Submitted by Jenette Goldstein owner of Jenette Bras in Los Angeles & Pasadena, California
I opened Jenette Bras in 2009 in an old working-class neighborhood in Los Angeles called East Hollywood. I found a great 1920’s storefront, formerly Pak-Am Stationery (for all your Pakistani-American office supply needs) in a sort of off-center bohemian district of bike shops, junk stores and small theaters. It was cheaper than prime shopping district space … Read More
Submitted by Bekah Anderson, owner of The Fitting Room in Grayslake, Illinois
After stumbling upon a part-time job at a lingerie boutique in 2006, I almost instantly fell in love with doing bra fittings. At the time, I hadn’t thought it would turn into a career… but I quickly found a deep passion for helping women feel beautiful and confident in their own skin. 6 ½ years later, I opened … 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 … Read More
Submitted by Judith Fine, owner of Gazebo in Northhampton, Massachusetts
Gazebo started in 1978 after I had been designing nontraditional bridal gowns from my home for several years. At Gazebo’s beginning, every item was made by me using silks and vintage laces. The late 70’s were the beginning of lingerie’s resurgence We had finished burning our bras and were now embracing our femininity. I was also wholesaling my own designs … Read More
Submitted by Cyla Weiner, owner and partner of
Sylene of Washington in Chevy Chase, Maryland
While growing up in the lingerie business in NJ I never thought about having my own store. Until one day after I got married and was teaching French, that I had a brilliant idea to open a lingerie store similar to the one my parents had in NJ. Teaching wasn’t as appealing to me … Read More
Submitted by: Lida Lisney, owner of Inside Story in Mississauga and Oakville, Ontario
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I was born and raised in Montreal, and moved to Toronto in 1989 to pursue a career working as a flight attendant with Air Canada. With a son to support, I took a part time job on the side (which was made possible by my intermittent schedule as a flight attendant) in the fall of 2002 … Read More
Submitted by Tara Campbell Owner Rosalind’s Lingerie in Cambridge, ON, Canada
I’ve felt a part of Rosalind’s Lingerie since I was a little girl, when my mother started working there part-time in 1988. (?) At 12, I helped wrap Christmas gifts in the shop, and loved the atmosphere, the ribbons and lace, the happy women. In 2002, mom “bought her job” as she used to say, when she became the … Read More
