Raising a child in today’s society is an uphill challenge. When your child is part of the LGBTQ+ community, it can be even harder for them to feel accepted. But if you’re anything like Jaime Alexander, you never see a challenge as a closed door. When his 12-year-old daughter, who is transgender, was struggling to find swimsuits she could wear, the Toronto father decided it was time to make space in the industry for inclusive swimwear. And he decided to do it all on his own.
Alexander noticed that his daughter had different interests than those of her male peers from the early age of 3. Along with his wife, Alexander decided to let his daughter navigate this journey on her own terms. By third grade, Ruby knew who she was and what made her feel the most comfortable.
The rest of her journey wasn't so easy, however, so her dad decided it was time to step in and help.
One struggle that Alexander's daughter, Ruby, had was finding inclusive clothing.
Alexander noticed that much of the clothing targeted toward young girls Ruby's age was not necessarily flattering for her body type — specifically swimwear. Ruby wanted to wear formfitting bikinis like her friends, but the bikini bottoms were not always cut in a way that Ruby felt comfortable wearing. Alexander noticed there wasn't a company that catered to transgender children in a way that flattered them.
Thus, "Rubies" was created.
Rubies markets itself as bikini bottoms and underwear that provide "worry-free comfort" and help "keep everything in place."
Alexander told Today that the bikini bottoms that were on the market for young girls were too formfitting for Ruby to wear confidently. The company itself now creates formfitting bikini bottoms specifically for transgender children in sizes all the way up to 20.
For transgender individuals, wanting to wear what makes them feel the most “them” is imperative.
Alexander saw that the current market had some options for transgender children, but it wasn't what they necessarily wanted.
"Everything I saw was heavily branded just to trans people and had a quilted pad in the front. They didn't look like normal bikinis," Alexander said, according to Today.
The last things transgender children want is to stand out and look different when they just want to be their authentic selves.
Alexander's goal was to create stylish bikini bottoms that were authentic.
The only way to find out exactly what transgender children needed was to go directly to the source. Ruby had inspired him to create the brand, and he knew other children also would benefit from it.
Alexander reached out to 50 to 60 other families of transgender children that he found through Facebook and interviewed them on their children's struggles. That allowed him to come up with a design that truly matched what these children were looking for.
The biggest issue many children had was "packing it in."
Transgender children wanted to wear formfitting clothing but also clothing that ensured that they didn't have noticeable areas. The designer who Alexander worked with made the now-popular bikini bottoms by using spandex on the outside with a mesh liner inside that works to “compress” things without being uncomfortable and irritating. Before launching his product, he sent the prototypes to the families he spoke to in order to gain feedback, he told Today.
The results were incredible.
The children of the families Alexander sent products to absolutely loved them. In fact, they loved them so much that some parents said the kids were wearing the bikini bottoms as regular, everyday underwear, because it made them feel more “confident” and comfortable in their own bodies. From there, Alexander was able to create other products to help them feel even better.
Rubies not only sells bikini bottoms but also tops and padding.
Rubies now sells bikini bottoms, high-waisted bikini bottoms, bikini tops, and padding for bikini tops. Not only that, but Alexander also tries his best to help families in need.
The company sells T-shirts to raise money to send 1,000 free swimsuits to families of trans children in need every year. To spread awareness and give back to the LGBTQ+ community, Rubies is open to company and corporate sponsors as well.
In the end, Alexander's goal of helping his daughter created a brand-new market.
Ruby had inspired her dad to create this company, but in the end, he ended up affecting the lives of so many families with trans children.
"I want to focus on the positive stories about these kids and normalize them. They're just kids. That's how people need to see them," the dad shared.
*Psst: if you choose to purchase an item from this post, CafeMom.com may receive a small cut. Each item and price is up to date at the time of publication; however, an item may be sold out or the price may be different at a later date.
