Why are swimsuits so overpriced these days? Are our most loved swimwear brands ripping us off?
As more and more swim brands come into the market, you do wonder why the prices of these itty bitty pieces of clothing don't go lower and lower.
Hunting for your next swimsuit for that long awaited vacation has never been more fun with the easy access to the numerous brands available today. When you finally finish hunting and carefully picking the cutest ones on your favorite website, you are ready to key in your card details and address, excited to prep for your trip. You land on the "your cart" page, but your fast fingers aren't ready for what your eyes sees next: "Total Cost - $359.00.... WITHOUT TAX OR SHIPPING." You look again at the items, and you do some confused mental calculation of trying to figure out how 3 tiny bikinis cost more than your roundtrip flight from Singapore to Bali.... Your heart sinks and you feel ripped off. You exit the page and then go back to real life with a little of your soul missing.
(ok, it's not that dramatic, but close enough)
Why can swimsuits be so pricey?
In short, no, most brands are not ripping anybody off. The swimsuit industry is slightly different to the regular fashion industry. Although sometimes covering almost nothing, bikinis definitely need more time to produce and design.
The fit of the swimsuit is so important and so is the fabric it's made of. You need the only piece covering you while you're at the pool/beach/party to be secure, comfortable and functional. It's the worst when you wear a suit that you have to fix all the time or that snaps off every time you bend over. You want the suit to hug you in the right ways and to show off your best assets ;). All suits by BabeCave Swim are fitted over and over again to make sure that your boobs aren't slipping out and that you look hot at the same time. One centimeter off and you can end up showing the whole world your Platinum Vagine.
The production of the materials for swimwear is also more expensive than regular cotton or polyester fabrics. Two-way stretch spandex, nylon and polyester mixtures are considered high-tech fabric. We have to think about which materials are going to last in the chlorine, UV rays, salt and other harsh environments it faces. Our suits are made of Italian poly/elastane fabric that are thick and sturdy. If you've ever tried our Amanda One Piece, you know what it means by when I say the fabric can really suck things up and keep things in place!
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE $15 BIKINI I GOT FROM ZAFUL YESTERDAY?
Personally, I have to say I have purchased lots and lots of bikinis from these kinds of stores and from other cheaper choices online. However, the suits that I wear the most, that last and continue to love are the ones that are made from good brands that specialize in swimwear.
How these stores get to such low prices are because they don't spend so much time on fit, quality materials and quality control. The designs are made with cheaper fabrics, mass produced in factories and distributed to the cheaper brands. Mass production, and low paid labor lawed factories are the only ones that can produce these items at the lowest price.
With that being said, I do think some brands are taking it to the next level, marking up their simple string bikinis to be over $100 a piece....
What about BabeCave?
This puts BabeCave Swim in the sweet spot but also in a pickle sometimes because our whole aim is to deliver unique and high quality swimwear to you babes at the most affordable price point (Which is a basically a paradox). We also don't want to mass produce so we can keep our collections fashion forward and fresh!
Well... what we can say is that we will definitely continue to try our best and keep our suits wallet friendly while being chic and lux!
We also want to hear what you guys think! What is your price point for a cute bikini? What do you think about expensive and cheap swimwear labels? What do you want to see in the future with BabeCave Swim?