BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:Out of season in style

Carrie Shepherd and Pam Shan are planning on escaping to warmer weather for the holidays. But with summer over and all the winter gear in stores, where did the pair go to find much-needed warm weather clothes and bathing suits?

In Corona del Mar Plaza on Avocado Avenue, Bikini suits the needs of anyone looking for summer wear in the off-season.

“As you can see, we like it,” Shan said, pointing to Shepherd’s zebra-print shopping bag as the women left the store. “I hit it the day it opened.”

Shepherd, a Tustin resident, and Shan, who lives in Huntington Beach, made multiple stops last week at Bikini, a relatively new swimwear store in the Corona del Mar Plaza. On Friday, Shepherd bought a new bathing suit from a 2007 line.

Shepherd plans to travel to Hawaii with her family for the holidays. Shan has a trip to Australia, where it’s summertime, this month.

“A lot of people travel now for Christmas and get away for Hawaii or Mexico or go on cruises,” Bikini owner Diane Biggs said during a phone interview. “It’s very difficult to find a wardrobe during this time of year, and that’s all we do is specialize in resort-wear and swimwear.”

Biggs is no stranger to the swimwear business. For almost 45 years, her family has owned and operated a bathing suit store. In fact, her Corona del Mar Diane’s location is only two storefronts away from her newest venture, Bikini.

“The customers pretty much dictated the direction we were going to go, they loved everything we put in the swimwear store,” Biggs said. “I realized we wanted to break out our designer specialty swimwear into its own store — Bikini — that way the customer who was targeting swimwear would have a place to go.”

In Bikini, the colors are vibrant and the walls are lined from floor to ceiling with every swimsuit a beachgoer could think of. Bikini carries predominantly bathing suits — one- and two-piece suits, despite the store’s name — but also has a healthy selection of dresses, shoes, wraps and other beach-worthy accessories.

For those reasons, it differs from Diane’s, two doors down. With the opening a month ago of Bikini, the Diane’s store’s swimsuit inventory was pared down. Biggs estimated the majority of inventory at the original Corona del Mar store would fit under the sportswear category.

“The other store [Diane’s] is just a little bit more sophisticated, a little lower-key with the colors a little more subdued,” Biggs said. “They both work for us.”

Shan and Shepherd frequent both stores and now that Bikini is open, they are accustomed to peeking in both stores during their shopping trips.

Bikini has something at every price level, but many of the items are relatively reasonably priced. Shoes can cost $12 to almost $50 and range from simple Haviana flip-flops to more sophisticated wedges. A simple black dress can cost about $40.

But, as Biggs mentioned, it’s the bathing suits that make the store. They come in every color, many patterns and a cut to fit just about every body type with wraps to match. They don’t all come cheap, but not only are they made by high-end international designers, Biggs has rolled out the 2007 line before many shop managers have begun to think of putting out their inventory of next season’s summer clothes.

“Anyone who loves bathing suits and swimwear is starting to pick up suits now,” Biggs said.

Despite opening up shop as winter blew in, sales and customer traffic have exceeded her expectations.

“It’s going great, it’s fantastic,” Biggs said. “Especially given we opened at this time of year, we’re very pleased with it and very pleased with the ambience of the store.”