ABOUT US

Shay Johnson and Paula Hess founded DOS SWIM in 2019.  5 years earlier they had met working at Opening Ceremony; Shay — who was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Atlanta, Georgia — was working as a producer for the company, while Paula — who was born in Germany and raised by a Colombian mother — was working there as a designer. Traveling was always their thing, they went to India, Mexico, Morocco, Colombia, Europe and the Caribbean together, picking up textiles, colorways and inspiration along the way.  

Earlier this year, they started making swimsuits for an upcoming trip they were taking to Tulum, Mexico. They wanted swimsuits that actually fit right, celebrated their bodies, made them feel confident and expressed their love for color.  Their first collection was based on their  personal favorite styles, everything they design are pieces they themselves want to wear.  So they went to the Garment District in New York City, picked out cool fabrics and started cutting.  After that, the requests came in, mostly from friends over Instagram.

Starting a brand was never the main focus; they wanted to create something for themselves and their friends.  Finding the right fit was always so hard for their respective body shapes. Bottoms, specifically, were always a point of contention, they were either too low on the leg or too high, exposing too much or too little. They wanted to fix that.

What was the one nostalgic item you wore as a child that you are still inspired by and how did you incorporate it into the collection?

Paula: Growing up in south of Germany meant that during summer I would bike from my house to a nearby river that had a nice stone beach. I had this neon pink one piece swimsuit with rubber white starfish all over it, which over time had kind of faded. I felt so cool! That suit was for sure my favorite piece and actually the only one I remember having growing up. Maybe it was the color that made it special to me or maybe it was the start of my love for bright and bold colors.

Shay: The one piece that I wore growing up — that I literally still wear everyday —  is my double plated name plate necklace. My father gave me the necklace as a gift when I was 15, and it is probably my most prized possession. All of the trims for our first collection were gold for that reason!

Who is your style icon? (Can be family members, celebrities, a city.)

Paula: My Mom, forever. Since I was a little baby, when she would put lipstick on, it would make me smile. I also love Frida Kahlo’s amazing ability to combine prints and jewelry.  And, of course, Rihanna's gift to give us something nobody has each time she leaves a building!

Shay: My Granny - she’s a firecracker!! And one of the most stylist women I know. She is so chic and will ALWAYS pull up in a look. Definitely my girl and an inspiration! She says she looks up to me but it is definitely the other way around. I was also obsessed with Aaliyah growing up but who wasn’t!

WHAT ERA OF CLOTHING ARE YOU DRAWN TO THE MOST?

Paula: As I was a teen in the ‘90s and early 2000s, I love that that era is having a comeback. The best part is that now I am an adult and can finally afford to wear all Dior pieces and Prada bags. Also, I can dig in my childhood closets and bring back things that literally been packed away for so many years.

Shay: Same. The 90’s and early 2000’s, the vibe was cool and sexy without being overly sexual and trashy. In the early 2000’s I had this small red leather Versace backpack that was gifted to me and was my favorite accessory. My favorite brands to wear were Tommy Hilfiger, Rocawear, Baby Phat and Marithe + Francois Girbaud around that time.

What was your biggest challenge?

Paula:  We personally wear and test the styles first before going into production. The fit is very important to us. And was really the main reason why we wanted to create our own swimwear brand. As a curvy woman, fit and shape, even color, was a limiting factor of the swimwear I could buy. I collected so many options over the years but they all just didn’t fit right. For us, it was important to perfect the fit make you feel sexy and great wearing it and also embrace diverse body types. 

The hardest part was picking the right colors, it's really not easy. And also to stay focused and not try to do too much, we love a simple solution. Also, getting the right shape of bathing suit bottom is a real feat. They are either too small or too low or too big on the booty. We spend hours fitting our bottoms to create the right fit for everyone. 

Shay: The hardest part about creating our first collection was that it was never meant to be a collection. It was a personal project that evolved organically into something we never expected. Which also meant everything was backwards, unorganized, and we went without a plan. Like Paula said, fit is the most important thing to us hands down! You do not have an amazing product without it.

What was your favorite thing about creating YOUR FIRST collection?

Paula:  My favorite thing is researching and finding exciting details and shapes, I could truly do that for days. I love putting boards together and look through magazines and books. Ebay and Instagram are great sources. Working on designing with Shay makes me so happy and once picking up the samples is the most exciting thing, I could cry. 

Shay: Paula and I have a natural chemistry and very similar taste. So creating something together that is truly us will always be one of my favorite things about our collections. We spend a lot of time together so we are always throwing out ideas, researching, drawing inspiration from old movies, and brainstorming on what is next. Stay tuned!

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