Between the Sheets: Comfortable Innerwear
Shortly after Valentine’s Day, Layla L’obatti learned from one of her lingerie buyers that a customer returned a skimpy piece of intimates gifted by her husband in exchange for a set of L’obatti’s Between the Sheets Modal/Lycra loungewear. The idea that women buy loungewear as a present for themselves captures the essence of L’obatti’s line.
“That’s kind of my theme—that it’s lingerie created by a woman for women. Men are very visual; they’ll definitely go for the lacy and the racy, but the women will want something that’s relatable and approachable,” said L’obatti, who started producing in New York last year.
The designer grew up in Upland, Calif., and graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in fashion design, specializing in intimate apparel. Both her West and East Coast homes influence the practicality of the line. She thinks about her mother in Seattle and aunts in Laguna Hills and Upland, Calif., pulling back the sleeves of a top while gardening and wearing their heavier-weight leggings to the grocery store. New Yorkers prefer loungewear as underpinnings and top layers worn with jeans.
“The cardigan was really important for our brand, and the cami was important because those are the things that New Yorkers could wear mixed and matched. In our upcoming seasons, I’m trying to find a new way to reinvent that,” said L’obatti, who also chose season-less fashion colors such as charcoal gray and berry.
“Intimates, it does move in different cycles than normal ready-to-wear,” she said. “It can sit on the [sales] floor a lot longer, so even a fashion color needs to be able to sit on the floor and merchandise well in the upcoming seasons. I wanted to stay fashion but not in a print sense and not in ruffles, trim or anything like that. I tried to keep it as simple and clean as possible so it can be something that you buy and wear for a couple of years.”
Wholesale price points range from $14 to $16 for panties, $25 to $40 for tops, $50 to $60 for bottoms, and $55 to $75 for robes and cardigans. L’obatti will add cotton voile and slub knits for Spring 2011.
While Between the Sheets is made for everyday wear, the designer’s high-end division, Layla L’obatti for Between the Sheets, is a special-occasion purchase. A long, sheer silk chiffon dressing robe and a babydoll chemise with transparent lace panels have a vintage feeling. Prices range from $75 to $295.
For more information, call the Jennie Nielsen Showroom, located in the Gerry Building, suite 504, at (213) 489-3310; e-mail sales@btslingerie.com; or call (347) 952-4333.—Rhea Cortado
