Sisters’ swimwear boutique perfect for Vegas’ party crowd

Raquel Alicea and Enid Roate have always loved swimwear. The sisters, who spent every spare moment of their childhood at the beach usually with their father, decided take their passion for couture swimwear and open an upscale boutique in Las Vegas.

Sol Swimwear Couture at the Market LV in Tivoli Village opened April 1.

“We were born and raised in Puerto Rico, where a swimsuit is a big thing,” Alicea said. “Our father used to take us to the beach all the time. We love swimsuits.”

It was those childhood memories with their late father that made the decision easier to give up a career in massage therapy and the gaming industry for high-end retail a little easier.

“We have been in Las Vegas for seven to eight years now,” Alicea said. “I was going to school for massage therapy, while my sister was going to UNLV, but everything changed. My sister got a job at Paris (Las Vegas) while I finished school.”

Alicea, 27, said they decided to go into business for themselves after their father, Ruben, a 38-year Army veteran, died and left them with a modest inheritance.

“We opened the business to make our father proud,” Alicea said.

The small boutique features hard-to-find international brands such as Cia Maritima, MAUI Swimwear, IOlli Swim and Bettinis Bikinis. Alicea said the store is the exclusive outlet for MAUI Swimwear in the western United States. Alicea said the only other store to buy the hand-made Columbia Swimwear is in Miami.

The boutique is all about offering its clients something no one else will be wearing at a backyard barbecue or at a pool party on the Strip.

Alicea said the next step is developing and introducing their line of swimwear to the Las Vegas market. She expects the yet to be named line of swimwear to introduced through Sol Swimwear Couture within the next 12 months.

“I’m looking forward to our own line of swimwear,” Roate said. “We have a better understanding of what people want.”

The small shop has spent the past month with modest success marketing itself through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Sol Swimwear Couture Facebook page has 142 likes and 30 followers on Twitter.

Alicea and Roate, 31, expect to increase those numbers as they continue to market their shop and consider a new website with an online store for their business. It’s also about building a seven-day a week clientele for their boutique.

“It’s been a little slower than we though it was going to be,” Alicea said. “On the weekend, we are very busy … but during the week, it can be a little slow.”

Enid said they’re considering going to pool parties on and off the Strip to try and get more customers into the store.

But the sisters have no doubts they’ll be successful or about opening their store at Tivoli Village.

“Everything just felt right,” Alicea said. “We saw the space and thought we want people to fall in love with it, too. It was fate.”

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.