There is a new brand that has blown up on Instagram and that brand is Charlie by Matthew Zink. I have seen it all over the social media. They show amazing pics they take and of their customers in their swimwear. The first thing is that this is a luxury swimwear brand, meaning you won’t find this at your local department store or much priced under $100. That being said its an amazing line for men, and yes he had women’s wear too!
The brand is the brain child of Matthew Zink who was the Design Director of Victoria’s Secret Swimwear. He created this line for men and women who want a elite swimwear experience. He has said the line is a to the decadence of the late 70’s and early 80’s. But swimwear is not all they sell, Charlie released a line of men’s underwear as well. Like the swimwear its luxury priced at $38 a pair. But in the world of underwear it’s not super expensive.
This year they have released the 2015 collection. They state it this way on the site “The 2015 Collection is #FOREVERCHARLIE. Rooted in simplicity and Charlie’s signature timeless aesthetic, Charliefans can look forward to one of the brand’s most iconic collections including to date. The pallette is filled with trademark color saturation, sensual metallics, strong black and white, scarves, zags, and even some new animal prints.”
I will say probably my favorite thing on the site is the Noir Collection. It’s a line of basic, yet classic, black swimwear. It ranges from a string bikini (as they call it a sport brief) to swim shorts. Over the last year the length of men’s swimwear is coming higher up the leg. Gone are the days of over the knee shorts. Charlie is being a leader in this trend having all shorter length shorts in this line.
The underwear line is very classic. There are not bright colors or prints like the swimwear. If he’s drawing on the late 70’s and early 80’s I think it shows up in this line. The two different collections are the Charlie and Grecian line. Both have similar cuts but the Grecian has an Grecian inspired waistband. I reminds me of the tighty whites of the era. There are just two colors, black and white and three styles sport brief, classic brief and trunk.
Lastly is the swimwear collection called Resort 2015 on their site. They use very fun colors. The colors aren’t super bright and garish. But they fit very well in with the line. Matthew used some really great prints and stripes in the swimwear. Prints are one of my favorite things right now and I love the ones they picked out to use this year. Swimwear should make a statement about you and not something you pick up off the rack. Just like your clothes you wear daily your swimwear should reflect more of your personality. If you wear Charlie you won’t have to worry about not showing your style! The swimwear comes in a Foil Brief (smaller Bikini), Lifeguard Brief (medium sized), Square Cut Brief (fuller cut), Trainer (with split site), Vintage Soccer Short (traditional swim short) and Resort Short (button on the front).
If you’re in the market for something different and high quality then you need to check out Charlie by Matthew Zink. You can find them at the Charlie Site and be warned the swimwear ranges from $120-295 and the underwear is $38 for each pair. Make sure you follow them on all their social media accounts they share a lot of amazing fan photos!
