A few reminders from a first-time business owner who used to be totally clueless about how the lingerie industry worked:
If stuff only sells on sale, odds are good the designer will phase it out or the boutique will stop buying it.
Requesting that a boutique pick up specific brands isn’t actually helpful. Some brands don’t sell wholesale. Others have really high order minimums. Still others won’t sell to boutiques who sell their competitors.
What IS helpful is telling a boutique owner (like yours truly) what items you really like from specific brands, and what kinds of styles you would like to see, in which sizes. That helps us look for a variety of options rather than be like, oh shit, that one brand isn’t available.
Do your homework before emailing a long complaint email to the boutique owner or designer about why a specific item isn’t available in X size when the designer doesn’t actually make that size.
FYI: there are probably good reasons for this. Lingerie designers like Karolina Laskowska have been historically incredibly responsive to requests for, say, full bust sizes… only to offer those very highly requested sizes and not sell one. single. item. Not much motivation to continue manufacturing hard-to-find sizes, you know what I mean?
If you are looking for something in your size, google your size and the sort of style you are looking for. Go on a blog like thelingerieaddict or sweetnothingsnyc or kurvendiskussionen and read reviews. Odds are good you’ll find something amazing!
If an item doesn’t sell, it will not be restocked/remade.
Indies cannot provide the same prices as Wal-Mart. (It all comes down to manufacturing, materials sourcing, and things like ethical labor.)
Businesses are not services.
Entrepreneurs need to make a living.
Never email a small business owner or independent designer asking for free shit or a discount. That person is working their ass off trying to get their business off the ground, probably not taking a paycheck for the first year or two (at least), probably doing something like bartending or waitressing or nannying to make rent so they can pursue their passion. Don’t you dare ask them for free shit. And if you want a discount, sign up for their mailing list. Odds are good that an exclusive discount code will come around within a month or two.
And a lot of stuff I am probably forgetting, but that’s what seems important right now.