Behind the Brand

BELLA PARADISE is a luxury swim, resort & activewear lifestyle brand for maturing, young at heart, women who want more coverage without looking dated or unfashionable. Designed & made in the U.S.A., our California based brand is inspired by the ageless woman on the go, who loves fun, sun & travel. Our array of unique one-of-a-kind prints & styles make beach-to-street, pool to party & resort to activity seamless fashion transitions.  In the spirit of embracing a woman’s mystique, at any age, our designs exude sensual style & extraordinary fit with premium fabrics that both flatter & perform. Choose from one and two-piece suits to cover-ups, skirts, pants, board shorts and bodysuits all with a youthful nod to strength, beauty and travel-ready style!

FOUNDER & DESIGNER, KRISTYN GODDARD
Model, Maverick and Animal Advocate

<img alt="Kristyn Goddard, Designer of Paradise Ranch Designs" src="%7B%7Bmedia%20url=" wysiwyg="" title="Kristyn Goddard, Designer of Paradise Ranch Designs" />

I didn’t start Bella Paradise until the age most people are planning their retirement.

I started designing for the classic reason - I personally couldn’t find swimwear I liked. Why, I thought, aren’t there more swimsuits that are less revealing yet still sexy? Flattering, but not so bare? I began re-imagining designs with the perfect combination of style and fit with more coverage and extra pieces to layer, then brought them to my master patternmaker and together we’ve made magic. Fashion forward resort and swimwear for women over 50, 60, 70, and beyond. Mature swimsuits that are modest not matronly, flirty not frumpy, even sexy without being skimpy.

Growing up with three siblings in a rural area in San Diego with every kind of animal from dogs and cats to chickens and carrier pigeons, I discovered my primal connection to them and particularly to horses. My mother managed to get me that horse and it was my reason for living until I moved back to Los Angeles to major in theater arts in the pursuit of acting.

But I missed interacting with those majestic creatures so between acting gigs, I would work in the early mornings as a thoroughbred exercise rider then hop in my car to be downtown by noon to work as a fit model in the swimwear industry. This hands-on education with designers and patternmakers settled deep within me and I absorbed the day-to-day workings like a sponge. To be continued...

After a successful turn as the founder of a school training young people for careers in the horse racing industry and then creating the first licensed “cage free” dog boarding facility in the United States, my frustration with my inability to find a swimsuit I liked told me I was ready to revisit my love of design.

So, launching Bella Paradise had been brewing for a long time. Creating swimwear for senior women that camouflages aging is a need that has been completely ignored by the fashion industry. Bella Paradise offers the perfect mix of beauty, fit, and function for women of a certain age who still want to look and feel youthful. With my career as a fit model, I know a good fit! I’m even working with my original master patternmaker, which is a lovely symbiotic relationship. And I’ve designed pieces that have more fabric allowing them to stay in place as you move through the water, on the beach or across a restaurant. Have I worn them horseback riding? Yes! Our board walker board shorts are perfect for a horseback swim excursion. "Nothing is more fun than riding a swimming horse!" More coverage also keeps the unhealthy UV rays at bay, which is something everyone at every age knows. Bella Paradise is made locally in Los Angeles, California, USA.

I do try to live by “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and this extends to all life; my precious animals, my family, friends and those that become members of my Bella Paradise family. Designing ageless swimwear and daywear that not only looks incredible but makes you feel incredible is part of that mantra – I want to share what I’d like for myself. In all things.

Kris Goddard lives with her husband Brian on a ranch in the foothills of California’s San Gabriel mountains with two dogs, a cat, several chickens, a couple of ducks and visiting deer. Her passion for animals continues in her original Paradise Ranch Pet Resort and her rescue work taking high-risk dogs from shelters, training them, then finding their forever homes.

Kris Goddard and her husband, Brian 
Kris Goddard and her husband, Brian

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