Modest Swimwear at Last
By Joy Lundberg

We live in a housing development with its own swimming pool. When the sun comes out and the temperature goes up it becomes the gathering place of the young and old alike, many of whom are LDS. When our grandchildren visit us it’s one of the first places they want to go.

Now here’s the sad part. There have been too many times when I want to cover their eyes — not to protect them from the blazing sun, but from the display of exposed female bodies that appear all too frequently.

Sadly, too many of these “bodies on display” belong to young Latter-day Saints. I have often wondered, how is it that these young women who are so lovely and modest at church can brazenly walk about at the pool wearing so little. Don’t they get it? Do they think that wearing a swimsuit falls into a “modesty doesn’t apply here” category?

Or is it that they just can’t seem to find a swimsuit that’s both stylish and modest? My love and respect for them causes me to believe this may be the reason. If that’s the case, I have some good news for them and their mothers. And with summer on the horizon, it couldn’t be more timely.

Family Ingenuity

Let me first set the stage. We’ve lived in this neighborhood in Provo, Utah, for several years, so we’ve seen a lot of kids grow up during that time. Now many of them are returning with their own young families, some even have teenagers, and I’m thinking “How did that happen? Weren’t they just kids themselves yesterday?”

I remember three sisters particularly — Nicole, Jennifer and Colette Williams. Adorable when they were little kids, jumping and splashing in the pool, then as teenagers lying on their towels getting suntans. Now they’re all grown up, married and with kids. Their friends know them by their married names, Nicole Bruderer, Jennifer Anderson, and Colette Callister. But to me they’ll always be “those cute Williams girls.”

Now their carefree days have turned into concerns over their own daughters’ swimsuit options. Instead of whining about the absence of decent swimwear, these sisters have put their heads together and have done something extraordinary about it.

They have created the new Utah-based company called Lime Ricki Swimwear and launched a line of swimwear touted as “the hottest in modest” swimsuit design. Their line of suits offers a “hip, fresh alternative for young women of all ages who are looking for something appealing, not revealling.”

They are now selling their spring 2007 line of tankinis, with skirts, board shorts and coverups, and have more on the way. CEO and cofounder Colette Callister, says, “We are really excited to be able to offer more choices to girls and women who want to look great and feel comfortable in a swim suit, and the initial response to our swimsuits has been wonderful.”

A Daughter’s Challenge

The beginning idea to design and manufacture a line of swimwear started after a frustrating and failed shopping trip to find Colette’s teenage daughter a suitable swim suit. But when Colette’s sisters and cofounders of Lime Ricki, Nicole and Jennifer, shared in her frustrations, Colette’s daughter issued them a challenge: “Why don’t you design and produce suits?”

The last time these three sisters were issued a challenge, they found themselves eight months later crossing the finish line together at the “Top of Utah Marathon.” Although this new challenge was no less daunting, their response was once again, “Why not?” Combining their talents, expertise, and creativity in design and business, they set out on the challenging, yet exciting and rewarding journey of creating suits with eye-catching appeal.

“We tried to design suits and choose fabrics that our daughters and their friends, and even moms like us, would love to wear,” says CMO, Nicole Bruderer. In fact, the suits are named after each of their daughters. “So far the response to our swimsuits has been really rewarding.”

As soon as the suits became available a couple of weeks ago, people have been on their website www.LimeRicki.com buying suits and even making suggestions for the next suits. “We are having so much fun!” said Jennifer Anderson, CFO. Although the finish line has yet to be crossed, for now, these three sisters are enjoying the journey.

I think I represent a huge segment of LDS mothers and grandmothers who want to say thank you to these three courageous sisters. They have put the 13th Article of Faith into action: “If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” Don’t we love it when Latter-day Saint mothers step up to meet the challenges of our day! Congratulations, Colette, Nicole, and Jennifer!

[For more on issues that concern the family visit Gary and Joy Lundberg’s Web site at http://www.lundbergcompany.com.]