I won a Havana Honey bikini from the amazing Nicolita Swimwear!

I was too excited to think of taking a picture before I ripped apart the wrapping, so here is my ghetto re-wrap of Nicolita's lovely packaging. I tried to do it justice, really I did!

Last week, I was so excited to find out that I won a beautiful guayabera inspired "Havana Honey" bikini from Nicolita Swimwear (I never win anything). Today I was even more excited when I received my bikini in the mail. It's so beautiful! My mom handed me the package while I was on my way out to work and I couldn't wait...sooo, I pranced around my room in my bikini top for 2 minutes and was in awe of the quality of the material and great fit! The support is amazing and made my itty bitties look very voluptuous (without any padding!). Ooh la la!

My new bikini (perfect body not included, lol)! I especially love the "no pinch fit" design the Nicolita Swimwear line has. Nicole truly thought of the curvy girl's needs when designing her swimwear, which sets this line apart from the rest. Check out her site, I am sure you will be as impressed as I by her creativity and attention to detail. I can't wait to wear this on my first trip ever to Puerto Rico this December. I am so grateful to Nicole and her generosity!

As many of you know, I have a ginormous amount of pride in my Cuban heritage. The most amazing person in my life is my Cuban grandmother, who raised me in my earlier years, and I honestly don't know anyone with more heart than my Cuban mamacita. Therefore, I took great interest in this line when I was introduced to it this summer. It was love at first sight for me, as I especially love vintage pin-up and pretty much anything Vintage Cuba, and there is plenty inspired by that in this line! When I was introduced to Nicolita Swimwear, I had actually been searching for the work of an aspiring swimsuit designer to use in a photo shoot for my upcoming blog project for school, Circle of Art Movement. I had placed a post on Facebook when Alison Mackie of Gypsy Chronicles contacted me about this line. Her exact words were: 

"Maybe you already have seen this...I thought it was wonderful because here she is inspired by the past, but marketing to present day - and so it's a fine line this designer treads - especially when you consider that fashion is a high risk business. The designer had a vision - inspired by her past, and all the love in her heart. Nostalgia...And markets to a very fickle modern market...My kind of lady"

To which I responded:

"Thank you so much for sharing this with me, I am so excited about this information (and did you know I was Cuban?) I'm hoping she will be interested in my project, I will reach out to her today. I really love her work. Thanks again, I always love hearing from you!"

Of course, naturally, I attributed it to (as I do all coincidences) a spiritual moment; a sign from God...geez, I'm so Cuban :p As it turned out, Nicole Di Rocco is no aspiring swimsuit designing sensation...she already is one! No field work of aspiring designers and photo shoot blog of mine was going to surpass the ones I saw on her site. I immediately fell in love with her photos, swimsuits and blog and I urge you to check her out at My Nicolita and on Facebook. Nicolita Swimwear also recently joined forces with another favorite of mine, Cubavera, both on the runway and photo shoots. If you've been following me from the start, one of the first posts I published was on Cubavera's fedora hats, you can check that out by clicking here<---. Back to topic, the shots from their photo shoot were ah-may-zing and remind me of my own fantasies of going to both Cuba and Puerto Rico. As a matter of fact, an incentive to keep practicing dance when I get lazy, is the hope that one day I can have the opportunity to go to Cuba on an artist's permit. Hey, a girl can dream, right?!

Speaking of visiting Cuba, I highly recommend you watch the documentary, Pastport Cuba, where you can follow Nicole's journey to Cuba to find the face of Nicolita Swimwear. I am partway through the documentary now, and am already emotional. Nicole's parents, natives of Cuba, join her and her sister on this journey and are returning to their homeland for the first time in almost 50 years. In this documentary, you will learn a lot about this beautiful family, how Nicole's Cuban heritage inspired her successful career and what it was like growing up Cuban American in a mainly anglo community. Both Nicole and her sister Michelle share stories that other Cubanitas can relate to, like myself, and open the door to a world of understanding and beauty of the Cuban culture; here in the states and in Cuba. I love seeing Cuba through the eyes of the Di Rocco family! Click here-->Me!Me!Me!<--to watch the documentary. 

I still haven't gotten to the part where Nicole finds the face of Nicolita in Cuba, but I think this proud Cuban should be the American Cuban face *bats eyelashes with chin in hands* :p I'll do 1000 sit ups a day to look good, startiiiiiiing NOW tomorrow!

Thank you for reading and thank you again Nicolita Swimwear!

Love,

Lisita <--what my Cuban grandmother nicknamed me and all my grandparents call me :) xo

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