Buttercup.com: Overcoming the lingerie taboo
October 14, 2012 by admin
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Arpita Ganesh believes that what you wear on the inside is as important as what you wear on the outside. She believes that the right lingerie can bring out your inner Naomi Campbell or Cindy Crawford or just make you feel a lot better about your appearance. So, she decided it was time to give India Buttercups.com, a high-end lingerie boutique.
Arpita is a 35 years old hotel management graduate. She loves playing with her daughter, dogs, loves playing the piano and dancing the Salsa. Arpita Ganesh is a striking combination of women with a mind of her own, a touch of irreverence and a sense of humour. After all it takes courage on a dallop of cheekiness to launch a lingerie business in India call Buttercups.
Ganesh decided the time was right to make lingerie shopping less of a nudge notch experience and so she launched Buttercups in 2008 in association with the French brand Chantelle. But her lingerie dreams went bust no pun intended and in 2011 she shut shop. Burdened by high rentals and overheads, Arpita decided to start afresh with the launch of Buttercups. A one stop virtual shop for high end lingerie.
Switching from offline to online:
How could we take this experience online was something we grappled with for a long while because there is absolutely no human connection online. We realised there is a possibility if we gave women a simple task to do like measure herself and just enter those measurements. We could do a matrix that could pull up her size and that was a very interesting concept that for us became okay can we do it? Should we do it?
That is how the idea of the site began and we were comfortable enough to find developers who made that matrix for us.
The matrix takes a little thinking in terms from a fitter point of view because Indian sizes slightly vary from everybody else’s sizes, in terms of Indian women sizes vary. I have my basic figuring of what fits and what doesn’t fit in and that’s how the matrix was formed. Once we got that right then we had no issues in going online.
The initial response has been heartening with sales of Rs 60,000 in the first month itself. Stocking lingerie, accessories and swimwear price between Rs 1000 to Rs 5000, Arpita have hopes her virtual shop will attract customers who may have otherwise been queasy to walk into a high end lingerie boutique.
Change in mindsets, the biggest challenge and continuing battle:
Lingerie is a taboo word in this country. Two, women heading lingerie is a taboo as is. So, there have been challenges. Challenges being that when you go out there and say that ‘I want to do this’, there are people who say, ‘you know what, just a whim that you want to indulge.’
They do not think that you think of it as a business. They do not think that you have genuine understanding of this market. They just believe you are a pretty face wanting to do something fun. That’s not what it is and it has been tough to fight that as a challenge, in terms of people we have met, in terms of orders that we have got I in and in terms of the brands that we have tied up with.
Money is critical for Arpita’s expansion plans. The team of 5 at Buttercups is hoping to raise funds to launch its own brand in the next six months. Arpita is in talks with Hong Kong and Russia based manufacturer of lingerie brands to start her own line. Arpita is looking to experiment with an offline-online model and will launch fitting rooms, so customers have the satisfaction of choosing the right fit before placing their orders online. But for now it is baby steps and largely word of mouth advertising.
Plan to reach out to customers:
We don’t want to advertise a site with somebody else’s brand on it. I’d much rather spend that advertising money advertising my own brand. My own brand is in the pipelines. I am hoping in the next six months, considering we do get the investment we are looking for then we will be able to put our brand out there. We want to have a very unique concept that has never been tried in India before of what is known as fitting rooms.
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Halloween costume shops in the Hudson Valley
October 13, 2012 by admin
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Originally published: October 12, 2012 1:04 PM
Updated: October 12, 2012 2:15 PM
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SPECIAL TO NEWSDAY
Photo credit: Xavier Mascarenas | Beyond Costumes owner Yon Zweibon of Hartsdale wears a bull hat as she interacts with employee Charles Hallock, dressed as a matador, at 530 Nepperhan Ave. in Yonkers. She has built it into one of the largest rental-costume selections in New York, which also has space dedicated to Halloween items and costumes for sale. (Oct. 3, 2012)
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Whether you’re dressing as Katniss from “The Hunger Games,” Psy of “Gangnam Style” or a more traditional witch, flapper or ghoul, there are plenty of places where you can find the perfect Halloween costume in the Hudson Valley.
From a theatrical specialty store that’s been open for decades to a seasonal pop-up shop, here are five places in Westchester, Rockland and the Hudson Valley that will cater to your Halloween needs.
Beyond Costumes in Yonkers
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Korean immigrant Yon Zweibon, a certified public accountant with a business degree from the Wharton School, purchased a costume shop, originally known as Westchester Costumes, on a whim 12 years ago. And she hasn’t looked back since.
Zweibon said when she originally bought her shop, now known as Beyond Costumes, she had the feeling that “this is where I need to be.” And it’s in the shop, she says, that she’s able to “move people’s emotions” through her work.
Beyond Costumes, open year-round, offers everything from wigs to props to makeup, and prosthetics (530 Nepperhan Ave., Yonkers; 914-963-1333; beyondcostumes.com). And, of course, there are plenty of costumes, too — more than 22,000, to be exact.
This Halloween, Zweibon thinks that men will gravitate toward Thor and Avengers costumes, while women will be drawn to characters like Black Widow and Catwoman. Costumes cost between $20 and $100 to buy and between $65 and $300 to rent.
Beyond Costumes has extended hours through Halloween and is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday and Monday.
Halloween Explosion in West Nyack
Located in the Palisades Center between Target and Outback Steakhouse, Halloween Explosion is a seasonal pop-up shop that sells more than just costumes (1000 Palisades Center Dr., West Nyack; 914-476-3331). The store also sells wigs and makeup, plus home decor, including one of the largest selections of outdoor inflatables for your home.
Store manager Sofia Mata says she’s been noticing some trends in the costume selection this year. While most tween girls are gravitating toward fairy tale characters like Rapunzel and Merida from “Brave,” she’s seen a shift toward more cool and trendy characters, too, like the girls from Disney’s hit show, “Shake It Up.” Boys, on the other hand, are going for costumes from “Iron Man” and “The Avengers.”
Mata says many women are dressing as their favorite reality TV star, choosing to channel the people from shows like MTV’s “Jersey Shore.” In contrast, men aren’t looking for anything elaborate. They either find a cool mask, dress as something funny or go with a themed group costume.
The costumes at Halloween Explosion range from $9.99 to $159. The store is open through Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Columbia in Kingston
Now open for 30 years, Columbia — named for owner Lauren Spaey’s mother, who was born on Columbus Day in 1920 — is a year-round business that stocks wigs, beauty supplies and costumes (66 North Front St., Kingston; 845-339-4996; columbiacostumes.com).
Whether you’re looking for a specific type of glove, a wig (there are more than 2,000) or a fog machine, there is something for everyone and every budget. There’s even a Christmas section, a Renaissance section, a prosthetic department and an on-site makeup artist and hairstylist. And especially important at this time of year, Columbia specializes in bringing even the roughest draft of a Halloween costume idea to life.
“The depth of what we have is what blows people away,” Spaey said.
Like other costume shop owners, Spaey thinks that superhero costumes will be popular with boys and fairy tale costumes will be popular for girls. Women can find looks from a Gothic Goddess to a flapper and men can dress as anything from Elvis to a member of the group KISS.
Rental prices for costumes average around $55, but can go up to $900. From baby buntings to Men’s size 4XL, the costumes start at $20.
Columbia is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. They’ll extend their hours closer to Halloween.
Suzette’s Costume Village in Yonkers
Suzette’s, which opened as a lingerie store in 1956, carries a variety of intimate apparel, hosiery and shapewear. And in 1985, they decided to branch out and create Suzette’s Costume Village. Now they annually expand their Cross County Shopping Center real estate for the Halloween season to supply a smorgasbord of wigs, makeup, props, animatronics and other home decorations (8090 Mall Walk, Yonkers; 914-476-7666).
Manager Isaac Sagman says the store specializes in customer service, offering, among other perks, a layaway plan. “Employees take time to open up costumes to show, instead of just directing customers,” he said. “It’s a real value.”
The most popular costumes for boys this year include Captain America and Spiderman; Monster High costumes are big for girls. And adults, paying homage to shows like “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries,” are loving vampire looks.
The store is open through Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. There will be extended hours closer to Halloween.
Marlu Costumes in Port Jervis
In business for more than 57 years, this family-owned costume shop is packed to the rafters with more than 35,000 costumes in its nearly 6,000 square foot space. And while Halloween means big business for owners Hazel and John Goldstein, year-round they specialize in theatrical rentals, servicing colleges, high schools, middle schools, community and professional theaters throughout the country (590 Mullock Rd., Port Jervis; 845-355-1414; marlucostumes.net).
Due to licensing constraints, Marlu can’t “leap on the Disney bandwagon” for their rentals or provide some of the more commercial costumes, Hazel Goldstein said. However, they do provide alterations at no extra charge and carry a vast variety of makeup, wigs and accessories to help customers look like anything from a can-can dancer to a Southern belle.
Marlu carries costumes for ages 12 and up. They’re open year-round from noon to 7 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and stay open until 9 p.m. in the two weeks leading up to Halloween.