ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Having quietly opened the doors to its new Ann Arbor location in late 2020, Busted Bra Shop offers community members something that big-name chain stores can’t; inclusive sizes.
Carrying bras from AA-cup to O-cup and band sizes from 28 to 56 inches, the undergarment boutique is able to work with customers who have unique sizing needs.
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Over the phone, Busted Bra Shop co-founder Lee Padgett said that everyone deserves to have underwear that fits and that the brand offers a large variety, “because people are important and they need to be able to buy what fits them.”
With two locations in Detroit, one in Chicago’s Hyde Park and another in Ann Arbor, Padgett believes bras and underwear items should be available to everyone. She said that people unfamiliar with her stores ask why her customers don’t go to a mall to get what they need. But not all of her customers, like those near her Detroit locations, can travel all the way to a mall miles and miles away, or find what they need at local stores.
Padgett said that Busted Bra Shop customers, many of whom live between Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, have been asking for a closer location. She had been looking for a space in the area when Mimi’s Bridal Boutique reached out. The Washtenaw Avenue bridal boutique has been pointing customers in her direction for a while, Padgett said, and it offered her a second-floor space that it wasn’t using.
Now, Ann Arbor community members who would drive a distance to get to a Busted Bra Shop location in Detroit can get to the new location, at 3362 Washenaw Ave., in minutes.
Busted Bra Shop includes international brands in its inventory, which community members may be unfamiliar with, so employees are on hand to explain sizing differences and to make sure customers are fitted correctly. Padgett said employees also do the shopping for customers and pull items from the store’s inventory to make the in-store shopping experience safer for everyone.
Those wanting to check out the location can book a free 45-minute appointment on the shops’ calendar.
Walk-in appointments are also possible if the shop’s limited capacity hasn’t been reached.
Although opening up a new store is always stressful, Padgett said that slowly and quietly opening the new location during the coronavirus pandemic made things more easy-going as staff are trained and best-practices are implemented steadily.
The new location carries items that the other locations don’t, and is managed by an A2-native, according to Padgett.
“Anyone who wants to shop with us is welcome,” she said.
Busted Bra Shop also carries swimwear, shapewear, sleepwear, hosiery and bra care detergent. Items, like lingerie and underwear, range from XS to 4X and XS to 10X, respectively.
The Washtenaw Avenue store can be reached at 734-546-9040 or at bustedbrashop.com.