A little over a year ago I got an email from one of the rash of online-bra startups. They were in Los Angeles to do a pop-up at a women’s expo, and were looking to borrow a couple of bra-fitters. They had one fitter in-house, they said, and added, in the excitable way of these companies, “we call her our Fit Therapist™ because she makes the experience so special!” In an appended paragraph about the company she informed me (me!) that, thanks to their nascent on-line
It’s weird to think that just a month ago, Sasha and I were slinging sports bras with Anita at the LA Marathon Expo downtown. Life at that point was pretty normal. Sure, we had taken up singing “Good as Hell” while dutifully washing our hands throughout the day, but we also rode the Metro from East Hollywood to the convention center, did dozens of fittings in a pop-up dressing room, and even stopped to split a bottle of wine at the local haunt on our way home. Early March feels like ages
Westside Ring-Mistress Sasha keeps the train on track in her vintage Vera Wang striped sweater. A souvenir of her first job at Nu Look consignment shop in Minneapolis, it’s a shout of happiness over a well-constructed scarlet dress from Banana Republic. Her beat-up Fluvogs are the newest items in the ensemble.
Miss Michelle is hard at work in some sort of French Farm Girl ensemble, all locally sourced in Pasadena. Denim culotte-jumper from Jasleen’s, Hansel from Basel socks from Elisa B, and shoes from Camille’s. Shockingly, her bra is NOT one we carry: its Zephyra from La Perla. Construction not as good as Empreinte or PrimaDonna, but sometimes beauty trumps all!
Our inimitable Miss Jessica is casually intriguing in a little black dress. Bold buckles, square frames, cropped hair softened with Mom’s favorite turquoise earrings. Comfy shoes by Simple support the surprise star of the outfit: ankle-warmers crafted from repurposed fabrics by Jessica herself, back in her time working in the chilly Forever 21 display warehouse.
East Hollywood Queen Bee Sarah builds an elegant rainy day outfit out of one amazing find: a like-new Jenni Kayne coat for $15 at Goodwill. Just throw it over a bunch of black stuff —Uniqlo blouse, Zara skirt, Rite-Aid tights and Target shoes in this case —and let it reign.
Master thrifter Miss Agueda catches the spirit in a trio of festival ensembles based on bras from her extensive Marlies Dekkers collection. Says Agueda, “I enjoy the hunt for unique pieces. One year I broke down and got a top from H&M. I saw at least five girls every day wearing the same thing! NEVER AGAIN.”
… and I’m feeling sentimental. Let’s take a look back at our humble beginnings:
Jenette Bras was founded by me, Jenette Goldstein, and my husband, Aaron Noble, in 2009, at 4308 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA. I was an actress; Aaron was a painter (we still are). Neither of us had ever run a business. Unable to get a business loan at the height of the recession, we financed the first shop with a single line of credit we had taken out years before to build a backyard studio.
Convinced that full-breasted women would go anywhere and pay any price for a bra that fit, we rented a cheap storefront in a bohemian corner of East Hollywood. Aaron’s interior for the store was cobbled together from a set of factory windows purchased from a Habitat for Humanity salvage outlet, pieces of mid-century furniture from junk stores and my Mom’s house, and a hacked kitchen unit from IKEA. Jenette’s childhood black lamp, Leo, still sits by the Man Chair at the Melrose location. We opened on April 30.
At a time when much of America thought there were no cup sizes above ‘D’, we decided, against advice, to sell none lower than that. We wanted to be the essential store for part of the market, rather than just another store for the whole market. Also against advice
