Hand Made in California

Nearly 20 years ago I was struggling to find the "right" pair of high-quality board shorts that fit properly. A pair that had enough "ease" throughout to allow me to be comfortable in the active beach and water sports lifestyle I live to enjoy. And a pair that was actually Cut + Sewn in the United States, sweatshop-free, instead of China or India or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or some other USA-manufacturing-jobs-robbing country. Stories of clothing produced overseas with child labor really bothered me - even before I had kids of my own.

All this inspired me to go out there and create something I couldn't find. After roaming the streets of the Los Angeles Garment District to find some perfect quick-drying, non-shrinking, and non-fading fabrics, I started developing (and redeveloping) the first sewing pattern. About 3 weeks later, Speed Racer was born and would become the first board short style for Xelos Brand Clothing.

A couple of months later, I worked with the women on our team and their friends to create Xelosette, a line that today is designed by women for women. Xelosette quickly became known for the Original Board Skirt, and it's a style that functions perfectly as a uniform for servers at coastal lifestyle restaurants such as Huggos and the Lava Lava Beach Club in Hawaii. The owners of the Tybee Island Surf Shop in Georgia told us that actress Sandra Bullock, who owns a home nearby, bought Xelosette board shorts after trying them on in their store and choosing them based on the great fit as compared to the other "mainstream" juniors brands she tried on as well. Our fit is designed for women, not skinny teenagers who fit into those juniors board shorts they sell in the malls.

Initial distribution of the Xelos + Xelosette brands was through a network of independent surf + resort specialty shops throughout the US, Caribbean and Europe. We launched this online store in 2005 after overwhelming demand from people who had picked up a pair xelos / xelosette boardies at a retailer and wanted to shop a wider variety than the 3 or 4 styles displayed at their nearest dealer.

We've been privledged to ship our board shorts to some big-name customers like Larry Page (Google co-founder), Tony Robbins (best-selling author and life coach), Sandra Bullock and others. And we've also had the privilege of supplying bulk board shorts to some big-name companies like Nickelodeon ("pool party" costumes for The Fresh Beat Band), Discovery Channel (Shark Week), Sea World, Six Flags, Universal Studios, and the Georgia Aquarium (Dolphin Show animal trainer uniforms) and the list goes on. With 20 years of experience in apparel manufacturing, we're comfortable with orders small and large. So whether you just need a couple boardies for yourself or a couple thousand for a company event, we'll satisfy your needs stress-free and each pair will be hand made with a bunch of pride.

We welcome you to our family. Special thanks for supporting USA manufacturing and we appreciate your visit to Board Shorts World. See you out on the water!

Steve and Julie