New San Jose store invites curvy women to shop for lingerie
October 26, 2012 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
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Chrystal Bougon has launched a new store on Meridian Avenue specializing in lingerie for women sizes 12 to 6X called Curvy Girl.
“Life is way too short for ugly underwear. I don’t want to wear beige bras and panties,” says Bougon.
“I’ve been a curvy person since third grade. I love pretty things, but there’s no place to buy them but online.
“Everyone else has Victoria’s Secret, but if you’re over a size 10 you can’t shop there.
“For the last 22 years I’ve wished there was a place. I could see a need that needed to be fulfilled.”
Bougon chose the name Curvy Girl because, she says, “I like the term curvy, as opposed to fat or BBW (big beautiful woman) or plus size.
“Not everyone knows what BBW means, and plus size doesn’t sound sexy.
“Curvy sounds nice, curvy sounds sexy and says it all. There’s no mistaking what we do.”
Bougon believes most women are a size 12 or larger, a belief supported by statistics.
The National Center for Health Statistics says a size 14 is the most common size women wear, with an average weight of close to 165 pounds.
Bougon, who has lived in Willow Glen for the past 25 years, originally worked in high tech.
“I was an engineering project manager and worked at cool Internet companies for 14 hours a day until September 2002, during what I call the dot-com bomb,” she says.
Coincidently, just before she was laid off, Bougon attended a pleasure party she describes
as “really, really bad.”
“That inspired me to start my own company [Bliss Connection]. I was raised with healthy attitudes about your body and pleasure. I can talk about all that stuff in a way that’s not gross and make it feel comfortable.”
Bougon’s business proved so successful that although she had assumed she would eventually return to high tech, she has never needed to.
While this is Bougon’s first solo venture with a retail store, she was part owner of the now closed Magical Moments lingerie and romance store in Sunnyvale.
“I could see a need for a lingerie store without sex toys,” she says.
Bougon says she picked her location at 1535 Meridian Ave. because it’s one of her favorite shopping centers.
“I live about two miles from here,” she says.
“I’ve been buying my makeup at Merle Norman for 22 years, and I hang out at Rookies. Everyone knows Meridian.”
Bougon says customers can expect “personal service and a welcoming feeling when you walk in the door.”
In addition to lingerie, the 950-square-foot store will have jewelry, shoes, purses, greeting cards, edible massage oils and chocolate body paints.
There’s also a small display dedicated to Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic novel. Customers can buy a necktie like the one worn by character Christian Grey shown on the book cover.
Since announcing her opening on Craigslist, which resulted in more than 180 people responding to the opening party, Bougon says she’s gotten a lot of calls from transvestites.
“I’ll have one night a month where they can come in and shop privately,” she says.
Looking ahead, Bougon expects to see Curvy Girl grow, as her pleasure party business has.
“I want to license this to women in other cities,”
“Since the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey, my business consultants are always busy. This is my retirement grand slam.”
Curvy Girl, 1535 Meridian Ave., No. 30, 408.264.4227, www.curvygirlinc.com. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
