Some of my happiest memories have always been on the water. Long, unhurried days by the coast — salt in the air, warmth on my shoulders, the light going gold in the late afternoon. To me, that has always been what a good life feels like. I never imagined those same afternoons would one day change everything.
Last summer, I was diagnosed with melanoma.
It was caught early, and for that I will always be grateful. But a diagnosis like that rearranges you. The sun I had loved my whole life suddenly looked different — not like an enemy, exactly, but like something I had never fully respected. I wasn't willing to give up the water. I just knew I couldn't be careless in it anymore.
So I went looking for swimwear that would protect me and still make me feel like myself. What I found was disheartening: cover-ups that were hot and shapeless, suits that treated sun protection as an afterthought, pieces that seemed to assume that if you wanted to be covered, you must not care how you looked. Everywhere I turned, the message was the same — you can be protected, or you can be beautiful. Choose.
I refused to accept that. And somewhere in that frustration, a dream I'd quietly carried for years finally took shape.
I named it Bon Secour, after a small, sheltered stretch of the Alabama coast — French for safe harbor. It felt exactly right. A safe harbor is where you go to be protected without giving anything up: the beauty of the water is still all around you. That is what I wanted these pieces to be — a safe harbor in the sun.
As a marine biologist, I couldn't build a brand that took from the sea without giving back, so protecting the coast became part of the promise too. Our cover-ups are made from LumaKnit™, a recycled fabric rated UPF 50+, and our swimwear is crafted from recycled, eco-friendly materials.
Bon Secour is my love letter to the coast, and my promise to the women who love it as I do: you never have to choose. You can protect your skin and feel beautiful. You can honor the woman you'll be tomorrow while savoring every golden moment of today.
I'm so glad you're here at the very beginning. Let's live in the light — beautifully, and on our own terms.
— Kristie
