It’s time to take it back. Back to the days when men were gentlemen by nature and rebellious by choice. When it was commonplace to hold doors open for women, keep your word, spend an afternoon under the hood of the car with your son, and take your girl away for a luxurious weekend despite that early Monday meeting. When plans were made to be kept, and texting out isn’t an option.
Excellence is what we aspire to - passion is what drives us.
At retromarine, our top priority is to capture our customer’s imagination by demanding the highest standards of ourselves and the materials we work with. We’re not concerned with chasing down fleeting trends; rather we’re crafting top quality swimwear that’s as lasting and recognizable as our icons -- Sean Connery, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen and their ilk. Founded and based in New York City, our distinctive, handmade trunks are crafted for the modern man who values passion and confidence in every facet of his life.
Our expertly tailored swimwear has a distinct edge that’s unique and nostalgic. Unexpected prints and vibrant colors combine with an eye to detail for a fit that is unparalleled. Retros are made for the man who craves an active and vibrant lifestyle, and their characteristics reflect that. All trunks are made of the highest quality fabrics that expertly repel water for quick drying (even on the inner lining), have SPF 50 and UV filters to protect color, are bias cut by our tailors, and feature 100% handmade, retro finishings that complete your look.
Founded by designer and creative director Juan Jaramillo, retromarine is inspired by the ideals of the Golden Era, giving you a modern take on a nostalgia. We’re dedicated to enhancing the quality of your life by bringing the best parts of the past to the present.
Our swimwear enables but doesn’t define your style. That part is up to you.
Our Products
At retromarine, life is all about the details. Whether you’re choosing the right vintage to balance out your meal or the best place to catch the sunset from the boat, we believe that it all comes down to quality and consideration. With that guiding principle, we selected the retro finishings and details that give our trunks their unique vintage feel.
Retro Details
Our details come in the form of our signature engraved anchor, rear snap, two engraved eyelets to keep everything airy and comfortable, and drawstring caps. There are even two small holes on the bottom of the pocket that lets excess water out of the trunks, perfect for diving off the boat again and again. Every detail decision is made in house with the utmost consideration for style-- our hardware is both subtle and supple. Our drawstring caps are all manually placed, as there is no automatic installation at retromarine. We use 100% Zamac with a custom antique copper finish, because its the only metal that can handle the sun for long hours without getting warm. It actually turns cooler with time and wear, which also nicely sums up our life philosophy. At the end of the day throw everything in one of our classic canvas bags with a nautical cord and be off to your next adventure. We’ll see you soon.
Retro Prints
Our unique prints and vibrant colors are inspired by icons of the Golden Era. We love the rebellious, confident, and masculine character, which style icons like Steve McQueen, Sean Connery, Julio Iglesias and Alain Delon embrace. Our prints embody elegance with just the right amount splash, and harken back to a simpler time when men were men and that was that.
Led by our founder and creative director Juan Pablo Jaramillo, all of our trunks are designed in-house. Our fabrics are setting you apart from all the swimsuited masses. We use 100% “peach skin” stonewashed breathable synthetic fibers for our prints, which go through multiple water baths giving you a comfortable trunk that feels like a second skin. Creating our fabrics is truly a labor of love: We treat them gently during construction, with manual production that is taxing but leads to creating the perfect color.
Our prints run the gamut from classic to statement-- it takes a man to pull off a strong pattern-- but are timeless enough to be worn season after season. Our retros also come in boys sizes, giving you the perfect opportunity for an early sartorial lesson for your nephew or son. The retromarine man is passionate and refined, and our prints reflect his easy, masculine confidence with an eye for style and adventure.
Retro Fabrics
When it comes to our fabrics, quality is everything. Our unique designs are made from the highest caliber materials, and the fibers are embedded with SPF 50 filters that work to protect your skin and the prints from washing off. The UV filters guarantee long-lasting color-- we don’t make trunks that can’t stand the test of time. We use a “double dipping” process to ensure the optimum water repellency.
First, our fabrics are treated with a special silicon, and after construction they are treated again with teflon. These steps give our trunks a super quick dry, even on the inner lining. You’ll be able to be in and out of the water with ease, without having to spend time waiting for excess water to leave your trunks. The soft peach skin fabric is hypoallergenic and anti-rash, and all our trunks are bias cut by our tailors who construct them by hand with a zeal for clean, elegant lines. Our suits come in long and short lengths for both you and your son and all embody the retromarine thirst for that perfect blend of nostalgia, masculinity and passion.
Juan Jaramillo
Founder+Creative Director
Oftentimes a sense of wanderlust can lead you to exactly where you want to be. Such is the case with designer and creative director Juan Jaramillo, who left his hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia to attend school stateside and get down to business (school) at Berry College in Mt. Berry, Georgia. From there it was on to Florence where he explored his love of food, eventually living the culinary dream as a chef at top restaurants in Buenos Aires and Miami. However, New York always felt right, and since 2012 Juan has been splitting time between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the latter of which has become the home of retromarine now.
Inspiration for retromarine came from time spent on many coastal cities, where he noticed a trend we’re here to eradicate: ill-fitting swim trunks. Not being content to sit idly by, Juan sought out to create the perfect trunk for all the action and adventure he seeks in life. Just a glance at our vintage-inspired trunks brings that distinct tinge of nostalgia and rebelliousness, for a time when masculinity was the ethos de rigueur and not something to be overanalyzed and debated. The retromarine man does what he says he will, which can be anything from teaching his son to swim, to a poker night with some single malt. As modern men, we’re devoted to top-quality products and values in every facet of our lives, and our retros are no exception.