Shoshanna Rolls Out Swimsuit Line

Feb. 20, 2001 -- Shoshanna Lonstein, the clothes designer who first became famous for dating Jerry Seinfeld a few years ago, is now launching an innovative line of swimwear that caters to the more shapely woman.

Lonstein began her own clothesline back in 1998. She started out with simple, sweet and sexy dresses that were cut to fit women who are more full on the top. Her designs come with adjustable straps and other features that allow women to fiddle with it until the fit is as flattering as can be.

When Lonstein first began her clothesline it could only be found in about 10 stores, specialty boutiques and Bloomingdales. One month later her designs could be purchased in about 80 stores. Today Lonstein's clothesline can be found in more than 200 stores and it has gone international, with major sales in Japan.

But there's still more work to be done when it comes to designing for women whose shapes fall out of the mainstream sizes.In the area of swimwear, Lonstein says there have been very few options for women with a very full top like herself. In fact, Lonstein had to have her bathing suit tops specially made because she couldn't find one that fit properly in any store.

"I always had to have my swimsuits custom made," said Lonstein. "I knew there was a huge gap out there because, as with other areas of fashion, swimsuits are geared to this one shape, this ideal, thin, perfect shape."

The Big Plunge Lonstein's new line of swimwear, available in stores this spring, features tops that are sized as a bra would be, on the A-DD size scale. It's the answer small and large breasted women have been waiting for since the birth of the bathing suit. For women with an A-sized cup or a D-sized cup, most bathing suits on the market today don't work. They come in small, medium and large — women at the extreme ends of those sizes have to settle with a less-than flattering fit.

So what if your bottom is larger than your top or vice versa? With Lonstein's designs the consumer is allowed to mix and match. So if a woman is an A-cup but she has a medium-sized bottom she can finally walk out of a store with a bathing suit that actually fits her entire body.