Lingerie store owner talks underwear and atmosphere
August 28, 2012 by admin
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Zorn PhotographySOL models.For Jeanie Peterson and Cindy Johnson, opening SOL: Store of Lingerie was the natural combination of one sister’s business savvy and the other’s long-running experience in the lingerie business. And this Wednesday, August 29, the internationally-recognized Cherry Creek North boutique will celebrate fifteen years in the business with a party for its customers. In advance of the bash, Westword spoke with co-owner Jeanie Peterson about bras, the Oprah effect and how SOL has stayed successful over the last decade and a half.
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SOL owners Jeanie Peterson and Cindy Johnson.Westword: Why did you open SOL: Store of Lingerie?
Jeanie Peterson: My sister, Cindy, and I opened it together. Cindy has an unbelievable passion for lingerie — she just always has. That was the impetus for it, her passion. When we were little, our grandma always bought us undies for Christmas; we have two older sisters, and they always got the pretty, lacy ones. Cindy got the ones with bumblebees on them that were a bit big. (Laughs.) So when she was old enough and realized that she could buy panties on her own — and not only panties, but pretty, lacy ones that fit and had matching bras — it was like the angels sang for her.
Her passion has driven this for so long; she started working at a lingerie store in high school, she went to CSU for fashion merchandising and apparel. Between the two of us, we would brainstorm and talk about opening a store often. She manages and oversees the creative side of the company, and I oversee the business side. It’s a good yin and yang.
I’m a liberal arts girl — but tons of people had told me, you should go into business. I knew this was something Cindy and I were pursuing, and once we really got into it, I felt like earned my MBA on the job.
What can a new customer expect if they have never walked into SOL before? What is different about you, versus, say, Victoria’s Secret?
It is such a positive experience: We have a fantastic group of (bra) fitters that Cindy has personally trained. She is still very active on the floor and selling arena, which is fairly unique for a store of our size and age. Often, the owners disappear to the stockroom or office, so Cindy prides herself on staying connected with our customers.
When a customer walks in, she is greeted by a SOL Girl — we’re all called SOL Girls — and gives her an explanation about what the store is. So many of our customers come in on a recommendation from someone else, so we are very aware that they are coming in and seeking that very personal experience.
After they’ve had time to browse, they are taken into a fitting room. One of our fitters is there to listen, educate and talk to them about how each woman and each bra is unique. The store itself is designed to make women and men feel at ease and feel comfortable. It is a beautiful Italian garden-type of feel; it’s calm, there’s a fountain. It’s just a different experience than a place where you may feel overwhelmed by thousands of bras being presented to you.
We have all of the bras displayed on art boards — it is almost as though you’re looking at art. You’re not having to be overwhelmed by things around you.
One of the free services we provide is bra wardrobing. We have many customers that bring in all of their bras — whether they have been purchased from us or not — and we talk through with them what they are for, if they fit, what they can wear them under. We help them realize what their wardrobe really requires. If she’s a mom who’s picking up her kids from school every day and running around, she may want five of the same bra because her wardrobe doesn’t change that much in a week. But someone else might have a different need for her wardrobe — that’s where the education comes in from our fitter in the fitting room.
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SOL…Store of Lingerie
248 Detroit St., Denver, CO
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Abbotsford’s lingerie team hopes fans see beyond uniforms at Saturday kick-off
August 28, 2012 by admin
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Lingerie Football League president Mitch Mortaza met criticism head-on Thursday at a media day for B.C.’s newest pro sports team, the BC Angels, challenging naysayers to watch a game.
“You’ll walk away a fan,� he said as music blared over the speakers at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre and athletes clad in bikini-style uniforms posed for photos with footballs. Mortaza then went further, possibly hoping to stir up some controversy in the Bible Belt.
“I promise you, the same people who are in church Sunday will be here on Saturday night,� he said.
The Angels play their first game Saturday, only one of two home games before Abbotsford hosts the Lingerie Bowl between Canada’s two top teams Nov. 17.
Mortaza said he has high hopes for the LFL in Canada after three very successful years in the United States.
“I think initially what the women are wearing attracts some people, but once the game starts they literally forget it. If the football wasn’t good, we couldn’t sustain this league.�
Local business owners are also excited by the prospect of a new audience bringing in more revenue.
“Any time we can get community events taking place in Abbotsford to draw people in is a good thing,� said Paul Esposito, owner of Finnegan’s Pub, which sits adjacent to the venue where the Angels will play Saturday. He estimates the establishment will see a 25 per cent increase in business similar to what’s been experienced on Abbotsford Heat game nights.
Even so, Todd Martin, a pastor at Abbotsford’s Harvest Christian Fellowship and sociology professor at Trinity Western University, criticized the league’s portrayal of women.
“These are world class athletes and they don’t need to be pulling their shorts out of their butts to get attention,� he said. The pastor, however, clarified his opposition to the lingerie-clad league wasn’t just rooted in his personal beliefs but also from a sociological standpoint.
“If someone went to this and showed up (to church) on Sunday, it doesn’t mean they’re an evil, rotten person. I’m not against women, I’m not against lingerie and people who are interested in that,� he said. “What my concern is the way it’s packaged in that it’s demeaning to women, whether they acknowledge it or not.
“It buys into a system that women can be turned into sexual objects … and to me, that’s an issue that has to be addressed.â€�
The ever-controversial uniforms for the BC Angels include a sports bra with a laced bikini bottom and a garter. Shoulder pads are strapped over top, but don’t come much lower than the women’s collarbones.
Players interviewed by The Province Thursday had no problem with the uniform style.
“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,� said quarterback Mary Anne Hanson of Coquitlam.
An avid football fan and flag football player, pro football was “the next progression.�
The uniform is secondary to the competition and excitement of playing for a crowd, she said.
“Being in the best shape, you don’t worry so much about what’s on you or not on you.�
Mom of two Darnelle Bernemann said the uniform is “super comfy.�
“It’s nothing less than my bathing suit when I take my kids swimming,� said the Aldergrove guard.
Bernemann has always been athletic, but as a woman, never had an opportunity to play football.
“I just want to play football, and having all of this excitement is a bonus,� she said.
Coach Kevin Snell told the crowd of media he was impressed with the “drive� and talent his players have shown.
“I promised the girls that after their first game the fans will know that they are football players and athletes.�
A stadium employee watching Snell and the team running offensive plays from the sidelines commented to a friend: “I love my job today.�
gluymes@theprovince.com
sip@theprovince.com