Silhouette fits Idaho

COEUR d'ALENE -Renee Mohr saw an untapped market in the area and decided she was just the person to fill the gap.

Earlier this month she opened Silhouette Lingerie Boutique in a new strip mall at 239 Locust Ave., Suite 8, with an eye to providing not just slinky, sexy undergarments, but also a range of practical items for all women.

"I wanted it to be a place where any size woman could come and find something for herself," Mohr said.

After hearing from several friends and survivors of breast cancer that there is no place in the county for women who need breast prostheses, she designed the store with large dressing rooms that allow easy access for the handicapped and will later this year provide a private setting for off-hours fitting.

Mohr, who has previously been in the retail and finance industries, shopped numerous trade shows and discovered there is a wide variety of lingerie on the market, but a limited selection in this area.

"I grew up in Seattle, where there were lots of boutiques I just loved," she said. After settling on an initial selection of items based on what she likes and believes is what the market will want, she settled on several well known brands and a few more exotic names.

Spanx, Marie Jo, and Prima Donna are among the lines, with a Belgian line of sports bras and other items she calls "my crazy line."

"They are sports bras you don't have to be a contortionist to fit into," Mohr said.

That is because while she has bras starting at $26, others can range as high as $141. In determining what lines to carry, she decided the medium to high range would be best received, but wanted to also be reasonable.

"I wanted everybody to be able to find something they can afford," she said.

One decision was to stock an inventory of products for larger women.

"It's not easy being queen," says a sign above one display of goods.

Many of the products are made from strong but soft materials, including bamboo. One Spanx product, Bra-llelujah, promises to not only provide support for what's up front, but also adds a back-flattening strap.

Also in stock is the Bella Materna line of maternity and nursing lingerie.

"It is such a cute store," said Kim Conway of Hayden, shopping for some maternity items. "There aren't a lot of stores that carry this."

But the stock isn't exclusively about the basics. There are functional and fun items as might be expected in a lingerie store this close to Valentine's Day.

Fun and functional meet in some cases, and tongue-in-cheek marketing is part of it.

"Turn your headlights off," says a display of self-adhesive, reusable silicone pads designed to avoid embarrassing displays of anatomy when the weather turns a bit nippy.

The larger sizes are more difficult to fit comfortably, Mohr said.

Custom fitting is part of her service.

"You have to try them on," she said.

Special orders are welcome, and delivery from as far away as New York is possible in less than a week.

Mohr will become certified in prosthesis fitting in March, and by early summer will begin offering private fittings when the store is closed.

Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The store is at the corner of Third Street and Locust Avenue.

Information: 667-9830