Have you heard about B-Skinz, the fun sportwear company headquartered in Boonton? It’s run by two moms, Carolyn Sammarro and Stacy Sorrentino, two Jersey girls who ran a small spirit-wear (i.e., cheerleading uniform) business that they turned into the profitable B-Skinz in 2007.
Their inspiration? Six years ago, local high-school girls came to Stacy and Carolyn looking for hot-pink compression shorts. The women couldn’t source them anywhere, despite their extensive list of spirit-wear suppliers. So they filled the void by producing their own small line of colorful compression shorts.
The response from Northern NJ retail stores was swift and strong, and Chatham Sporting Goods signed on as their first account. The product line quickly expanded to sports bras, capri-length compression pants, and headbands in 125+ patterns. As for the company name, it reflects the notion that comfortable spandex products feel like a second body skin, hence B-Skinz. And, Carolyn says, "We are made in the USA…actually in New Jersey…and extremely proud of it."
Both women and their husbands grew up in New Jersey and now live in Mountain Lakes. And they’re busy moms…Carolyn has three kids and Stacy has four.
Stacy says that business is steadily growing. "Girls’ sports are booming and we have a very solid following here in the Northeast. Our web orders come from every state in the U.S., Canada and even Australia!"
B-Skinz started out selling just 6” inseam shorts (for sports like lacrosse, soccer, field hockey and basketball). But after posting a note on the website saying that B-Skinz could make shorts in any length a customer wanted, Stacy and Carolyn realized how popular the shorter inseam length (2.5”) was for gymnastics, cheering, dance, volleyball and running.
Another surprise was the demand for headbands, a great way to recycle scrap fabric. Now headbands are a huge part of the business, with tournament vendors selling hundreds of them at each tournament.
Other hot items are ankle-length and capri pants, skorts for tennis and golf, and affordable, classically designed dresses from the Club Collection. One of the newest looks is meggings, ankle-length compression leggings for males of the species. Stacy says, "We’ve added colorful, trendy patterns that are being very well received by men who work out or just want to make a fashion statement."
Carolyn and Stacy enjoy sourcing new patterns and developing product strategies from their design space and showroom on Main Street in Boonton. Check out their athletic wear collection in Boonton or at one of these NJ retailers:
B-Skinz merchandise can be found all over the state:
Chatham Sporting Goods, Chatham, NJ
Alfred’s Sports Shop, Madison, NJ
Michael’s Sporting Goods, Oakland, NJ
Sports Paradise, Medford & Mantua, NJ
A Chic with Stix, Fairhaven, NJ
All Lacrosse, Montclair, NJ
Barry’s Pharmacy, Montville, NJ
Courtside Racquet Club, Lebanon, NJ
Maywood Tennis Club, Maywood, NJ
Princeton Racquet Club, Princeton, NJ
The House, Millburn, NJ
Showcase Sports, Hammonton, NJ
Universal Lacrosse, Randolph, Moorestown, Raritan, Stillman, Freehold, Westfield
What A Racquet, Caldwell, NJ
Sneaker Factory, Basking Ridge, Long Branch
Post and Net, Pennington, NJ
The Bar Method, Boonton, NJ
Simplicity, Mountain Lakes, NJ
Soccer Post, Deptford, NJ
The Rebecca Collection, Bernardsville, NJ
Urban Clothing Club, Wayne, NJ
The Canteen, Westwood, NJ