By SHIRLEY FREEMAN
Both the women I initially met with, shared their passion for working with customers and professionally fitting them with the best bras for their shape and desires. Stephanie stated “This is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. Every day I get to help women feel better about themselves!” Rose echoed the same.
The boutique owner Bette Spettel, opened Over The Moon in 2017. Having spent several years managing a Front Street lingerie shop that was closing, Bette jumped at the opportunity to take over the lease!
What made you want to open Over The Moon?
While managing the other store, I realized we weren’t meeting the needs of many women. There was a very limited inventory. When I opened my own shop, I changed that. I now have a HUGE amount of inventory, a beautiful selection for women of all shapes and sizes including post-surgical choices and nursing bras. I see beauty in every woman and wanted to curate a space for them to feel safe and great about themselves. We have over 5000 bras, I need to have this much in stock! (much to my accountant’s concern!) There will be that woman who wears maybe a 46M. She may only come in once every three years, but I have that bra in stock… or someone needs a specialty size. Or someone who has just had a double mastectomy will need a comfortable bra. We are a service industry dedicated to helping all women… It’s my mission.
“I see beauty in every woman and wanted to curate a space for them
to feel safe and great about themselves.”
I could see how important having a vast spectrum of sizes and inventory was. Bette shared a story of a plus-sized woman who came in with her friends who said she’d never dared to come in alone. She was so surprised that they carried gorgeous large cup bras (not just white and beige) and beautiful matching 3XL panties that would fit her as well.
It’s brands that care about their factories and how and where they’re produced. The wide size range is very important when I look at brands. Some, like Cosabella, that I do carry, wish went larger, but Panache or Montelle for example, will go to at least 3X in panties as well as having larger bra sizes. That’s always what I’m searching for at Curve… you know, what new brand is out there for the fuller-figured customer? We purchase about 80% of our products during the Curve NY show.
What are some rewards and challenges of owning a lingerie shop?
We love that we have created a place where women can feel so safe and listened to. We can respond to them with compassion and understanding because it’s hard for many women to feel good about their bodies. As for challenges, fortunately, we’re quite successful. Selling isn’t a challenge, but given our societal expectations of women’s appearances, it’s not always easy to help women feel good about themselves. Sometimes we’ll literally cry after someone leaves because of how unhappy they feel about their appearance. We recently had a woman say “I’m only going to buy one bra and skip the matching panty because I’m too fat and trying to lose weight. Maybe I’ll be back in a year” and we said, you deserve to feel great right in this moment!
What frustrations do you have about the lingerie industry as a whole?
My biggest frustration is that the industry has not caught up to the environmental impact of their packaging and shipping. Don’t pack each item individually in plastic, don’t put every bra on a plastic hanger that I’m just going to throw away because all my bras are kept in drawers. I think it’s that they have not caught up. If you’re going to use plastic, start using compostable plastic at least.
Stephanie: Chantelle’s Nora Comfort Underwire Bra – it’s amazing!
Rose: The luxurious Panache Allure Bra – has great side support and is so comfortable.
Bette: An Eberjey Tencel Robe in soft modal – I feel so pretty and cared for in it .
In what ways are you involved in the community?|
We support various women’s causes like The Florence House, a women’s shelter in Portland.
“This Spring, we brought along close to $10,000 worth of our overstocked or past season’s bras to the shelter and made our own dressing room, so everyone had privacy. We fit all the women there and gave each 2 new bras. After fitting the women, they would be so excited to have a great fitting bra finally! For a lot of these women, it became their most prized possession.” said Rose
Stephanie added “We fit a senior lady who only had a single, badly fitting foundation piece that sadly caused sores on her body. When we put her into a beautiful bra that supported her and was comfortable, she simply wept. It was such a humbling experience, and we were so grateful to be able to help. We intend to continue this every year.”
Bette shared “We also host a fun, monthly ‘Girls Night Out’ event in the shop where friends gather and enjoy refreshments. They’re often treated to things like chair massages, skin care demos, tarot readings, and discount shopping. It’s become a wonderful community event.”
I love what we’re doing here, and I love how well we’re doing it. I don’t want to get too much of a bigger store because we would lose the closeness and intimacy that’s felt in a shop this size. Perhaps I’d open an additional store closer to Portland… maybe. There is so much more product I would like to offer.
What is one of your favorite customer stories?
Recently a mom came in for a re-fit and shared that a year earlier she brought her high school senior daughter to (reluctantly) get fitted. By the end of her session, the teenager felt so incredible, that she went home and wrote her Wellesley College essay on her wonderful bra fitting experience and how empowered she felt! She got into Wellesley! She said she left here feeling so on top of the world! That’s why I named it Over The Moon. Come here, get fitted, feel over the moon!
“Come here, get fitted, feel over the moon!”
Last thoughts?
So much of what we do here is fun. I’ve never had a job where I wanted to go to every single day… that I didn’t wake up and think, oh gosh, I have to go to work now. Our whole team feels the same! It’s always YAY, I get to go to work today!
96 Front Street
Bath, Maine 04530
(207) 442-9999
https://www.overthemoonmaine.com/
Read more articles and brand collections on Lingerie Briefs
