About Us

 

Hi! My name is Macarena Rivera and I am the owner and founder of Planet Sleaze.

I was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina and moved to California, USA with my mother in 2003. When I was little, my mom was my style icon. She studied fashion at the local college in Mar del Plata and she would sew so many of my favorite outfits. On her last year of school, she began designing her first line of bikinis - unbeknownst to her, this would inspire me 20 years later. Before moving to California, my mom had about 500 bikinis made in hopes of launching her business in the US. However, her bikinis were too ahead of the time in the US and the thong styles and more revealing cuts were not selling. So, my mom tried to sell as much inventory as she could and put the remaining bikinis in storage.

By this time, my mom had met a man who became my father figure and he showed us more of the American culture. When I was 12 years old, my step-dad showed me the world of second-hand shopping. We'd got to estate sales, garage sales, thrift shops, consignment shops, and my favorite - the swap meet. By the time I was 15, he and I started a band called The Budrows, this is when I really got into my style. We did lots of bluegrass, country, and blues and I'd love coming up with new outfits for the stage. This is when I started hoarding...I mean, collecting vintage.

After years of collecting, I launched Planet Sleaze in 2015 while I was living in Oceanside, CA. At the time, I was living in a small bedroom in a house I shared with my band, Pharlee. I was mainly selling on Depop, Ebay, and local markets. But, by the time I started selling on Instagram, my inventory had grown so large that I couldn't stay in my small room anymore. So, I moved to a two bedroom apartment where I made one room my office and I was able to branch out and eventually  launched my first website in November of 2017. 

At this time, my mom gave me the box of her unsold bikinis and I began to sell what was left of her inventory. Some of you who have been clients of mine may even have some of the original ones! After selling out, I had so many people ask me when I would be re-stocking that it sparked the idea of bringing back my mom's bikinis. 

Fast forward six years to 2023 after lots of moves, a pandemic, and finding the love of my life in Salt Lake City, and here I am launching my first swim collection!

About the available swim: Not all of the designs in this collection are my mothers, however, I worked with my moms fashion school classmate who now runs her family's swimsuit manufacturing business in Mar del Plata, the same business that manufactured my moms designs in the early 2000s. You'll notice this collection is very limited, and many of these designs won't be returning, so if you see one you absolutely must have - don't wait! I am so happy I was able to travel to my hometown and bring back some family history for you all to enjoy. 

Vintage will be uploaded soon, follow us on Instagram @planetsleaze.shop and sign up to our e-mail list to receive updates.

Planet Sleaze Swim 2024 Collection is already in the works! Stay tuned.

xoxox

Macarena