Lailides is a company that I had the joy of coming across and wanted to share it with the readers of Lingerie Blog because I feel they cater to a very underserved niche. Moreover, the lingerie they produce for sizes AA-B is simply stunning. As you have seen overall on this site, I only speak of companies that I have confidence in and feel they have something special or unique to offer consumers in the lingerie market. Lailides is definitely one of those companies.
As I communicated back and forth with Jennifer Shepard, the owner of the company, I realized that not only is the end lingerie product beautiful, well crafted and detailed, the woman behind the company is dedicated, open to suggestions and backs her lingerie product 110%. She is in tune with what customers in the AA-B cup size range want and she is continually looking to make customer requests come to life within her product. I think as you read the interview, you will find this all to be true.
Lailides is a company that caters to small chested woman in cup sizes ranging from AA-B. Jennifer Shepard started her line of smaller sizes when she herself found it hard to find smaller sizes within any store. When she did find these sizes, they were either unflattering, did not fit properly or simply unattractive.
With the lack of choice and appeal that was currently available on the market, Lailides was created. Lailides upholds the belief “that a woman should always be beautifully dressed beneath her clothes”- including the smaller sizes.
So what makes Lailides so unique? Read through the interview to find out.
A: Lailides is really a made-up name but it originated from the ballet Les Sylphides. In this ballet are white-clad sylphes or forest fairies. Ballerinas and sylphes are small-chested and I wanted to promote this as a beautiful and positive way to look at being small-chested. I also wanted the name to look attractive when written and I wanted it to have long lines so I included a lot of "L"s and "I"s. I combined these two things and came up with Lailides.
A: Because Lailides is a relatively new company I wanted to make sure that the quality was high from the start. I knew that manufacturing in the US would be the best way to go. Also because Lailides is a new company, the quantities that we manufacture are smaller than the more established companies. For this reason, it is actually more feasible to manufacture in the US than overseas.
I will say though that cost is, of course, a big issue. If, down the road, I find a factory that produces high quality work for a lower price, wherever it is, I will definitely consider it. Making Lailides accessible to a broad range of customers is important to me. That said, quality will always come before cost for manufacturing decisions. I personally always gravitate towards expensive fabrics and high quality construction. So, if I wouldn’t want it in my own lingerie wardrobe, it won’t be a part of Lailides!
A: I would have to say from the fabrics. When I go sourcing for fabrics I’m like a kid in a candy store. Once I finally edit down to the fabrics I am going to use, the fabrics dictate to me what they are best suited for and what they will turn into.
A: It really came about organically. I started out with bra sizes XS/S and S/M – modeled on what some other companies like Eberjey and even The Gap were doing with their S/M and M/L bra sizes – but with smaller cup sizes. The XS/S fit a AA- A cup and the S/M fit an A-B cup. But then I started having requests for small-cup bras with bigger band sizes. Wanting to make as many potential customers happy as possible, I expanded the size range. I kept the same cup sizing but expanded the band sizes to include 30-34 and 36-38 band sizes. All of Lailides fabrics and trims incorporate stretch. This way we can accommodate a wider range of different shapes and sizes.
A: Right now I am using lace imported from and made in France. I use it because it is the most beautiful I have found. If I find lace from somewhere else that is as beautiful and unique I will use it but right now it is all from France.
A: Lailides’ products are only available online. I don’t think it makes sense to have a store front because it seems that these days small-chested women are in the minority. I probably wouldn’t be able to reach enough customers in a single location to make it cost-effective. I am currently working on getting Lailides into boutiques around the country so it should become easier and easier to find Lailides’ products nearby.
A: My goal is to be the “go to” brand for small-chested women. In the future I will be offering a broader style range and price range that will please more customers. I am currently working on including underwire bras in the collection. I am aiming to have them available for Spring 2011. And, although my hope is that women will be happy with their size and not feel the need to enhance it, I have had so many requests for bras with light padding that I am currently searching for the right bra pads and will include a few very lightly padded bras in the next collection. Finally, I am also working on including a tee-shirt bra or two. The aesthetic will remain consistent though with very wearable, comfortable and elegant bras, panties, camis and chemises.
A: There is a standard sizing technique that you can find on almost any lingerie website. I do think this standard technique may fall apart for the small-chested size range and I think it works better with a slight change. Instead of measuring under your bust line and then adding 4 or 5” depending on whether or not the result is odd or even, measure around your body, just under your arms just at the top of your breasts and have the measuring tape meet at a point above your upper chest area. If the result is an even number, that is your band size. If it is an odd number, add 1”. From there, follow the standard sizing technique. Without going into too much detail, the typical method can lead to an inflated band size and then a negative cup size (!) when you are dealing with the small-cup size range. If a customer has difficulty figuring out their corresponding Lailides size, I always ask them to email me their measurements and I will figure out the best size for them.
A: In order to keep your lingerie looking like new for as long as possible I always suggest hand washing in cold water and hanging to dry. I know it’s time consuming but it’s worth it. The second best recommendation I can make is to wash in a lingerie bag in the washing machine on the gentle cycle with cold water and Woolite or another very gentle detergent. You should still hang the items to dry.
A: I really can’t emphasize enough how seriously I take suggestions from customers. As you can see from reading above, I have incorporated many suggestions already. It helps me to make my business better by giving my customers what they want. So, please don’t hesitate to tell me what that is!
Also, I recently launched the new Lailides website which includes a much more user friendly ecommerce portion than before. There is an area to review each product so it makes it really easy for customers to give comments and feedback. And Lailides is on Facebook. I will be keeping in close contact with customers and offering special promotions for fans frequently. So, let me know what you think – whether it is through the website, Facebook or email.
Resources:
Website: http://www.lailides.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lailides/52401734393
Email: customerservice@lailides.com
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