Le Doux co-founder finds success with skimpy suits

Le Doux swimwear isn't for the gal much interested in swimming. It's a line intended for the woman who stacks her bangles high, smooths on shimmering tanning oil and walks to her nearest hotel swimming pool in a pair of 4-inch cork wedge sandals. Call her a sun-worshipper, but she's the one normally being worshipped.

"Swimwear has become more glamorous and less functional than it used to be," says Le Doux co-founder Juliana Renz, who lives part time in Las Vegas. "I just want women to feel beautiful."

If feeling beautiful comes courtesy of satin bows, pretty rosettes, semiprecious stones and scissor-happy cutout swimsuits than Le Doux is indeed accomplishing its goal. But beauty comes with a price. The suits run between $100 and $400. Despite the fact they've undoubtedly paid less for far more fabric, fans of the line consider it money well spent. All suits are handmade in Brazil, where Renz grew up and her mother, Marly Renz (co-founder), still lives. It's hard to say whether loyal followers justify the prices with the quality of the suits or the famous bodies that paparazzi capture donning them.

Renz insists the first time her line was blessed with a celebrity sighting happened out of pure luck. Two days after her team sent Cameron Diaz a slew of suits the actress boarded a plane for Hawaii and then boarded the waves for a good week. Renz figures she just grabbed an armful and plucked them out one by one so not to have any repeats.

Whether the color-blocked bandeau bikini made it into the gossip rags from a luck of the draw or not, it hasn't stopped Hayden Panettiere, Nicky Hilton and Evangeline Lillly from jumping on the bandwagon. The celebrity game can get tricky, though. According to Renz, she rarely has their sizes beforehand and sends suits according to estimations. When she first approached the Kardashians -- Kim is a big fan of the line -- she sent three suits. One small, one medium, one large. Rather than indicating who was to wear which one, Renz simply addressed the package "For the Kardashian sisters" and let them figure it out.

Le Doux is only 4 years old but has come a long way in that short time. Renz attributes its fast success to both the celebrity following and the expertise she brings the line. As a native Brazilian the petite blonde took her first steps in a swimsuit. True to Brazil's nature, she believes the larger the backside the less fabric should be used. "More fabric makes it look bigger," she insists.

Now living full time in Los Angeles, the swimwear designer has had to learn to adapt to American taste. Hence, Brazilian cuts that don't bring dental floss to mind. Furthermore, Renz says she's happiest wearing no makeup on a beach in Brazil but can often be found laying by the pool in L.A. wearing high heels. "When you're in Rome, you do like the Romans," she says.