Rachel Peru & Tina Boden, founders of AWWA (Accepting Who We Are) recently brought their magic to the Sunflowers Lingerie and Swimwar Boutique in Lindley (Huddersfield).
The duo went to Sunflowers in Lindley to be live mannequins and celebrate the reopening of this much-loved independent lingerie shop. But actually, the day became about so much more than that.
Sunflowers has a new owner, Kishwar, who has completely transformed the shop into a beautiful two-floor lingerie boutique. However Linda, the previous owner, is still there as manager, bringing all her years of experience, knowledge and understanding of women and their bodies with her. So, while the shop has a fresh new look and a new chapter ahead, that wealth of expertise hasn’t been lost.
Women of all ages were coming through the doors. Some came for a bra fitting, some came to have a look around, and others simply came in because they knew Sunflowers and wanted to support the reopening. There were conversations everywhere.
Women chatting to each other while they waited. Sharing stories in the changing rooms. Talking about their bodies. Helping each other choose bras. And, perhaps most importantly, talking about buying lingerie for themselves. Not for a partner, just because they wanted to feel good. We loved that.
And then there was the food!
Women were heading outside, sitting together, eating, drinking and chatting. It felt like a community gathering rather than a day in a shop. This is what an independent lingerie shop can be.
It can be somewhere you go to get fitted, of course. But it can also be somewhere you feel welcomed. Somewhere you can ask questions. Somewhere you can have a conversation about your body without feeling judged. Somewhere you meet other women.
It can genuinely become a hub for the community.
Samia Longchambon, who plays Maria in Coronation Street, came along and spent the afternoon with everyone. And then joined by Samia and Linda, Rachel and Tina decided that standing in a lingerie shop window wasn’t quite enough. So they stopped traffic on the zebra crossing outside Sunflowers and recreated that Beatles Abbey Road photograph. Except this time the duo were wearing Chantelle lingerie and it certainly got people looking!
But behind all the laughter and the photographs, there was a really important message. Based on AWWA research almost 40% of women couldn’t remember the last time they had been professionally fitted for a bra. And that’s something Kishwar is really passionate about, particularly when it comes to young women.
She wants Sunflowers to be somewhere that young women and girls in care, and those leaving the care system, can come and get professionally fitted from a young age. For some of these young women, their relationship with their bodies can already be complicated. Having a safe, welcoming place where someone will take the time to help them understand their changing bodies and find something that fits properly can make a real difference to their confidence.
And Kishwar wants to go even further by creating opportunities for these young women to gain retail experience and develop skills by working in the shop. That is what makes this story so much bigger than the reopening of a lingerie shop.
It’s about women supporting women. It’s about independent businesses that genuinely know their customers. It’s about creating spaces where women feel comfortable talking, asking questions and being themselves.
Being at Sunflowers last Friday was a brilliant reminder of why independent lingerie retailers matter so much.
