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Oh
what a night!
Full-service
Midwood lingerie shop puts romance back into wedding plans
By
Lisa J. Curtis
The Brooklyn
Bride Editor
When the business of planning a wedding gets her down, a bride
should visit Inspiration Lingerie in Midwood, and be “inspired”
by the romantic details of choosing the essentials for her
first night of matrimonial bliss.
Here, there’s a variety of finely crafted lace and satin
confections: glamorous peignoir sets, leg-revealing chemises
and baby-dolls, dreamy negligees and marabou tufted slippers
to make a girl feel pretty during her honeymoon and, more
important, the wedded life that follows.
But there are lots of practical must-haves in stock, too.
A bride can find her entire intimate trousseau in this one
shop, which is on the cusp of celebrating 20 years in the
business.
The garments — all “better merchandise” and
already discounted by 10 to 20 percent — range in style
from the modest English rose-garden-inspired robes of Crabtree
& Evelyn to the jaw-dropping vintage Hollywood glamour
of Jonquil’s peignoirs.
Chantelle, Cosabella, Claire Pettibone and Bali are all represented
here, and the merchandise ranges in size from petite to 2X.
The family-run shop is operated by Rosalyn Grunstein and her
mother, Miriam, who learned to make custom-fit bras from scratch
when she was just a 12-year-old at work in her mother’s
shop in Israel. The mother-and-daughter team’s decades
of experience allow Inspiration Lingerie to be a full-service
boutique: they size you, help you make your selections, and
customize your choices at the sewing machine in the front
of the store. (Most alterations are included in the price
of the garment.)
“A major part of our business is bras and panties — custom
fitting,” said Rosalyn, explaining that customers who’ve
moved away from Brooklyn still call to have their orders shipped
or to schedule an appointment for a fitting when they’re
back in town.
“Our customers have been with us for a long time, so
it’s more like friendships.”
Almost on cue, a regular arrived, was greeted by Rosalyn by
name, and even seemed surprised that the shopkeeper remembered
the brand of panties she liked and the size she wore.
A few moments later, another woman strode in brusquely, with
a cellphone clipped to her ear, and announced that she was
getting married that night and was in need of a peignoir set.
“I heard they carry everything,” Judy Friedman Itzkowitz
told The Brooklyn Bride. “And they fit you like it’s
custom-made. I’m large busted and bras are a problem
for me.”
Two years ago, when Rosalyn was about to become a mother for
the first time, she said that she and her mother toyed with
the idea of closing the shop, but the customers wouldn’t
allow it.
“I’m glad I kept the business,” said Rosalyn.
“I feel privileged, I really do. Although they now say
‘you’ve got crazy hours’ [Sundays and Tuesdays
through Thursdays, from 11 am to 7 pm], that’s why we’re
open by appointment, too. I really try to accommodate our
customers. Women have careers, families, grocery shopping;
they don’t have time to shop for themselves.
“Plus, some people want privacy when they shop, so the
appointments are a nice service for them, too.”
For those who haven’t yet heard of Inspiration Lingerie,
the store’s a rare gem. Today, experts like Rosalyn and
her mother, who are committed to helping the customer achieve
a perfect fit, whether that means altering a bra’s strap
or inserting a pad, are nearly impossible to find.
Right
foundation
And if you don’t see what you need on display, just ask.
The Grunsteins carry a variety of bustiers, waist-cinchers
and bodyshapers — must-have foundations for a wedding
gown, whether the dress is ornate with a bell skirt or a body-skimming
satin affair.
Rosalyn says she and her mother, who was also a corset-fitter
at Saks Fifth Avenue when she immigrated to the U.S. 40 years
ago, agree that “a good foundation is the most important”
aspect of a bride’s attire.
“The dress can cost $10,000, but it will look like the
worst dress without the right bustier,” opined Rosalyn.
For example, beneath a gown with lots of beading or lace,
she would recommend a more pointy, or more shaped, bustier,
so the bride would have more definition and not look “lost”
beneath the layers.
But many brides don’t need much encouragement to try
out slimming foundation garments, said Rosalyn.
“All women have expectations on their wedding day,”
she said. “They want to look like a zero when they’re
a size 4! We can’t work magic, but we’ll do the
best we can for a bride.”
Before shopping, a bride should already know her wedding dress’s
fabric and its neckline, so the Grunsteins can steer them
toward the correct undergarments.
Night ‘magic’
“I really love what I do. I love lingerie,” said
Rosalyn with a grin. The enthusiasm of this third-generation
pro is evident, both in her stories of buying trips to stock
the shop (“three for the store, one for me”) and
in the way she handles each delicate item.
“Everything is handpicked and unique,” explained
Rosalyn. “I know what will look good and what will fit,
or look horrible with a point here or pucker there. Department
stores will buy lingerie because of how it looks on a hanger,
but we don’t have space for bras that don’t sell
because they don’t fit.”
Holding a lace peignoir, she demonstrated the quality she’s
looking for in a garment.
“It’s like butter,” said Rosalyn. “You
want it soft on your body.”
Instead of the typical, scratchy lace embellishments, Inspiration’s
negligees are comfortable and irresistible: they have tiny
buttons covered in satin; or a thigh-high slit, framed in
lace; or hidden hook-and-eye closures for a precise fit; or
satin-lined cups in a lacey bodice, that serve to increase
modesty — and mystery! — all at once.
Rosalyn’s excitement is infectious as she holds up a
Jonquil navy blue velvet robe, with pleated satin bell sleeves,
perfect for a tete-a-tete by a roaring fire; or the two-piece
Claire Pettibone cotton gauze pyjamas, in a delicate Tiffany
blue — a sweet choice for a steamy island honeymoon.
And this is just a peek at the wide variety at Inspiration
Lingerie, where a bride could fall in love with the idea of
falling in love, all over again.
Inspiration
Lingerie, which carries bustiers, peignoir sets and more,
is located at 816 Kings Highway between East Eighth and East
Ninth streets in Midwood. Hours of operation are Sunday and
Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 am to 7 pm, and by appointment.
For more information, call (718) 376-2041.
February
11,
2006 edition |. Read
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