Missing bra gave birth to Freehold lingerie shop

Last year, a household mystery was about to turn Freehold Township resident Christine Longette’s life around.

“I somehow lost and couldn’t find the one bra I owned that fit well and felt comfortable,” said Longette, 45, who describes herself as “an odd size” – either a 34G or 32H. “But I didn’t like the service I received at other specialty stores and there were no full-service lingerie shops within 35 minutes of here.”

Ready to make a change from her longtime career in the graphics arts field anyway and desiring to fill a void in the local specialty lingerie market, a new venture was born – Brazen Bras Boutique on West Main Street in Freehold. “This business was my midlife crisis!” Longette joked.

Your guide to the perfect swimsuit

While some businesses can take years to launch, Longette said “it was almost as if a path magically lit up for me and everything fell into place when I needed it to.”

She developed a business plan during the 2012-2013 holiday break from work and she attended New York City’s three-day lingerie buyers’ market in February 2013, where she met numerous vendors, learned about the trade and began placing orders. She chanced upon an ideal retail space for her shop on Main Street in Freehold the following month.

Longette said her background working with financial institutions further helped her understand the business side of things, while her expertise in graphic design enabled her to meet all of the shop’s graphics and printing needs internally. With the support of her family and funding from her own IRA account, she opened the store in June 2013 and “everything just felt right,” she said.

Offering everything from bustiers, corsets, nighties and teddies to more everyday bras, underwear, stockings and layering pieces such as camisoles and tank tops – over 5,000 items in all – Longette insists that her shop offers solutions that are more than purely aesthetic. “So many women find that they’ve been wearing the wrong size bra for years, which can be uncomfortable and unflattering,” she said. “In our shop, they can get a professional fitting and evaluate a variety of bras and brands for the best fit. We’re all about educating our customers and offering a personal touch.”

According to Longette, who runs the tastefully boudoir-themed 1,700-square-foot shop with her daughter and co-owner Angela, 20, a full-time student, an emphasis on service is what separates Brazen Bras Boutique from the store’s larger and more well-known competitors.

Variety of offerings

“Department stores and dedicated outlets like Victoria’s Secret don’t offer in-depth service or an extensive size range beyond 32B-38/40DD,” she said, “while stores like Lane Bryant offer sizes in the bigger, not smaller range, and brands like Aerie offer smaller, not bigger, sizes. Women of all shapes and sizes therefore have to fit into the limited size ranges these outlets carry and be okay with getting little or no help.”

And in the lingerie market, she said, one size no longer fits all.

“People think that a DD cup size is the end of it, but the fact is that the average bra size has gone up over time and it isn’t necessarily correlated to the weight gain within the American population. Proportions have changed and we see many small-framed teenage girls coming in who need an F cup,” Longette said. “By carrying band sizes from 28-52 and cup sizes from A-K – over 120 different sizes of bras alone typically priced from $30 to $70 – we aim to address the entire market and make everyone comfortable.”

Manalapan resident Cami Gunther, 43, is a loyal fan of the approach. “I buy all of my undergarments at Brazen Bras Boutique because they have a wide selection of products, their prices are reasonable, they’re really up-to-date on the hippest new lingerie and their service is great,” said Gunther, whose teenage kids shop there as well. “I also love Christine and Angela, who are so nice and knowledgeable, and the store isn’t high-pressure at all. You really feel like family when you walk in.”

‘Learned a lot’

The shop celebrated its first anniversary in July. “We’ve learned a lot in our first year of business and have grown,” said Longette, who notes that molded-cup, seamless bras that don’t show through T-shirts, corsets and sexy items, nude-color bras and tummy control underwear remain among her strongest sellers.

Whether a customer’s preference runs from standard to sexy, though, Longette says that the most enjoyable part of her job is “the power of the bra – the difference that a properly-fitting bra or undergarment can make in someone’s self-esteem. People may come in feeling like they look too old or too heavy, but just getting a bra that fits changes everything; even their posture and the way they carry themselves changes because they can instantly see the difference in their appearance,” she said. “In fact, many of our customers feel so good about their new look that they either toss their old bra in their bag or throw it away right on the spot and wear the new one out.”

“Some customers are nervous coming in, but they always end up relaxing and having fun,” Longette added. And though many perceive that women’s lingerie is designed chiefly to appeal to the opposite sex, Longette begs to differ. “Our shop slogan is ‘Be bold. Be beautiful. Be brazen….’ ” she said. “Our merchandise isn’t about men, but rather about empowering women and offering products that make women feel good about themselves.”

BRAZEN BRAS BOUTIQUE

Location: 30 W. Main Street, Freehold

Phone: 732-333-0259

Website: www.brazenbras.com

Opened: 2013

Owners: Mother and daughter team Christine and Angela Longette

Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, open by appointment Mondays

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