Pageant News Bureau - Christine Shen

Two-piece entrepreneur

At a nightclub swimsuit contest in the summer of 2003, a PNB fan happened to hear that the winner had made her own bikini. That sounded interesting, but there was more: The girl had also made the other winner's bikini. Two out of two. The fan got in touch with us immediately, and we had to find out more. So we asked correspondent Patrick Nathaniel Bartholomew III to track down this up-and-coming businesswoman. It turns out that her name is Christine Shen, and she's the founder of her own swimsuit company, “Water Babies Bikinis.”

PNB: Tell me about the beginnings of your swimsuit company.

CS: I started out working at Hooters and entering all their swimsuit competitions. I found that . . . all the girls were buying swimsuits from the same store. I didn’t want anyone to wear the same swimsuit that I was wearing in a competition, so I started with designing. I chose color and fabric. At first, I didn’t know how to start. I bought a very cheap $100 sewing machine. I learned everything by myself. No one taught me how to sew.

I learned how to cut patterns. It took me about 2 years. A swimsuit really isn’t that easy to make. It’s actually easier to make clothes than it is to make swimsuits because of all the elastic problems. It took me a good two years to figure out how much pulling I needed to use and how much coverage was needed.

PNB: How did you choose the name of your company?

CS: The name of the company is “Water Babies.” I came up with three or four different names. I asked several of my friends and my sister for their ideas. It’s somewhat related to that suntan lotion, Water Babies. I always used that brand. I didn’t know that it was for babies. (Laughter.) It’s cute. People remember it.

PNB: How has your business evolved?

CS: All of the girls noticed that I was wearing suits that were different. Many girls told me that they liked them. They asked me, “Where did you get it?” I told them, “I made it.” Then, I offered to make them one. That’s how it started. Several girls who have worn my suits have won huge competitions. Erica Burgess, Miss Hooters International 2002, won the whole thing wearing my suit. Seeing girls win titles in my suits has been pretty cool. They’ve helped me carry the name of the suit along. Word-of-mouth from the other girls has been the best form of advertising.

PNB: How long does it take you to put together a suit now that you are experienced at it?

CS: It depends what I have to do. The minimum is an hour and a half for the simplest suit. Of course, if I have to add sequins or rhinestones, it will be longer. I make everything from fabric to crocheted bikinis.

PNB: What does it cost to buy one of your bikinis? What is the range in price?

CS: From $40 to whatever. If there are a lot of rhinestones in the suit, it gets expensive.

PNB: Can your suits only be worn for competitions?

CS: No, I also make “jumping into the water” suits. The only difference is that for a “jumping into the water” suit, I can’t add all the fancy decorations. I like to do competition suits because there is more variety in them. I can make them a little bit shinier, and I can add different rhinestones and sequins.

PNB: Do you make any clothes other than bikinis?

CS: I also make club wear. That just started recently, but I have been getting more and more orders.

PNB: What exactly is club wear?

CS: Short skirts, pants outfits. It’s more exotic clothing that you normally won’t see in stores. Club wear that I make is mostly for competitions.

PNB: What do you see in the future for your clothes and swimsuits?

CS: I want to design. Hopefully, eventually, someone will do the work for me. Then, the hard part will be over for me. I want to make sure everybody will wear my swimsuit one day.

PNB: You are a young woman who has been successful in swimsuit competitions and in establishing your own swimsuit company, but it’s interesting to me that you have already completed a good solid college education in biology, a very demanding field. Why did you choose biology?

CS: Before I started competing and making swimsuits, I was planning to go into the medical field. Like you said, I’ve graduated from college with a degree in biology, and I was planning to go into physical therapy.

I still need two years of school to become a physical therapist. Right now, I have put that on hold because I want to model and build my swimsuit company. I’ll always have my degree to fall back on. If modeling and swimsuits don’t work, I can always go into a different field. I also want to do pharmaceutical sales.

PNB: So you must have been a good math and science student.

CS: Yeah, (laughter) I was pretty good in math and science.

PNB: Where did you go to high school?

CS: New York City. I graduated from Frances Lewis High School in Queens.

PNB: How about college?

CS: I went to Buffalo University for two years. Then, I moved to Augusta, Ga., with my boyfriend, who is now my husband. I graduated from Augusta State.

PNB: Let’s change directions again and give me a little summary of the modeling opportunities that you’ve had.

CS: I’ve done a lot of import car shows. Nopi Chick uses me in their catalogs. I’ve also been featured in magazines and calendars.

PNB: How do you think your career will develop during the next three years?

CS: Swimsuits, swimsuits, swimsuits!

PNB: If someone wanted to inquire about your swimsuits, how could they do that?

CS: They can email me at waterbabiesbikini@hotmail.com

PNB interview:

Christine Shen talks to
Patrick Nathaniel Bartholomew III

PNB interview:

Christine Shen talks to Patrick Nathaniel Bartholomew III

Christine Shen talks to
Patrick Nathaniel Bartholomew III