Merrilee's Swimwear

Merrilee's Swimwear was founded in 1977 by Merrilee Madrigal, and remains under original ownership to this day. The roots of her style and success stem from being a creative, die-hard, beach-going hippie with a passion for fashion and a love for sewing, passed down from her mother, Evelyn. Merrilee was an ambitious, young Huntington local from the small-surf-town Golden Bear days of the 1970's. She started out sewing bathing suits for close friends and family when in high school, but word quickly spread amongst local beachgoers, and demand for her hand-sewn bikinis quickly grew faster than she could keep up with. To help keep up with the demand, Merrilee was permitted (by her mother, of course) to stay home one day a week from school - under the condition she keep up her straight A's while sewing her very popular suits. Every weekend she would set up shop on Main Street and sell bathing suits out of a leather suitcase. The city of Huntington Beach considersMerrilee's Swimwear a historic business . The first Merrilee's Swimwear Boutique opened April, 1977 at 111½ Main Street, operating within the Mezzanine level of Sunline Surfboards. Jack's Surf Shop purchased the property in 1983 and she moved her business across the street into 124 Main Street , formerly Jose's Shoe Shop. This new store quickly established a reputation the local spot to find the very best in women's swimwear and clothing fashions. Operations expanded quickly, more retail stores opened and Merrilee began wholesaling to department stores, specialty boutiques and other retailers all over the world, though over the years she decided to refocus and concentrate her time and energy on what mattered most to her…designing fabulous swimwear. Merrilee's has always been known for their original swimwear line, now known as Aeon Swimwear, designed by the mother/daughter design team of Merrilee and Felicia Madrigal. Aeon Swimwear is designed and sold exclusively at Merrilee's Swimwear Boutique stores. Merrilee and Felicia take pride in making quality, fashion-forward designer suits at an affordable price. They regularly visit Cannes and Monte Carlo, where the best of the best in swimwear fabrics, color forecasting, trends and accessories can be found in order to stay on top of the cutting edge in fashion. Merrilee has proven herself to be a dominant design force behind swimwear trends across the world with countless top notch designers shopping her store to see what's new and hot. Many designers have tried to replicate the Merrilee's style over the years but no one has managed to parallel her ability to continually outdo her previous years and reinvent the way swimwear is worn time and again. With Merrilee and company designing & making swimwear for over 30 years now, it's not uncommon to find households with a grandmother, a mother and a daughter who all have owned and loved a Merrilee's swimsuit of their own. We hope you'll join the ranks of our satisfied customers!