Sugar Lilie Dessous Prives Opens

photo by Kari Dietrich

Some of the best boutiques in the city—whose owners curate their brand choices with the balanced precision of a Japanese Ikebana floral arrangement-—are concentrated on West Third Street between Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood, Calif. That’s why it was always a conundrum to me that this shopping block didn’t have a boutique dedicated to lingerie with the same ethos as the neighboring clothing boutiques: an obsessive assortment of hip, anti-mall brands (of the lingerie world).

Enter Sugar Lilie Dessous Prives, tipped off to us by neighborhood retail watchdog BlackburnandSweetzer.com. In store is a lovely selection of fashion-forward brands such as Marlies Dekkers, Araks, Wundervoll, Nichole De Carle, Haute by Carol Malony, Damaris, Mimi Holliday, The Lake and Stars, John Galliano and Hot Milk, a line of pretty maternity lingerie. Owner Stacy Shakoor, who is still practicing as a private equity banker, hosted a party to christen the new space on Nov. 11.

Shakoor went on a soul-searching trip around to globe that took her to North Africa, the Middle East and Europe after her mother passed away from breast cancer a few years ago. When she returned in an enlightened state, she was compelled to start a business and laid down the groundwork to open up Sugar Lilie Dessous Prives.

Shakoor describes her store as “It’s truly about finding your divine womanness, your inner goddess and femininity.”

When I asked her, “Why lingerie?” she replied, “What better thing to help you find your inner goddess? It’s something we all wear everyday. We all have breasts. As we age they shift and change and we’re always trying to manipulate them. Everything we have here is fabulous fit, fabrics, beautiful construction, getting great value for the money. You’re going to get something that’s going to last you, that’s going to do the job, that’s going to make you feel amazing and look amazing. That’s what it’s all about. Especially in this economy.”

To ensure a perfect fit, an in-house seamstress will be in to make alterations. The shop opens its doors on Nov. 14.

photo by Kari Dietrich

The owner of Sugar Lilie Dessous Prives, Stacy Shakoor