We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Denise Foley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Denise, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My mother grew up in Lima, Peru. My mother grew up in Brazil. They met at LAX. I spent my childhood in Boring, Oregon. It’s a small town about 35 minutes from Portland. It was a predominantly white community. In fact, we were the only non white family growing up.
As I grew up, my body was different than my peers. My legs were bigger. I developed physcialy faster than my peers. I’d get repramnaded at school for wearing clothes, when my fellow classmates would wear the same thing and have nothing happen.
I’d come home from school crying about my body. My mom would build me up, saying “you are beautiful! Your body is incredible! You have to love your body. LOVE WHAT YOU GOT!
That’s why one of the motto’s for Sunset Vibes Swimwear is Love What You Got. I want to empower women to feel amazing in swimwear. I want them to make swimwear that fits differently, help women embrace their bodies and take one step closer to loving their bodies.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the founder of sunset vibers. I size inclusive swim, resort and spa wear line created to empower all women to feel amazing in swimwear. I want to change the swimwear buying experience from a negative one, to a postive one. My swimwear brand was accepted into the Marriot Preferred Vendor Program. We are sold at some of the most luxiours spas in the world (Ritz Carlton, Waldort Astoria).
My swimwear is 100% sustainable. It’s made from recycled water bottles that are rescued from the landfills or ocean. My cover ups are made from recycled fishnets. We are a plastic free line, and you can even plant the package that it comes in (it is bio degradable and can be eaten by worms!)
I grew up in Boring, Oregon. My mother enstilled body confidence in me at a young age. I lived in Santa Monica, CA in my 20’s and 30’s. I could NEVER find a bathing suit that fit. Neck pain. Shoulder Pain. Pinching at the hips. I am a size 12 and almost every line wouldn’t fit. It was a very demoralizing experience and made me feel very critical of my body. I realized I am not the only women to experience this problem! My suits fit different, we took a different approach to sizing, and I want to change the swimwear buying experience.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Leveraging Partnerships 2. Not being in the swim industry. I worked in Tech before. not having any experience in swimwear allowed me to take a different approach to sizing.
3. Refusal to give up. I will not stop until my vision of empowering all women to feel amazing in swim, resort wear!
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I work out! Working out helps so much. I also meditate. Self reflection and focusing on myself helps me in these stressful times!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sunsetvibesswimwear.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunsetvibesswimwear?igsh=OGJ2c2Jxbjh5M2Ri
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-foley-rocks/
