Homegrown Sustainable

The classy, simple beachy clothing aesthetic will never go out of style – with Solémar, a Wilmington-based apparel brand, these timeless looks don’t come at the cost of the ocean or the environment.

While RILEY NEESE started Solémar in March 2024, her interests and passions were headed toward sustainable fashion long before the brand officially launched.

Solémar’s name comes from the Spanish words “sun” and “sea”, which speak to the owner’s passion for the ocean. A North Carolina native, Neese grew up in Greensboro but frequented various Carolina beaches as a kid through trips with her family.

On these trips, Neese would beg her dad to take her to surf shops, where she’d ogle over the light, bright, and coastal flair of brands like O’Neill, Billabong, and Rip Curl. “I love lifestyle clothes,” Neese says, “things you can just throw on and not have to think about it.”

Once she took on a sustainability minor in college, Neese became intensely aware of the cons of the fashion industry, specifically the excessive textile waste that comes from massive clothing companies.

In turn, she turned to her love of thrifting and had an eye for finding chic, used pieces. Once she began sewing in 2023, her thrifting abilities expanded tenfold, as she could now rework and even design from scratch new items from pre-loved fabrics she found. “There is so much new life left in forgotten textiles, for example an old sheet could be upcycled into a pair of pants,” Neese says.

Her love of thrifting, style, and passion for the earth amalgamated initially into designing clothing pieces for herself. “I’ve always loved shopping and clothes and I decided I wanted to make stuff for myself that actually fit me comfortably,” Neese says.

Quickly, Neese’s homemade wardrobe was garnering attention from friends and others, who wanted the pieces for themself.

With her entrepreneurial background honed at Appalachian State, Neese realized she had more than just a personal passion and some cute handmade clothes; she had a business.

Though many big-name brands, especially fast-fashion brands, make their clothes overseas, Solémar comes with the assurance of knowing both who exactly made your clothes and also where the material is sourced. Everything Neese uses in her collections is thrifted in North Carolina. She not only repurposes fabric from used clothes but some pieces, such as her purses, are made from thrifted or upcycled tablecloths, curtains, or other thrifted fabric. Her pants, shirts, and skirts are normally made out of thrifted sheets, deadstock fabrics, upcycled garments, or other miscellaneous thrifted fabrics.

On choosing the materials she works with, Neese says, “It’s a fun game. I mainly go to thrift shops. … I try to look for 100% cotton or linen – so sustainable and naturally occurring materials.”

The result is an earthy, airy style, with high-quality, ethically sourced fabrics.

A central focus of Solémar is not only practicing carbon neutrality but educating customers and the public on the importance of shopping from slow-fashion brands. Neese defines slow fashion as, “Creating garments in a meaningful way, and creating pieces that are made with intention.” While fast-fashion brands pump out short lived, trendy collections near constantly, Neese believes in small, staple-piece oriented collections.

Solémar provides clothes that are meant to be worn again and again. While fast fashion gives the impression clothes have a single-use life, slow fashion provides sturdy items that can be dressed up or down, and in turn, worn endlessly.

Another way Solémar commits to a carbon neutral model is many products are made to order. “It’s important to not have so much waste,” Neese says. “For example, instead of making five smalls and only selling three, with two never getting sold, made to order allows me to use the exact amount of fabric needed.”

As Solémar continues to grow, Neese now has a studio space where she works on designing and sewing pieces for the brand. “I try to get in there daily,” Neese says.

To her, it’s more than just a brand, it’s an artistic endeavor. “I get in flow state and will go in on a collection for six hours or so,” she says.

Solémar hit the Wilmington pop-up market scene last summer, welcoming a breadth of new customers on top of the ones garnered from the brand’s Instagram and website.

As Solémar expands its goods – such as an upcoming emergence of swimwear products – Neese also plans to stock her items at upcoming markets such as Oceanfest in Surf City in May.

“The Wilmington community has definitely been really supportive,” she says. “At the markets, you get to know everyone. People meet me, and they know the items are coming from my hands, someone they know.”

To view more of photographer and stylists Drewe & Kate’s work, go to dreweandkate.com

Want more WILMA? Click here to sign up for our WILMA newsletters and announcements.