Where Have I Been All Your Life?

In my almost 2 years of blogging about all things lingerie, I've spent most of my time avoiding the thousand pound elephant in the room (aka. Victoria's Secret). It's not that I hate VS (hey, they make lingerie after all...some of it is even nice lingerie), it's more that I hate the Starbucks effect they've had on the rest of the lingerie market (ironically, nobody likes Starbucks more than me...as a matter or fact, I'm going to need a non-fat latte just to get me through the rest of this post). But what has been okay, in my opinion, for coffee (ie. Starbucks wiping out the majority of 'mom and pop' coffee shops nationwide), has been borderline horrendous when it comes to Victoria's Secret's annihilation of the corner lingerie boutiques.

I thought it was because I'd rather ignore the corporate mass-produced lingerie of Victoria's Secret and dig deeper for harder-to-find but infinitely-more-rewarding lines of lingerie. I think that's been pretty well outlined in this blog in the past...at least in terms of what I've found online. But when it comes to the brick-and-mortar variety, I must begrudgingly admit, VS has made me just as lazy as everyone else. Often times 'harder-to-find' ultimately means 'to-hard-to-bother'. On the other hand, at least in Boston, when a lingerie shop opens, it's either not really my-type-of-people friendly (read: Agent Provocateur) or donate-an-organ-to-afford-anything-type of expensive (read: La Perla).

In my combined laziness and frustration, however, I spent years overlooking a store that encompassed everything I was looking for. To make matters worse, it stood smack in the middle of where I spent most of my time working, and all of my time going to school. The good news? Better late than never, I guess.

That store? French Dressing, smack in the middle of Beacon Hill, perhaps Boston's nicest neighborhood. I finally found it with huge assists from blogging friend Petra, and Boston Fashionista Miss Neira.

If I had to draw up what the perfect lingerie boutique would look like, this is what it would be: gorgeous lingerie that is both high quality and reasonably priced; personalized service that is both friendly and highly knowledgeable; private, discreet boutique shopping on one of Beacon Hill's many charming little side streets; and great brands such as Le Mystere, Desleigh Ann, Aubade, and many, many others. French Dressing has it all.

In a matter of moments it reminded me why a guy like me liked lingerie so much. In an instant, I recalled why I blogged about lingerie so much, and why I had to get back into it.

Coming to My Neighborhood

I swear, lingerie was the furthest thing from my mind....

Okay, that's a blatant lie. Lingerie is never that far from my mind. But as I was running some lunchtime errands a few days ago, in a retail shopping neighborhood near my office, I stumbled upon it innocently enough.

It had been a store of some kind, amidst a mile long stretch of road that was home to hundreds of other stores. I don't remember what store specifically had been housed there, as it was now dark inside, windows covered with brown paper. Truth is, it didn't matter what had been there. I was much more excited to see what was coming. There it was, stuck to the front door, the white sign that was a stark contrast to the brown paper coverings. It read: "Coming Soon: Agent Provocateur".

My emotions went almost instantly from excited to almost annoyed. Coming soon? Coming when? How soon? What day? I need details, dammit!!

Of course, there were none to be had. Even a look on their website reveals no clues. Their Geneva store opened yesterday, apparently. But not a word on their soon to be Boston, Massachusetts location, which will only be their 7th in North America.

At any rate, this is big news, of course. Boston, for all of our big city aspirations, and perhaps occasional New York envy, can still often be stuck in out puritan roots. While we pride ourselves in being a liberal, progressive city, on the level of, say, a San Francisco, when it comes to things like lingerie and sexuality, San Fran has its Dollhouse Betty and its Piedmont. We have.....well, sadly not much.

That's why the forthcoming opening of Agent Provocateur is so exciting. Beyond the obvious reason that I will soon get to shop there, their is the perhaps more important issue that lingerie and eroticism might actually be becoming relevant here. There mere acknowledgment that this store could have some success here is, in fact, a big step.

That's why I hope it is a success. I hope it leads to similar type stores and boutiques. I hope it leads to an admission that Victoria's Secret isn't the be-all end-all of lingerie and sexiness. I hope it leads women, and more men like myself, to the realization that lingerie can make you feel beautiful, so long as it isn't the same tired old lingerie that you and 20 of your closest friends keep buying from Victoria's Secret. I hope it helps people feel like it's important to feel sexy and beautiful any day, not just on special occasions.

Most of all though...I hope it opens soon!