On community, confidence, and the little moments that bring us closer.
This past week, we packed up our racks and bins of bikinis and headed to two sorority events at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara. We were there to share our swimwear, but what I ended up loving most had very little to do with what we were selling.
It was watching girls who barely knew each other sit side by side, taking a break from studying, their schedules, and everything else going on in their lives to simply enjoy being together.
There were girls helping each other find the right styles, offering honest opinions, exchanging compliments, and getting genuinely excited when someone found a bikini they loved. Conversations started between strangers, groups formed around the bins, and for a little while, everyone seemed perfectly happy just being there.
It reminded me of something I've always loved about the girls' bathroom.
You know that feeling? When you walk into a bathroom full of women and suddenly everyone's your friend. Someone compliments your outfit, another girl offers you a hair tie, and a complete stranger is hyping you up in the mirror. There's this unspoken understanding that we're all on the same team.
That's exactly what these events felt like.
And honestly, I think we could all use a little more of that.
A Little Confidence Goes a Long Way
Working in swimwear, I'm especially aware of how complicated our relationships with our bodies can be.
A bikini is such a small piece of clothing, yet it can come with so many feelings. Excitement, vulnerability, confidence, uncertainty, sometimes all at once.
That's why it was so meaningful to watch women naturally encourage one another. Nobody needed to be told to offer a compliment or help someone choose between two styles. They just did.
It was a reminder that confidence isn't always something we find on our own. Sometimes it's encouraged by the people around us.
And while we spend so much time thinking about how to design swimwear that makes women feel good, these events reminded me that the environment we create around the swimwear matters just as much.
Coming Full Circle
These events were especially meaningful to me because High Tower actually began while I was attending college in Santa Barbara.
Back then, I was balancing classes, friendships, and the early stages of building a business, with no real idea of where it might take me.
Getting to return to UCSB years later, this time bringing High Tower to a new group of college women, felt like a pretty special full-circle moment.
And being welcomed by the women at Cal Poly was just as wonderful.
I loved getting to meet everyone, hear their opinions, learn what styles they're drawn to, and share a little about the brand I've spent the past several years building.
There's something about connecting with people in person that you simply can't recreate through a screen.
More Than Just Bikinis
At the end of the day, High Tower is a swimwear brand. We design bikinis, we obsess over fabrics and fits, and we love seeing our pieces find their way into your wardrobes and suitcases.
But experiences like these remind me that there's so much more to it.
It's the conversations that happen around the bikini racks. The friends who help each other choose a color. The girls who arrive not knowing one another and leave having shared a little moment together.
Those are the things that stick with me long after we've packed everything up.
As High Tower continues to grow, I hope we get to create more opportunities like this. More reasons to get together, meet someone new, and make each other feel good.
To the women at Cal Poly and UCSB who welcomed us so warmly, thank you. You made these events something really special.
Here's to more afternoons spent together, more girl talk, and more of that girls' bathroom energy wherever we go.
Closer to the Sun, together.
— Maddie, Founder of High Tower Swimwear