Hello, my name is Lindsey Runyon, and I’m the owner of Bellefleur Lingerie Boutique in Seattle, WA. Working in a lingerie boutique was my first job when I was just 15 years old. The mother of my boyfriend at the time owned a store in Kirkland, WA (where I grew up) and asked if I wanted to work, and I said “why not?”. From my first day steaming silk nightgowns in the back, I was … Read More
Submitted by Candice Gwinn, owner of Trashy Diva in New Orleans, Louisiana
My clothing company, Trashy Diva, expanded to include a fully-stocked lingerie shop shortly after Hurricane Katrina. It became clear to me that women wanted to see a bigger selection of beautiful intimates that just wasn’t being found in the French Quarter. I’ve always been a fan of corsetry and carried a large selection of traditional Victorian-inspired, steel boned corsets in our dress … Read More
Submitted by Iris Clarke, owner of Iris Lingerie in Brooklyn, NY
I started working in a corset lingerie store when I was a teenager. While I was working there, I encountered a lot of challenges such as fitting bras and girdles. I then moved on to Bloomingdales in the 1980’s and worked along with buyers. During my nine years at Bloomingdales a company called Wacoal entered the scene, as well as LaPerla, Lejaby, Rigby &Peller … Read More
Last week my friend Marina, author of our Intimate Vision column, took me for a visit to the Dover market on Lexington and 30th street in NYC. Duplicating the existing concepts already in sync in London and Tokyo, this is the conceptual inspiration of Rei Kawakubo creative master of the Japanese brand Comme Des Garcons. Much discussion abounds about the eccentric content and the artful interiors that make this shopping experience a new approach to … Read More
Submitted by Sarah Wizemann, owner of Lille Boutique Portland, Oregon
I opened Lille a little over 6 years ago after moving to Portland from New York and not finding any lingerie store that catered to my aesthetic sensibilities. I was looking for some place tasteful, elegant, fashion-forward yet simultaneously vintage-inspired, with a good selection of natural fibers and non-padded options that offered a range of prices, and that just didn’t exist here (or anywhere really), … Read More
Submitted by Britt Cruikshank, owner of La Silhouette Lingerie in Madeira, Ohio
La Silhouette Lingerie evolved out of my frustration with Cincinnati’s lack of luxury European lingerie shops and the brands that I grew up with, along with my genuine passion for helping women feel good about themselves from the inside out. I opened La Silhouette Lingerie in 2007 to bring a piece of Europe to the Midwest in Madeira, Ohio. I grew up shopping … Read More