La Petite Coquette's West Coast Picks
No oversized pajama shirts here. A look from In Bloom by Jonquil, one of Rebecca Apsan's sleepwear picks.
Californians are the masters of comfort (seeing as we practically invented wearing sweatpants as real clothing, for better or worse), so it’s fitting that when it comes to sleepwear, West Coast designers impressed Rebecca Apsan, owner of the lingerie boutique La Petite Coquette in New York.
Apsan was among the more than 3,000 visitors who browsed the Spring 2010 lingerie, sleepwear, loungewear and swimwear collections at the recent Aug. 2-4 run of the CurveNY trade show in New York.
The retailer shared her insight on what women will crave when Fall and next Spring rolls around. On the trade show floor, purple reigned. “Lots of purple everywhere,” Apsan said over the phone from New York. “I was like ODing on it. Everyone was doing purple. I love color when they mix it up. But to see it constantly with everyone, it was just kind of a drag. Too much. Overexposed.”
In her store right now, cozy and pretty sleepwear from Miami-based Eberjey, Los Angeles-based Fleur’t and San Francisco-based Mary Green are customer favorites. At CurveNY, In Bloom by Jonquil, the younger sister line of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Jonquil, topped Apsan’s list of sleepwear. “It was outrageous. Phenomenal. She’s the only one who has the pulse of what the consumer really wants: underwire in sleepwear,” said Apsan, who has a loyal customer base of busty women.
Though Los Angeles-based Claire Pettibone is mostly known for her lacey, vintage bridal lingerie, Apsan wrote the colorful nylon mesh Butterflies by Claire Pettibone line for the first time. “Some of the boyshorts were great designs.”
Europeans can't be beat in the sexy lingerie domain, where Apsan named Andres Sardá, Marie Jo, Prima Donna, Aubade and Simone Perele as some of the most exciting bra collections. “Jane Woolrich, her lingerie always inspires me. To me she has some of the best lingerie in the world. I love her stuff: feminine, flirty. There’s no one who’s producing that kind of workmanship.”
A look from the fresh, young and colorful nylon mesh line, Butterflies by Claire Pettibone.
