FENWICK ISLAND – New ownership at a swimwear store in Fenwick Island has brought with it more inventory, a new look and exceptional customer service.
Since acquiring Body Double Swimwear in Fenwick Island, owner Liz Welsh has been busy remodeling the store and running the business, a dream of hers since she first started working there more than 10 years ago.
Welsh said she spent most of her summers in high school and college working at Body Double and soon grew to love the idea of one day owning the store.
“I just fell in love with the business,” she said. “My first summer here I told my parents ‘one day that’s going to be mine.’”
After graduating from Syracuse University, Welsh said she pursued jobs in New York, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore before returning to Body Double.
“I had awesome jobs, but at each job I thought ‘this isn’t it,’” she said. “I didn’t want to be in an office, I didn’t want to be slaving away for someone else, I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted this store.”
Welsh acquired Body Double from proprietor and mentor Nancy Ruppert in December of 2017, after a year of extensive training under her leadership.
“She had always known for years that I wanted to buy it,” she said. “She said whenever you are ready I’ll save it for you. I won’t sell it to anyone else.”
Welsh said it was at Body Double where she learned the most about the retail industry.
“She (Ruppert) took me to Florida and Atlantic City and we did all the shows together, and then she let me take on writing all the orders …,” she said. “This was where I really learned.”
Now in her first summer season as owner, Welsh said she is ready to meet everyone who walks through the door.
Located on Route 1 in Fenwick Island, Body Double sells more than 50 brands of swimsuits and clothing and offers styles for customers of all ages, shapes and sizes.
“We have something for everyone,” she said. “We have the tiniest of tiny swimsuits and we go up to women’s size 24.”
In addition to swimsuits, customers can find a wide variety of dresses, coverups, bags, clutches, jewelry, activewear – the newest addition to Body Double – and much more.
“I love the clothes and dresses I’ve picked out this year,” Welsh said. “I feel like we have some cute, different things that you’re not going to be able to find at another store here.”
“We have something for everyone. We have the tiniest of tiny swimsuits and we go up to women’s size 24,” said Body Double owner Liz Welsh of her Fenwick Island store. Photo by Bethany Hooper
Welsh said she is quickly making the storefront her own. In addition to expanding her inventory, Welsh said she worked with Gina Drago Frey at Gina Drago Design to remodel the storefront.
“We met and started bouncing ideas off one another last summer,” she said. “When we settled, she took off with it.”
The building, Welsh noted, now features neutral colors, an updated logo and furnishings and décor from local merchants.
“We used local people to make it beachy and fresh,” she said.
Welsh credits the renovation for bringing in new customers.
“The remodel itself has brought in a lot of curious people and made new customers and new friendships for me,” she said. “It’s exceeded my expectations, which I’m really happy about.”
Despite the changes that come with new ownership, Welsh said customer service remains paramount.
“If someone is coming in and they are already uncomfortable, we need to do everything we can to make them feel at home,” she said.
Welsh noted that trained employees are on hand to direct customers to what they are looking for and suggest a swimsuit or item of clothing that suits a person’s taste and style.
“A lot of them have worked here for years and 90 percent of the time a woman gets a suit that we picked out,” she said. “Suits look different on and they don’t know that, but we’ve seen almost every suit in here on someone.”
While the number of options can be overwhelming for some, Welsh said customers will leave with a swimsuit they love.
“I want someone to come up to you and ask ‘where did you get that suit?’” she said. “ … I want everyone walking out of here feeling amazing.”
Body Double is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and remains open throughout the year.
For more information, call 302-537-1444, visit www.bodydoubleswimwear.com, or search Body Double Swimwear on Facebook and Instagram.
