As Come-hither Intimate Apparel Boutique approaches its one-year anniversary, owners Ronda Reynolds and Jenny Hutchins said they have not only had a successful year, but truly feel they have met a need in the Owensboro community.
Two of three sisters with an entrepreneurial spirit, Reynolds and Hutchins have been in several business ventures together throughout the years including catering weddings and refinishing furniture.
However, after their father died, the two began to explore options for a small retail business in Owensboro
“After our dad passed, we had some money of our own and then we had our inheritance from our father,” Hutchins said. “We felt like we needed to revisit something totally. We needed a storefront. We wanted it to be something special, something unique, that Owensboro did not have. We were just brainstorming.”
Reynolds said she happened to be watching a Valentine’s Day episode of the TV show Long Island Medium when she had the idea for a lingerie boutique. She quickly called Hutchins to share her thoughts, and the two laughed at the thought of a business that so perfectly echoed their father’s words when the girls were younger urging them to, “get some drawers on.”
“She came over bright and early the next morning and we started from there — doing the research, seeing where we were at, seeing that Owensboro really needed it,” Hutchins said. “It did actually start out with the lingerie and intimate apparel. We knew we wanted to offer bras and a nice quality bra. But I don’t think we realized at the time what a big hit our bra line was going to be.”
With Reynolds’ strength in business and finance and Hutchins gift for decor and staging, the two quickly created a business they were proud of.
According to Hutchins, the sisters also didn’t realize the need there would be for plus size intimates.
“We knew there was probably a demand in the queen size, but not as much as we’ve seen,” Hutchins said. “That’s where the majority of our clientele actually is for both [bras and lingerie].”
As happy as Reynolds and Hutchins were to fulfill a need for women that found undergarment shopping to be challenging, it was equally important that they provide a welcoming atmosphere to all ladies.
“We wanted something people felt comfortable coming into and not sneak into,” Reynolds said. “We didn’t want the costumy stuff; we didn’t want the commercial stuff; we didn’t want the toys — we wanted something that was high-end.”
Hutchins added that, not only was the quality of the undergarments essential, but she wanted the boutique to be “somewhere you could take your daughter to have her first bra measurement.”
The sisters have also placed a high value on customer service and catering to their clientele’s needs. From hard-to-find sizes to women who have had augmentation surgery, Reynolds and Hutchins try to make each woman feel beautiful and special. They say the ultimate compliment to the quality of their merchandise is when women “pop the tag” off of the undergarment they are wearing and purchase it before wearing it out of the store.
“We love seeing women walking out of here feeling so much better about themselves,” Hutchins said. Reynolds quickly added, “Every woman should feel beautiful, no matter what size they are.”
Come-hither also offers complimentary bra measurement and fitting, gift registry and wrapping and a venue available for bridal showers and bachelorette parties. The boutique will be offering cake and giveaways for their one-year anniversary on August 17.
