NewsNovember 10, 2016
The power of a good fit: Kriste Martin opens bra boutique in downtown Cape Girardeau
Kriste Martin is all about finding solutions. Martin, who opened Perfect Fit Bra Boutique on Oct. 19 on Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau, says she originally came up with the idea to open her own bra shop when she herself couldn't find a well-fitting bra in Southeast Missouri...
Kriste Martin is all about finding solutions.
Martin, who opened Perfect Fit Bra Boutique on Oct. 19 on Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau, says she originally came up with the idea to open her own bra shop when she herself couldn't find a well-fitting bra in Southeast Missouri.
"I've been actually wanting to do this for probably three or four years, and the reason why is I had always had trouble finding bras that fit, and I was having to travel to St. Louis to get them and it was really kind of aggravating," she says. "Once I understood what constitutes a bra that fits well, I would see women that were wearing the wrong bra, and I knew myself what it did for me."
Finding the desire to provide "bra interventions" for the women around her, Martin decided to open Perfect Fit and provide the service herself, all with the goal of helping women look and feel better.
"You have better posture, you feel better about yourself, your clothes look better, it really slims you -- I don't think people really understand this," she says.
Martin says her background of about 15 years in group health insurance has made the transition to store owner easy.
"I really enjoy sales and meeting new people and helping people, so I was ready for a change and this is what I did," she says. "I just wanted to help women feel their best and, too, I think, how fun to be in a retail boutique environment. Bras are not quite as serious business as health insurance."
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Most importantly, Martin wants to help area women find that perfect fit and empower them through the perfect bra in a safe, clean and judgment-free environment.
"I really want it to be about helping women feel good about themselves and looking great, feeling great, and there's no judgment here," she says.
Martin has a number of solutions in stock for women unable to find the ideal bra for a certain situation. She offers maternity bras, nursing bras, mastectomy bras, sports bras and band sizes ranging from 28 to 54 and cup sizes from A to N, with prices averaging around $65. She also offers strapless bras for many sizes, up to an L in U.S. sizing.
"It is not just for plus-sized, it is not just for full-busted, it is not just for a mastectomy patient or someone that's nursing; we have bras in all sizes, all ranges," she says.
Martin also offers matching underwear pairings and loungewear from PJ Harlow, and she will begin offering loungewear from the Colombian company Options Intimate in December. She even has petite bra options for preteens and younger women.
"We've got a lot of variety, different bras for different solutions," she says.
She says she plans to continue changing up her inventory by incorporating more colors and styles as vendors release them. All in all, she wants to empower women to take charge of how they look.
"That's what it's all about, trying just to help women feel their best and look their best and have fun doing it," she says.
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