We went bra shopping at the first store for ThirdLove, the startup taking on Victoria's Secret, and found cheeky displays, custom dressing rooms, and an entire wall made of bras
The ThirdLove store is located in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood, an area known for its trendy pop-up shops.
Dabbling in physical retail may prove helpful as ThirdLove continues to take on larger competitors like Victoria's Secret, which is located down the street.
The store — which was designed by the same architecture team that designed the female co-working space, The Wing — is filled with soft lighting and warm colors.
The first bra display is intended to demonstrate the consistency of design regardless of size. When ThirdLove first launched extended sizes in June 2018, Zak said the company made a pact to only roll out a new style if it could be made in every size.
As the company continues to expand sizing, Zak said design consistency remains a key priority especially in light of recent outcry against Rihanna's Savage X Fenty lingerie collection over differences in aesthetic by size.
"The straps and the hook and eye are going to be slightly bigger, but net-net, if it's a C cup, an E cup or an I cup, we have a consistency of style," Zak said.
The store includes a lounge area near the front where shoppers can wait to chat with a fit stylist from beneath a wall made entirely of bras.
Zak said the wall was constructed using 700 ThirdLove classic T-shirt bras.
Near the lounge, there are stations outfitted with iPads for shoppers to access the Fit Finder survey, a short questionnaire that uses a proprietary algorithm to determine sizing.
To date, more than 14 million women have used Fit Finder to find their size, Zak said.
"When we started, 'DTC' wasn't a term" Zak said. "Even in six years, the world has radically changed from when platforms like Shopify and Instagram were in their infancy."
For further education about breast shape and fit, the store re-appropriated and blew up images from the Fit Finder on the wall.
Toward the back of the store, we found the "Bra Style Guide," which explained each of the looks, including the Plunge, Classic, and Lace collections.
"There are a few things that are very different from a traditional bra shop: There are no hangers, there are no racks of product," Zak said.
Instead, stylists work directly with the shoppers to bring them styles that they can select from the wall display.
The final stop is the fitting room.
Within each room, we found a dial that can adjust the lighting to either "daylight" or "twilight." Pushing "support" will summon a stylist to answer questions or deliver new sizes.
Each room comes equipped with a neon breast sign, which turns on when the shopper hits the support button. This notifies the stylists that their assistance is needed.
For more modest consumers, select rooms have a secluded area for stylists where they can leave new fits and styles without intruding upon the shopper's space.
On the way out, shoppers can grab a cheeky pin.
Zak said that the next few months will serve as an important observational period. Its performance will inform whether the store will ultimately stay open into 2020 and determine whether ThirdLove opens additional pop-ups in other cities.
"We've really done a good job of making it more into a 'fit lab' versus what I would call a traditional retail store," Zak said.
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