Lavande SWK
Stacey Walker King had been inside many a closet as a personal shopper for private clients such as high-net-worth executive women. But under her clients’ chic designer clothing exterior were less-than-spectacular foundations.
For Fall 2006, King launched her lingerie line, Lavande SWK, with the idea that women should enjoy lingerie for themselves, even if no one else sees it.
“[My clients] are women who will not bat an eye at $2,000 for a bag,” she said, “but for some of them, I cannot get them to spend more than $50 on a bra.
“The way lingerie is marketed in the U.S., it’s very driven to [be] titillating for men. I had the hardest time convincing my clients that it should be for you. It should be the thing that you should want to have on because it’s beautiful and it’s the closest thing to your skin.”
King worked as a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue in the designer department and then as a fashion director for a dot com business before she became a personal shopper. Though her experience as a buyer has helped her on the business end, Lavande SWK is inspired by a personal love of lingerie.
Standout pieces in the line have a ready-to-wear fit, such as a silk chiffon cropped bed jacket shrug and luxurious stretch-silk charmeuse pajama pants that fit lower on the hips, slim through the thigh area and with a slight flare at the bottom. The lingerie features the classically beautiful pairing of silk charmeuse fabric and floral lace trims in comfortable bralettes and panties that are alluring but not overtly revealing.
Wholesale price points range from $31 for a silk chiffon bikini, $67 for a stretch-silk charmeuse and lace-trimmed bralette, and $130 for stretch-silk charmeuse pants to $179 for a floor-length stretch-silk charmeuse robe.
King has sold her line to Hands On and Tres Jolie in Beverly Hills, Faire Frou Frou in Studio City, Calif., and some of her personal clients who were in need of luxurious loungewear.
“You should be able to wear a gorgeous silk pant lounging around in your house that does not have to be terrycloth with ’pink’ emblazoned in the butt,” King said. “There should be an evolution. You should feel as comfortable [in luxurious silk pajamas]. I know that with my clients, if they have them, they will use them.” —Rhea Cortado
