Today we’d like to introduce you to Bette Bentley
Hi Bette, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m Bette Bentley the Founder, Inventor, and CEO of Skimpies The Original Leggings Liner! I’m just a mom who was sick of having going commando in leggings. I wanted soft breathable cotton with NO panty lines! I didn’t want to risk UTIs. When I started researching, I realized there was no breathable cotton panty that was truly no lines. So, I decided to invent one. I invented Skimpies the Original Leggings Liner for me because I needed it! Skimpies has a special H3 adhesive made to withstand any workout and stick to your leggings, but leaves no residue when you take your leggings off (it activates and deactivates with your body heat). We have an air pocket and are micro-needled for breathability. You really feel that air flow in your leggings all day! It’s like wearing a skirt with no undies. It’s my soul’s purpose to spread joy to women!!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I invented Skimpies I did it for me! I needed a breathable, cotton panty for my leggings with NO LINES. I kept getting UTIs everytime I went commando in my leggings. But I wasn’t going to wear a a traditional panty and have terrible panty lines. I thought, “if we can put a man on the moon, we can put breathable cotton in leggings.” It wasn’t an easy road! I cold-called so many manufacturers (usually during carpool)! My kids can recite my tech pack. Every manufacturer thought I was crazy. “You can’t make a liner to stick to a flexible, sweaty material like leggings.” “liners are made to absorb not be breathable.” “Why do women need breathability?” One thing about moms: if you tell us something is impossible, we find a way to do it! Skimpies is my love letter to all the women in the world! It’s my soul’s purpose to spread joy to women! So I convinced some manufacturers to send me materials and I started making Skimpies by hand. My Skimpies Sisters (what we call customers) have always supported me. Even when others’ didn’t. I never looked for outside validation because I was making the product for my girls. It wasn’t until I had enough customers that I could convince a manufacturer to make my invention. In so many ways, the customers are everything to Skimpies and me! I also feel like my mastectomy is my super power. Others would consider it a setback, and it was, but it slowed time for me. I had to recover. And slowed time is a gift! Like when you’re a kid and a room seems twice as big as it does years later. In that space I thought about what made me happy – my kids, my husband, my God, and delivering Skimpies to my customers! I knew then that I could do this globally. That feeling I get when I hand a friend her box of Skimpies and I say, “I can’t wait to be in your pants,” and we laugh, I can do that with billions of women!! Sometimes the setbacks are like when you pull back a slingshot. They are propelling you to the next takeoff!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Skimpies?
Skimpies is the Original Leggings Liner. We are a small cotton strip with a breathable air pocket designed to go into your leggings so you can go commando without going “commando.” We have a special H3 body-heat-activated adhesive designed to stick to a flexible fabric like leggings and withstand movement, sweat, moisture, but leave no residue when you take her off! It’s as close to NASA technology as I get. I invented this product after going commando in leggings was giving me UTIs. I started talking to friends and realized we all liked the sleek look of going commando but wished for organic cotton breathability. Skimpies has so many benefits. Skimpies offers the health of a breathable cotton panty with no lines, makes your butt look hot, and helps with TMS (too much show…other people use the word camel toe but that’s gross), having a sweaty betty, embarrassing stains, and more!
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Be a good friend! My friends are so important to me. I cherish them and will always take care of them! And growing Skimpies into a sisterhood, I have the same feeling about the Skimpies Sisters. I will always care for them. I tell them everyday, “it’s the honor of a lifetime to be in your pants!” We all laugh but I mean it. And because of that sincere gratitude and love, we help each other. Skimpies Sisters post and tag us and feel how important they are! If you build a genuine community rooted in love and kindness, the network builds itself! I will also say, whenever I’m nervous about a networking event or a meeting, I pray on it for at least half an hour. When you are connected to something bigger than yourself or this earth the nerves of making “important connections” drift away. We are all just people! It allows me to strike up a conversation with my biggest idol with ease. Just be my natural, silly, cheeky, bubbly self! Always be yourself!
Pricing:
- Skimpies The Original Leggings Liner is an undie alternative designed to go into your leggings so you can go commando without going “commando.”
- Skimpies is designed with a breathable airpocket and microneedle technology so you feel healthy airflow in your leggings all day!
- Skimpies has a unique body-heat-activated H3 adhesive made to go into your leggings, withstand workouts, but leave no residue!
- The Skimpies Sisters are a community! We do workout classes, hang out, and support each other.
- Bette invented Skimpies because she needed it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.skimpies.com
- Instagram: @skimpiesbrand
Image Credits
Olivia List
