Condessa: Lingerie for Fashionable New Moms
According to Condessa Inc. lingerie founder and President Cynthia Cuprill, new mothers breast-feed for an average of three to six months. That was too long for Cuprill to trade in her pretty underwear for a plain and functional nursing bra.
The school teacher turned entrepreneur found she wasn’t the only one. When she would meet up with her fellow mommy friends for play dates at her home or at the park, griping about the lack of attractive nursing bras was a frequent topic.
“It wasn’t just a casual comment. People were upset,” said Cuprill, who remembers thinking, “Why am I not a woman anymore that I have to be wearing something that looks like a contraption?”
Though the majority of Cuprill’s accounts are maternity stores, she is planning to target lingerie boutiques to make the transition easier for fashion-conscious women to find breastfeeding lingerie.
“I think if you already have a place where you shop for lingerie, and now you’ve gotten pregnant, and now you have to nurse, you shouldn’t have to go to a different place to shop for underwear,” notes Cuprill. “This is the place where you have your fitters and the people know you.”
Cuprill launched Condessa with the more extravagant Condessa Cassandra collection, which features a front-snap opening with dainty matching buttons, cotton lining and intricate textured lace in rosy pink, turquoise and vibrant orange. The seamless Condessa Veronica collection in shimmering copper and pearl tones features an under-wire construction and opens from the top. Both of the bra collections are made of a nylon blend with 18 percent spandex, which allows the bras to comfortably stretch and recover before and after nursing. To complete the package, matching briefs, lacy boy shorts and thongs are available.
Wholesale price points range from $25 for the bras, $8 for matching briefs and $12 for matching shorts with lace detail. For more information, call (866) 363-7862. —Rhea Cortado
