"Maybe Someone Doesn’t Like Sexy, Fat Women:" Owner of San Jose’s Curvy …

The owner of a San Jose lingerie store that caters to plus-size women has been vandalized three times since March, and it’s made her wonder if all the rock-throwing is because of her weight.

“You know, there’s a lot of people who really hate fat people,” Chrystal Bougon, owner of Curvy Girl on Meridian Avenue in the Willow Glen neighborhood told NBC Bay Area on Thursday, the same day she found a rock through her store window. “There was glass everywhere, it was just a mess.”

Someone also threw a rock through her window on March 8 and March 16, she said. She said she doesn’t want to be a “conspiracy theorist,” but she pondered out loud:  “Maybe someone just doesn’t like sexy fat women?”

The first time, she said she was frustrated. The second time she thought it was weird. And the third time, which occurred some time on May 13, made her just feel like it was because she sells sexy dresses to women sizes Plus 12 and up.

Nothing was stolen inside the shop, and no one had scrawled any anti-fat epithets on her store walls.

Without more evidence, San Jose Police Officer Albert Morales said that there’s no way to tell if the rock thrower had any specific bias toward Bougon, who made headlines in 2013 when she publicly took on Maria Kang, Sacramento’s “Fit Mom,” over a controversial magazine cover about sexiness and weight.

“We can’t really confirm she was an isolated target,” Morales said.

The department’s Crime Stats search, however, shows that Curvy Girl is not the only Willow Glen business or home to suffer any damage. In the last 30 days, there have been 139 reports of property crime, burglary, robbery and theft along Meridian Avenue, noted in the police department online records.

And it’s not just Willow Glen being targeted either. To compare, there have been 143 of the same crimes reported near The Alameda, a similar stretch of businesses and homes in San Jose.

Morales said within the last couple of months there has been a “rash of businesses” that have had rocks thrown through them. In the fall of 2014, DiModa Salon, BevMo, Baskin Robbins and Starbucks all suffered broken window damage.

“There’s no reason to think anyone is being singled out,” Morales said.

Whether she was the intended target or not,  this latest property crime is inspiring Bourgon to keep doing what she’s doing: Making heavy women feel beautiful.

“Haters are my motivators,” she said. “Clearly, there’s more work to be done.”

NBC Bay Area’s Michelle Roberts contributed to this report.
 

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Homme Mystere’s lingerie line for men ‘manssieres’ a success

Who’s up for lace-trimmed boxer briefs?

By Raif Karerat

WASHINGTON, DC: Thanks to Australian brand Homme Mystere, lingerie designed specifically for men is now available online and has attracted customers from across 30 different countries, including the United States, Russia, and Canada.

“Men’s lingerie sits in an undefined territory deemed ‘not exciting enough’ for adult stores and ‘too confronting’ for mainstream retail stores,” explains the HommeMystere website.

The retailer offers a wide variety of lace-trimmed boxer briefs, suspenders, bras — also known as “manssieres” — and more. All the lingerie pieces look like women’s undergarments but are specifically designed to fit a male body, reported The Independent.

Despite the perception that the designs cater primarily to the LGBT community, a survey carried out by the brand revealed that 90 percent of the customers sampled were in heterosexual relationships.

However, the retailer highlights they just want to provide the luxury option for men, regardless if they’re “gay, straight, vegetarian, Republican, Anglican, Martian or any other persuasion”.

“Our goal has always been to offer an alternative style of underwear for men, based on their physique rather than their sexuality,” the company says on its website.

According to The Independent, HommeMystere describes its customer as “male, married and older than 40  … He has discerning taste … and wants luxury garments, but does not need to show it off to others. He wants something new and exciting to buy.”

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