LucetteLagnado
Updated July 23, 2015 9:56 p.m. ET
N.J. - When Deborah Nixon heads to her local pool in her swimsuit - a pair of long black leggings and a matching short-sleeved top like surfers wear - she gets compliments and admiring glances, at least from other women.
"It is the New Sexy," says Ms. Nixon. The 58-year-old, who has abandoned her conventional one-piece bathing suit in favor of the more elaborate get-up, is convinced she looks and feels better with less of her showing.
Ms. Nixon, a former nurse and retired captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, is a fan of so-called modest swimsuits. This increasingly popular style of beachwear is a far cry - and for some women a welcome relief -
"When you get older, you don’t want that much exposed," says Ms. Nixon, who says she also likes the sun protection her swim outfit provides.
She purchased her suit from HydroChic, one of several online purveyors of modest swimwear that have sprung up in recent years in a competitive cottage industry. Like several others in the business, HydroChic, based in New Rochelle, N.Y., was started by Orthodox Jewish women looking for suitable beachwear in a community where women follow strict dress codes.
Orthodox women typically cover their arms and legs, presenting a conundrum for a trip to the beach. Sara Wolf, HydroChic’s co-founder, said she got the idea for the swim line at the Jersey Shore, where she spotted Orthodox women walking in the sand in ankle-length jean skirts. She found herself thinking about how her own friends wore oversize T-shirts and baggy men’s shorts to the beach.
"There really wasn’t much out there," Ms. Wolf says.
With no formal fashion training, she and a friend decided to create a line of modest swimwear with a sportier look, akin to what joggers, surfers and divers wear. "You want to look normal, not like you fell out of the sky,"
While Ms. Wolf and others set out to cater to a niche market, many are finding a much broader customer base. Women of other faiths who also prefer modesty, along with older and plus-size women who don’t like how they look in a traditional bathing suit, are fans of the new beach wear. Younger women worried about sun exposure have also become clients.
Still, the firm has been dipping its toes into slightly more daring waters, with short sleeves and mini swim skirts.
Mr. Koch, a fourth-generation owner, was an early fan. He says the suits fill a void in the swimwear market.
They do for Danta Bolin, who readily admits, "I don’t have the prettiest thighs in the world." For years, Ms. Bolin, who is in her early 50s, searched for adequate bathing suits. Finally, she ventured out to her favorite Texas water park in a HydroChic outfit: Bermuda-length swim shorts and a three-quarter sleeve top.
Ms. Bolin said she still remembers admiring comments from lifeguards who loved her surfer look: "They thought I was the coolest." She has never looked back.
HydroChic’s Ms. Wolf has a different perspective. Her website has been urging women to “take a walk on the wild side”—at least by wearing prints. She is already offering tank tops and a "skort" - shorts hidden beneath a skirt."I am not the modesty police," she says.
As for Ms. Nixon, she is already eyeing her next purchase: A jaunty, and deeply modest, swim skirt with leggings. That is fine with her husband, Max. Even covered up, he says, "her curves are beautiful."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/modest-bathing-suits-make-a-splash-leggings-sleeves-skorts-1437702924