California Apparel News

Jenette Goldstein opened her Jenette Bras shop in 2009 in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles to be a haven for women such as herself who wear the hard-to-find small bands and full-cup sizes. Goldstein’s personalized approach to fitting customers one-on-one and her edited selection of only the prettiest bras have made Jenette Bras a destination, drawing customers from all over the Greater Los Angeles area.

In December, she opened a second location, in the Old Town neighborhood of Pasadena, Calif., which has the same vintage, mid-century modern aesthetic and dedicated service in the fitting room. Jenette Bras stocks brands including Anita, Chantelle, Elomi, Empreinte, Fantasie, Fauve, Freya, Marie Jo, Panache, Prima Donna and Lejaby.

California Apparel News Contributing Writer Rhea Cortado caught up with Goldstein to talk about the second store opening and what it means to be a niche retailer.

How did you choose this location in Pasadena on Holly Street, which is off of the city’s main shopping street, Colorado Boulevard?

We were going for some kind of up-and-coming neighborhood as opposed to already the main drag. In Pasadena, because of the recession, the rents became “doable.” There is a lot more foot traffic [than the original store in Los Feliz], but it’s still a destination. To get a bra fitted, it’s not an impulse thing, but there’s a lot more coming in and asking about it.

Why did you decide to open a new store as opposed to expanding the original store or moving into a bigger location?

I really like the location where the [Los Feliz] store is now. We did talk about taking over next door and expanding that way. But my idea was I want to have the local bra lady in different cities or different neighborhoods. I wanted to see if we could be replicated—the idea of the small, owner-run store.

Having a really big store doesn’t appeal to me. I wanted it to be small, intimate, so that you get the same kind of service and sense of humor. I had to have a good staff before I could think of any kind of expansion. I’ve got a really great group of gals.

What did you find was different about the Pasadena customer?

We didn’t want the second store to cannibalize [the first store]. We’re just in Los Feliz, which is very close to Pasadena, but I noticed that very few would come. Pasadena is a very “shop-local” kind of community. It has not affected the Melrose store. There are lots of tourists that come out on vacation. We’re assuming we’re going to carry more of the higher-end brands because the demographic is there.

What are some growth categories in the store’s product mix?

We’re doing a lot of swimsuits now. No one else carries swimsuits for larger-busted women. That has helped us expand the same niche but a different garment.

At first I didn’t do the upper-band sizes because I’m not that customer myself. I didn’t know it as well—full figured and full bust. My feeling was I was going to be very niche and that Lane Bryant covers that [market]. But I kept getting so many full-figured women coming in, saying they didn’t want to go there, so I started offering that.

What is your shop’s niche, compared with other lingerie stores that also carry the same size range?

I do the type of shop for someone who really likes her figure or at least could be convinced, ultimately, once they were wearing beautiful lingerie. So we don’t really do beige bras. I want it to be chic, comfortable, well made, well fitted and fashionable.

If I don’t have enough for her, I have a relationship with Miss Stevens [in Beverly Hills, Calif.] and Creative Woman, “the wizard of bras” [in Monrovia, Calif.]. You want someone to be comfortable in your store and with what you have. I don’t want to sell them just anything because they happen to be in your store. It’s nice to be able to reference them somewhere else that might have something more to their liking.