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Pittsfield Bra & Girl Brings Sex Appeal to North Street
Now that they’ve become intimate with hundreds of women (as well as a few men) in Great Barrington, April Burch and Dan Alden are ready to seduce shoppers in Pittsfield. When RI reported on the opening of Great Barrington Bra & Girl sixteen months ago, the couple was road-testing a concept for what could become a chain of small-town lingerie stores that would be known for sexy apparel along with basic foundation garments and great customer service. “We never thought we’d open a second location this soon,” says Burch, who has a day job as a microbiologist. Adds Alden, who also sells real estate for Lance Vermeulen: “But then we got a call from George Whaling who told us about Crawford Square and what was happening on North Street. I hadn’t drunk the Kool-Aid on Pittsfield before we met George.”
Whaling persuaded the couple, who live in Mill River, that they should get in on the ground floor of Pittsfield’s retail renaissance. “It’s really the perfect place in the Berkshires for entrepreneurs, an incubator for new businesses,” says Alden. Whaling pointed out that three nearby businesses—Baba Louie’s pizza, the Beacon Cinema, and the Marketplace—also had roots in southern Berkshire County. “I thought, We’ll join that team,” says Alden. “It’s the Yankees as far as local businesses go. Great Barrington was a very comfortable place to start, but Pittsfield will be different.” While the customer base in Great Barrington includes many repeat shoppers from border towns in Litchfield and Columbia Counties, the Pittsfield branch should draw new clients from northern and eastern Berkshire County.
The new Pittsfield shop is larger and more glamorous than the Great Barrington boutique. “We have three dressing rooms here, and they all have stage lighting, which is what our customers told us they wanted,” says Burch, pointing to the lights on the floor as well as the nearby wet bar and refrigerator. “We need to be able to serve Champagne whenever a customer requests. The idea is that shopping here should be fun.” But not frivolous. “Most women wear the wrong bra size and we have a staff led by Barbara Eiler who knows how to fit a bra. The right size can make a big difference in your life.”
Their anything goes approach seems exactly right for modern Pittsfield, and for their grand opening party on Saturday, November 13, they are bringing in the Sugar Shack Burlesque troupe from New York and a band called the Bra*Stars featuring Rob Sanzone, Adam Post & Ben Schworm. “We are constantly trying to figure out just how sexy we can be,” says Burch. They let it be known that more than a few cross-dressers have shopped at their store, too. “We want to be a store of the people, by the people and for the people,” says Alden.
Pittsfield Bra & Girl
123 North Street, Pittsfield, MA; 413.443.6069
Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m; Thursday ‘till 9 p.m.
Grand Opening Salon Prive & Fashion Show
Saturday, November 13 from 6 - 8 p.m.
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