For Girls in the Curl

From her vantage as a surfer off the San Diego coast, 27-year-old Sandra DeLaRosa has made a few observations about the bulk of surf wear designed to ward off pink belly from gritty waxed boards and wetsuits.

“The men’s sizes are just not tailored to fit a woman’s body,” says DeLaRosa. Two years ago, on what she describes as an entrepreneurial lark, DeLaRosa launched Raw Skin, a line of rash-preventing surf shorts, tank tops and jerseys, replete with princess seams and tops tailored for women. “There’s shape in the bust for the girl, and the arm lengths aren’t as long.”

Even at the large companies that do offer women’s wetsuits and board shorts, DeLaRosa sees a poor grasp of a serious athlete’s proportions. “When I do my sizing, I’m generous,” she says. “Most girls who are active have muscles, broader backs and bigger arms, and that’s what I’m catering to. Most companies in the surf industry are catering to the juniors.”

Based in Del Mar, DeLaRosa’s distribution remains highly regional. Raw Skin so far reaches as far north as the Vanguard surf shops in Torrance and Redondo Beach. Nevertheless, she has worldwide ambitions. She sponsored a surfing competition in North Carolina, a snowboarding fund-raiser for breast cancer in Mammoth, and will participate in a UC San Diego cancer research luau this month. She also sponsors Team Raw Skin, a cadre of women surfers that, she says, “believe in my stuff, and help me make it better because they surf in it.”

Through Raw Skin, DeLaRosa has even pulled off the novel trick ofmaking male surfers feel disenfranchised. “When guys find out I make rash guards,” she says, “they always say, ‘Oh, can I get one from you?’ And then I say, ‘They’re just for girls,’ and they’re like, ‘Aawww!’ They’re bummed.”

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Raw Skin, (858) 793-1925.