Kim Kardashian says she dyed her shapewear with coffee and tea bags before she founded SKIMS
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME
- Kim Kardashian spoke at the Time 100 Summit on Tuesday.
- She opened up about founding SKIMS, saying the brand was inspired by her lackluster experiences with shapewear.
- Kardashian said she used to dye her shapewear with tea or coffee so it matched her skin.
Kim Kardashian shared the home hack she used for shapewear before she founded SKIMS.
On Tuesday, Kardashian appeared at the TIME 100 Summit to speak to CNN's Poppy Harlow about her career.
In their 22-minute conversation, the pair discussed how Kardashian's parents influenced her, her approach to business, and her work in the legal field.
They also discussed SKIMS, Kardashian's shapewear and clothing line. Kardashian gave Harlow insight into why she wanted to enter the shapewear market when the company was founded in 2019.
"It was filling the gap of something that didn't exist in the marketplace," Kardashian told Harlow.
"For me, I was just looking for a solution to the fact that I love to wear shapewear and there wasn't a color tone that fit my skin tone, let alone most of my friends," she went on to say.
Kardashian said she could only find shapewear in a pale tan or black, neither of which matched her skin.
She said she was so frustrated with the lack of options that she dyed her shapewear at home to make it right for her skin tone.
"I would take coffee and tea bags and I would put them in the sink or the bathtub and put my shapewear in there," Kardashian said to Harlow.
"And I would cut them all up," she added, as they were never the right length for what she needed to wear. "The cuts weren't right."
Vanessa Beecroft
Today, SKIMS offers shapewear in different lengths and one-leg options, so it's clear Kardashian's own experiences influenced the company's final designs. The brand also offers shapewear in 11 different colors.
As of 2022, SKIMS was worth $3.2 billion, as CNBC reported.
In her conversation with Harlow, Kardashian said she recently found her DIY shapewear, which made her laugh.
"It was just so funny to look back and see what I would try to do," she said.