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#1 Watch where you sit Gritty surfaces in hot tubs and pools will keep your feet from slipping, but they will also catch and tear tiny fibers in your suit when you sit on them. This is true for any stretchy article of clothing--even a heavy-duty neoprene wetsuit will get a fuzzbutt from sitting on rocks--but we’ve found this fuzz is extra noticeable on Beefcake suits because we print on white fabric. To avoid the dreaded fuzzbutt, we recommend sitting on towels or inflatable pool toys, which are more comfortable anyway, right? #2 Rinse immediately after use Chlorine, sunblock, and even body...

Mel here, with some real talk about the price of Beefcake swimsuits. Honestly, I would love to make these swimsuits within the price range for every single person who wants one. My intention for Beefcake Swimwear has never been to start a luxury brand: I want to provide high-quality, American-made swimsuits that are also affordable.  I have also learned an ugly truth: our idea of "affordable" clothing is full of costs that we as consumers are not paying, but someone pays. We usually just don't hear about it. When I began researching how to set retail prices, I discovered that very few companies will admit how much it...

"Beefcake..." said the kid, staring at my hat. "Is that, like, a cake made of meat?" "Uh, no," I replied. "It's like a muscle man?" The kid looked skeptical. I resisted the urge to launch into the full history of beefcake and why it's a perfect name for a queer lady-owned company making androgynous swimsuits from the 1920s. Instead, I'll post it here! While there are recipes for beef cake, we didn't name our swimwear company after a frosted meatloaf. 😏 Our "beefcake" comes from "cheesecake," a term dating back to the 1660s in Britain to describe sexy ladies. Cheesecake reached peak popularity...

Beefcake Swimwear swimsuits are made in the USA! Specifically in Portland, Oregon, at a woman-owned manufacturer. We use a technique called sublimation printing, which means the inks turn into gas under the influence of heat and combines with the material. The color will never fade or crack, even after multiple washings. Every swimsuit is individually printed on white polyester (if you ever had paper dolls, it looks a little like their clothes). After being printed, each piece of the suit is cut out: the front, the back, and the crotch. These get sewn together, with binding added around the arms and neckline and a...

Hi! My name is Mel and I'm the founder of Beefcake Swimwear.  I had the idea for Beefcake a couple years ago when I invited a friend of mine to the beach and she said she didn’t have a swimsuit. She dressed very masculine, but she didn’t like wearing board shorts and a rash guard. “What I really want,” she told me, “Is one of those old-fashioned swimsuits, like from the 1920s.” This got me thinking. The first time I made a swimsuit, I was five years old. I desperately wanted a pink bikini, but my mom and grandma said bikinis...