s taken me a long time to get to the point of wearing a bikini in
public. I’m still self-conscious and am not yet able to strut my stuff and rock
it, but I’m getting there. I’m a bit biased because I actually make the bikinis
I wear, but I truly have to say that if not for KaiKini, I might still be
wearing my ugly tankinis and lamenting my awful tan lines. Not only am I proud
to say that my stomach now gets to see the light of day, but my KaiKinis still
remain the only bikinis I own.
I guess the moral of my story and the message I’d like to
share is this:
For those of you dreaming about one day wearing a bikini:
you’ll get there. Take baby steps. Ease into it. Find the cut and fit that
makes you feel the best. Go to an isolated place and wear
your Kini without fear. Work your way to
the point of being happy in your own skin and of what you've got. Oh, and if
your first suit happens to be a KaiKini, awesome!! Wear it knowing that we were
thinking about YOU when we made it and that we see you as beautiful no matter
what. But even if a KaiKini isn't the first suit you've ever owned, or even if
you don’t own a KaiKini, wear whatever helps you feel like the goddess you
are.
Now go out there and strut your stuff, Kini lovers!
XOXO
Marina
P.S. What’s YOUR first bikini story? We’d love to hear about it in the comments
section!
Name: Taryn Rodighiero
