Surfer Girl

By Amy Flurry
April 25, 2011

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves met her husband, Nathaniel, at a surf shop in Delaware in 1998. She was working as a lifeguard and had moved to the U.S. from Poland only three years earlier. He offered her lessons and, long story very short, they were married four years later. “We’ve been surfing and collecting boards since,” says luxury swimwear designer Maria Reeves, who together with her husband, has acquired some of their thirty odd boards from eBay online auctions. “It’s really fun to see what’s out there and I particularly love obscure finds like vintage volumes of Longboard magazine [a now-folded magazine dedicated to longboarding].”

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves (photo credit: Brie Williams)

“Marysia” as friends and family call her, attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in southern California and a later interned with fashion brand Milly in New York, before she, Nathaniel Reeves and their newly born daughter, Elle, moved to a small marsh island just outside of Charleston, SC.

In 2008, she launched her luxury swimwear line, Marysia SWIM, a collection informed by classic swimsuit designs of the '50s and '60s, but in modern palettes, prints and high-tech, UV-protected Italian jersey. Now in her third season, Maria Reeves has introduced BUMBY, a companion line for children ages two to six.

Marysia SWIM

Marysia SWIM Swimwear

We caught up with the swimsuit designer, whose swimwear has been featured in Vogue, W, Elle, and Shape, on the cusps of a move back to New York.

The Inside Source: What direction have your designer swimsuits taken with your latest swimwear collection? How does it correspond to fashion trends now?

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves: Each season I challenge myself to do something new...something I haven't done before. This season, I wanted to calm down, using very muted colors and stripes. I feel like fashion now can always be bent a certain way so one's collection fits in. I have been getting requests for '70s-inspired shoots, so I presume that's where I fit in this season. I never think of one era when I design...I create from so many different inspirations and make it my own.

The Inside Source: Are you surprised at the success of your children's swimsuit line? What is your goal when designing for tots?

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves: I know there is a need for what I'm trying to do with the BUMBY line but I didn't think it would catch on this quickly. My goal is same as for the women's line: quality and great style. Style that both the child and mom will love. My BUMBY collection uses the same colors and fabrics as the mom but it's not matchy-matchy.

BUMBY

The Inside Source: Do you collect surfboards from a certain era? By a certain surfboard designer? Of a certain shape or size?

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves: Nothing very specific. Our collection is all over the place. We have a shaper who has been shaping my husband's and my boards in the last few years—Greg Eavey from Wrightsville Beach, NC. I only ride long boards....I like to catch small long waves so he's made me boards for my specific style of surfing.

The Inside Source: How many collector surfboards do you have between you and your husband? Describe your favorites...

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves: Oh gosh...we had about 30, but now with our move to NYC, we had to downsize. (Once we get our pad in Montauk—dreaming here—we'll get it back up) I got my very first Robert August surfboard when I first met my husband...I walked into the surfshop to buy it and he convinced me I needed a lesson. I actually met Robert later on that summer (my board was actually shaped by Mr. August, which doesn't always happen). Then we went to his little shop in Costa Rica. My other very memorable board is a Paul Frank/ Robert August collaboration board...I used to surf it until we decided to put it in my daughter's room as decoration...

The Inside Source: Do you get any decent waves on Folly Beach, South Carolina?

Maria Dobrzanska Reeves: We get waves here but not as consistent as the west coast. The water is warm at least! But we are excited about the better waves up north, although the water won’t be as warm...

(images courtesy of Marysia SWIM; photo of Maria Reeves by Brie Williams)