Creating Our Brand-New Swimwear Line: Q&A With Garment Technologist Ruth

Say hello to Joanie Swimwear! We’re sitting down with Ruth, our Garment Technologist and swimwear fit expert, to learn more about what went into designing the range.

Our much-anticipated Swimwear line is finally here, and we’re so excited to share it with you! We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to design a range of swimming costumes and bikinis that not only look amazing but fit well and work on a range of body types.

Ruth, our Garment Technologist, is here to tell us more about the collection and answer some of your burning questions about how our Swimwear range came to be!

Hi Ruth! Can you tell us a little bit about your background before working at Joanie?

Whew! It’s been a ride! I started my career as an apprentice Garment Technologist at a plus-size specialist retailer after finding my passion for lingerie and swimwear during my time at university. I learnt firsthand with customers what it feels like to be in the right size underwear or swimwear, and it’s honestly life-changing and really gave me a purpose and focus.

Being with women and helping them find the right size lingerie or swimwear was just such a wholesome experience. I loved helping teach them about their size and seeing them empowered in their own skin when they left the fitting. I didn’t know how I was going to make this my mission as a career, and then I came across an apprenticeship, and the rest is history! I learned how to be a Garment Tech working with the type of product I was most passionate about, and it’s been my favourite thing since then!

I’ve spent years fitting women of all shapes and sizes into lingerie and swimwear that’s right for them. This gives you a great understanding of what different body types look like in real life - what looks good on them and what doesn’t. At the start of my career, I already had lots of experience with customers and different body types, but I didn’t know how garments were put together and how to technically fit them to make the item look and feel just right.

As an apprentice, I learned how lingerie and swimwear garments are put together, which fabrics you need to use and why, the shapes that the pieces need to be to create beautiful shapes on the body, and how to make sure a garment is made to a good standard throughout the factory process.

Over the years, I’ve travelled to factories (mostly in China) and met many lovely people along the way from all over the world that have helped me learn and grow technically and personally. I honestly never stop learning new things about this product area, and I think that’s why I love this job.

Swimwear has a special place in my heart. I think it’s such a vibrant, feel-good product - I just absolutely love working on it. I moved around different types of businesses, picking up skills in many areas but always working on curvy girl products. I’ve worked on everything from casual tees and leggings to beaded gowns and outerwear.

What do you think is the most important thing to consider when designing and fitting swimwear?

I always ask myself and other designers, “What is the garment going to be used for, and how can we make the customer feel great while wearing it?" It’s so important to design lingerie and swimwear for it’s purpose - ultimately, it’s a foundation garment that has to work.

For this range, we designed swimwear that people could wear to a spa (R&R!) and on holiday. Some key considerations were:

Bum coverage and leg shape: what is 'the look'? Being a vintage-inspired brand, we went for full bum coverage for your peachy bums! All of our styles have a full cover brief fit because we wanted to keep the range classically retro, while flattering your curves. All of our briefs are designed and fitted to be high- waisted, full coverage, classic vintage shapes.

We have two brief shapes – a midi shape and a boy shorts-style shape. The midi leg shape sits on the hips and provides a good amount of bum coverage, and the boy shorts-style shape has a straight-cut leg for full bum coverage.

All of the pieces in this range have been fitted to offer a good amount of coverage over your boobs, while still having an open and fresh look to flatter your natural features - not too full, not too skimpy.

All of the pieces are dual sized, and we’re confident that you'll be able to find one that fits you, whatever your size.

We tried to put a plain colour and a classic print (think sailor stripes) in each style so that if you don’t like bold prints (or don’t feel confident wearing them), you can pick a classic colour and still feel great rocking a classic shape. Some of our styles suit the vibrant, bold prints more than others – isn’t that art imitating life right there?

What are some of the design features you’re most pleased with in the range?

All of our swimwear styles have an inner bust shelf with removable foam cups - nobody wants a monoboob! An inner bust shelf helps to give lift, support and definition to your shape in a one piece. The removable foam cups can be used in a couple of ways depending on the size of your boobs. For smaller boobs, they can be used to provide a more defined/rounded shape and provide some additional modesty for if you get cold. For larger boobs, they can provide the modesty feature to help with nip show through if that works for your size.

Every single swimwear style is lined with Joanie Pink lining fabric for two reasons: the first is for modesty and to minimise any body show through, the second is to keep the range feeling like Joanie. A third added bonus is that the swimsuit lining adds a little extra sculpting and support for your fabulous curves!

All of the swimwear styles we've designed have side bones at side seam/wing attachment which help the garment keep its shape on your body and stay flattering when worn. There aren't any scantily shapes in this collection, so we needed to make sure that the garments kept their structure well when worn.

We also made the labels inside easy to remove so that your swimwear would be super comfy from day one!

Do you have any tips for keeping your Joanie Swimwear looking great year after year?

Chlorine in swimming pools and suncreams can really take a toll on swimwear fabrics. When you're on your hols or spa break or wherever you're rocking your Joanie Swimwear, be sure to rinse the garment through with cold water after every wear and leave it to dry fully before your next wear. 

When you get home, hand wash your swimsuit with a detergent - make sure you thoroughly rinse it out and lay it flat to dry. 

Do not machine wash them or hang on a radiator to dry.  I know it’s a pain, but if you look after your swimsuit as advised, it will look after you - wear after wear. 

Which Joanie Swimwear style is your favourite?

That is SUCH a hard question - I love them all! I think they are all really strong pieces in their own ways. They all have a different shape and purpose in mind, and are fitted that way. I think anyone who wants a piece of Joanie Swimwear is going to be able to shop the range and find something they love.

If you pushed me for just one, and if I was only thinking of myself… I’m a curvy girl, so personally, I’m drawn to Coralie. It makes my vintage-inspired heart sing! It’s the most classically retro piece in the range with the designed in shapes and features. We made sure when fitting it that this was the one that had the most cup volume for bigger boobs and made sure the ruching and skirt detail would fit nicely over curves at the waist and hips.

I’m going to be rocking this one for my morning swim as soon as it’s on the site!