Sue Rice's Incredible Lycra Strips

For only $2.00 - You’ll find a million and one uses for these INCREDIBLE LYCRA STRIPS. Once stretched, they curl and become longer and stronger. Approx 7 assorted colours/prints in each pack.

PRETTIER than ribbon
STRONGER than rope
EASIER TO HANDLE than sticky tape
MORE FLEXIBLE than wire
GENTLER on hair
MORE FORGIVING on plants than gardening twisties
LONGER LASTING than a rubber band
CUT it, PLAIT it, TWIST it, STRETCH it, BIND it, WRAP it.

Check out some of places we're using our lycra strips right now.

Sasha Loves her Lycra Strip Bow, and is so content with how fresh her doggy biscuits stay, when fastened with a Sue Rice Lycra Strip!

Lycra Strips are perfect Hair-ties, Key Rings & Ribbon.

Lycra Strips in the Natural World...

Lycra Strips are More Handy than your Fix-it Man

Chlorine Resistance

You wouldn't wear a ballgown to the office, would you? It's the same as wearing your beach bathing suit in the pool. It's just not done!

In such a sunny, sports oriented environment as Australia and the US, we still expect our lycra swimsuit to last in chemically treated pools and spas. And why not! We are so technologically advanced to develop computer chips and send robots into space, we should be able to wear our swimsuit in the pool one day and the beach the next. Right?

Wrong! The sad fact is that despite all the technological advances that the inventors of lycra, Du Pont, have made, the swimsuit still ends up looking like a thin, shapeless sack often after only a few exposures to chlorinated water in swimming pools. The effects are even more dramatic when the heat factor of the spa or heated public pool is added to the cocktail.

Back in the 1930's, Dunlop chemists developed "Lastex" to replace heavy boning and lacing in corsetry. It found it's way into swimsuits but zips and shirring were still used to retain the corset-like appearance. The invention of elastomeric fibres such as lycra revolutionised lingerie and swimwear eliminating the need for zips due to it's superior shape retention. The fibre was knitted into nylon, polyester or cotton in a unique way to gain maximum stretch and shape retention. Yet to this day, chlorine still defeats it, perishes it, destroys it.

Nevertheless, looks like chlorine is here to stay. The greenish-yellow gas, named in 1810 after the Greek word for green; khloros, quickly became one of the world's most effective disinfectants. According to the Chlorine Chemistry Council, "it bonds with and destroys the outer surfaces of bacteria and viruses".

Today it plays a role in over 10,000 products from surfboards and tennis rackets to deoderants and perfumes. It forms the basis of 85% of the world's pharmaceuticals and it "purifies" much of the world's drinking water. Is it any wonder it is used as the principle disinfectant in swimming pools worldwide?!

It's also cheap to make. North America alone produces 12 million tons of chlorine per year. There's no doubt that it seems to produce a number of benefits. We don't suffer from typhoid and cholera any more. But what is the ubiquitous chlorine really doing to us?

Remember the green plastic hair we had as kids after a summer of swimming. And those burning eyes! If the swimsuit is perishing, what is it doing to the health of the person wearing the bathing suit? Recent research suggests that exposure to chlorine in pools may cause breathing trouble.

And what about our drinking water.... According to the National Cancer Institute in the US: "drinking chlorinated water may as much as double the risk of bladder cancer". Obviously drinking swimming pool water is definitely not a good idea....

Click Here to read the full article....

Glebe

In the early days, when we were thinking about retail, we decided that the inner city suburb of Glebe was a great place to set up business. Why? Glebe is 2 km as the crow flies to the centre of Sydney city and 10 minutes by the 470 bus. We liked Glebe not only because of its convenient location but because of its relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

From 1986 – 1998, we occupied the south east corner of the Bridge Road and Ross Street intersection. 11 years later, we moved over to the south west corner of the same intersection. This building had a prominent façade but smaller display windows. "Put the swimsuit on the outside" we said. So we called our friend Rodney, the mural painter, who brought over his scaffolding and paint brush. Anna our lovely machinist (who now lives in Perth) kindly posed for him and the famous painting emerged. "Anna" soon became a landmark with Sydney taxi drivers who affectionately referred to the building as "Sue Rice corner". It had the desired effect…. our customers had no problem finding us from then on

Click here to read the full article.....

Thanks for all your entries!

We recently had a competition which was won by Rebecca (see earlier post). But we really did get so many amazing entries, and I wanted to share some of them with you. This fantastic entry comes from Chris Acosta - thanks so much Chris!

Thanks Sue Rice For My CRYSTAL BALL
After having my first child and jumping from a size 10 to a size 14, with a belly and no luck of the weight coming off despite trying to walk and breast-feeding. I can vouch that losing weight whilst breast-feeding is a myth having done it for 2 years straight, working for some it definitely doesn't work for everyone!!!In search of clothes at reasonable prices online for breast-feeding mothers to accommodate for my post baby body i came across a very promising "Sue Rice" and was intrigued by the Tummy Shop and it catering for women with different body types including big boobs (BIG MILK FILLED BOOBS) - and they were having a sale, being uneasy about buying the costume i wanted as it was close to $200 and despite the fabulous reviews i have had many disappointing orders i previously bought from other companies online. So i bought one for sale for $50 and hoped for the best! It came, and I tried it on but I must have made a bad online decision because i felt a bit like Grimace in my purple costume, kicking myself for not going for the ones in the Tummy Shop, So i thought I'd come in and actually try some on, as the Sue Rice store was only 20minutes away.

Selecting a few potentials i was happily surprised at how nice I looked... feeling like these costumes brought me into some sort of Post-Baby time machine... my tummy was gone and i had a nice sexy looking shape... oooh la la ... the styles and colours seemed endless, i couldn't make a decision... I must have been in the change room for an hour, I couldn't take my eyes off myself!! Hahaa.... Going into the shop was the best thing I could have done, there were better buys and it brought my confidence back. I realised that the cut and design can have a large impact on how it looks on your body whereas i thought that it was just my body!!!

My favourite was the Crystal/Superpants I couldn't decide between red and blue. I came out of the change room with Crystal/Superpants, Emma/Superpants, Arena/Eros, Natasha and another. Placing them all on the counter, secretly wanting to buy all of them!
I then spotted the Crystal/Superpants in WHITE --- scary white!!! ... I hadn't had the confidence to where white pre-baby... but my oh my, something came over me in Sue Rice because I was back in the change room looking at how fabulous I looked in white!!! ... I had to get it, and i got the Emma, Arena, Natasha sets as well.

The Crystal however is my absolute favourite. I love it being strapless and supportive!!! ... I don't have to worry about tan lines, and the ruching is fabulous for my belly I've even worn it as a top, I can't get enough of it... and am seriously thinking about buying a couple more... LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU SUE RICE!!!

What is happening to bra sizes?

Have you noticed that lately, bra sizing has taken on a life of it's own. Suddenly, what used to be called a DD cup can now be referred to as an F,E or DDD, and an E cup can now be a G, H, I or J.

What could be more confusing?

When I started designing swimwear some 25 years ago, DD seemed to be the largest bust size in existence. Maybe I just didn't notice because I was a mere B cup and DD's weren't yet on my design agenda.

Since then I have fitted thousands of women of all shapes and sizes. Up until only a few years ago,E cup was the largest size I encountered with the exception of one woman who I'll call Milly, who came to me in great distress because she couldn't find a swimsuit to fit her breast size. She'd only found one bra to fit her which was a "G" cup. She had the largest bosom I had ever seen and to this day, she still wins the prize.

My point is that nowadays, I encounter women on a daily basis that say they are F's, G's and even J cups and they aren't as big as Milly was. Somewhere along the line, cup sizes have gone haywire. Breasts have NOT suddenly increased in size! Only the names of the size.....

Click here to read the full article

Competition Winner - Rebecca Stepaniak

Beautiful Breasts

I used to have beautiful breasts..sigh. In my younger days, I had perky generous C breasts that were often mistaken for implants. Three children and, I am loathe to admit, a few too many milkshakes later (for the cravings, of course), I have saggy, baggy, squishy, gigantic boobs. Gone is the perkiness, gone the beautiful cleavage, gone the ability to fit into any swimsuits (or tops at all for that matter-have you thought of expanding your business?). Although I am overweight, my main problem is my disproportionate breasts which are now a size DD to E or G depending on who you ask. Did you know that standard bathing suits are made with size B to maybe C cups, even in larger sizes? All would be tolerable in the dressing room, after stuffing the offending parts of my body in, and I would delude myself and make the purchase. Then we would make a bathing-suit-required trip. There I would be, in my deluded bliss, until I moved. At which point I would look down, to my horror, and find half if not all of my breast hanging out. Now I am not the modest type, but there are lines in the sand... I am an accomplished Internet shopper (if there were only careers in such things!) and so this is where I turned. Unfortunately, Google "suits for large breasts" or some such variation, and you will find innumerable sites for the Barbie doll woman. There you can buy teeny tiny pieces of fabric (otherwise termed bikinis) in separate pieces-say a size 2 bottom and a washcloth-cut-in-two-pieces for your DD top. I wish. I even purchased a "Miracle Suit" on another site but alas there are no miracles to be had, unless you count the miraculous way my boobs oozed out of every available opening. Finally I came across Sue Rice. I dutifully went through the size calculator and ordered a 14 DD Marilyn suit. Our next trip to the beach was finally enjoyable. I could alter positions on the lounge chair without fear. Heck, I could play in the pool with my kids. I could run...okay, that is still a dangerous proposition both in terms of bodily injury to me and for the unfortunate onlookers. My Marilyn suit saved me from having to sit pool side in a hideous upper body tent of some sort. I feel good in that suit. I just wish I had more colors....

Rebecca Stepaniak

30 something Mom of 3 boys

Portland, OR, USA

Congratulations Rebecca! You are the winner of a new Sue Rice Swimsuit of your choice! Perhaps you can get Marilyn in another colour after all....

Wonderful World

Here at Sue Rice we sell our swimsuits all over the globe. We recently sent a Marilyn+Superpants all the way to Kyrgyzstan. Packing up swimsuits in little blue tissue paper, writing a love note, sealing them with a Sue Rice sticker and knowing that in a few days they'll be in New York or Paris or provicial Kyrgyzstan makes the world feel very small sometimes. I recently stumbled upon this - which reminded me that it's not. But sometimes it is....


Beautiful Kyrgyzstan.

Read Print

Ok admittedly this has nothing to do with swimwear.... but it is a pretty cool resource. Thousands of canonical texts online for free - and not written in wing-dings or obscured within a terrifying sea of animated smiley faces. No this is bonefied. I just started reading The Water-Babies. This is amazing - and of course if you don't want to go blind you can just print it. Ok it's not that pretty, but who cares! I imagine this makes searching for a quote much easier too - with the simple 'find' tool. Have fun reading!

Maritime Museum Swimwear Exhibition

I am very excited about the Maritime Museum's new exhibition The Story of Swimwear which showcases the history of Australian Swimwear in a global context.

The evolution of swimwear is fascinating (see our article) and I can't wait to see these swimsuits through time in the flesh. Adding dimension to the project, the team at the Maritime Museum have been working with 2nd year fashion design students from the University of Technology Queensland - who mark their progress in a great blog.

The exhibition runs from 2nd July - 25th October, South Gallery, Maritime Museum.