Anita is a company. It’s a brand (with a co-brand named Rosa Faia) that we’ve carried at the shop since Day 1. I can’t entirely remember who first told us about Anita, but when we were looking for bras to sell, Anita responded right away by sending Alice up to talk to us.
Alice was, and still is, Anita’s northeast territory sales rep. She was the first vendor to actually come to the shop and visit. She patiently introduced us to her product line back in the spring of 2013 and some of those very bras she told us about have become our 
best sellers – the “butter bra” and a couple of sports bras just to name a few. Anita also supplies us with nursing bras, post-mastectomy bras, and some specific specialty bras like wireless ones that close in the front. Front-closure/no-wire is hard to find…Anita supplies us with ones that close with buttons and even one that clasps itself with magnets.
Anita and Alice have always demonstrated that they care about JOY. Before the shop doors opened in 2013, it was Alice who suggested that I reach out to a woman named Shelley who owns a bra shop named Bella Intimates over in Portsmouth, NH to seek her help in creating the initial orders from all of the other major bra vendors. Shelley drove all the way from Portsmouth to Manchester, VT (which if you know anything about New England geography, you can’t get there from here…) and sat with me at Ponce Bistro for hours to suggest best-selling styles and explain how to best create orders by brand. It was a huge help. It was Alice’s idea.
With Alice’s continued guidance, we’ve brought the JOY/Anita relationship to the next level…we will be carrying Anita swimsuits for the month of March. Alice and Alice’s boss will be coming up to Vermont this weekend to spend a couple of days with us. They are hosting an event at the shop on Saturday afternoon from 1-5. Alice’s boss’ name is Joy. Can you believe that?
Anita’s Movement 130 promotion is a social media and marketing 
campaign that celebrates 130 women from different walks of life as part of a bigger celebration of Anita’s 130 years in the lingerie industry. 130 years making bras – wow, Anita, congrats! On the Movement 130 website it says that they are proud to encourage each woman to show her own unique beauty and that includes you. Your story and your passions make you who you are. Movement 130 seems pretty important to Alice and Joy and the Anita company overall and so we want to help get the word out. The concept and website is pretty neat – maybe someone out there would be inspired to try to be featured as one of the 130 women? JOY represent!
Anita is one of our most diverse and important brands and I’m so grateful for the business relationship that we have developed. While Alice is from Connecticut and has been to Vermont and the shop several times, Joy is based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and this will be her first trip to Vermont. I have a couple of jugs of maple syrup from the sap house across the road from my house to give them as gifts, and they are insisting on taking Julie and me out to a business dinner on Saturday night after the event at the shop. Such businesswomen we are…right on!
We’ll have the Anita swimsuits throughout the month of March and the event on Saturday will be fun as well as very cool on a business partnership level. Sales reps and heads of sales departments 
at major bra and lingerie brands just don’t come to Manchester every day – ha! Alice and Joy will be at the shop from 1-5 this coming Saturday, March 4. I’d love for you all to meet each other. There will be giveaways, catering by the Perfect Wife, and information about Movement 130. For heck’s sake, maybe you’ll even find a bathing suit.
Let’s rock,
Joy
Joy Slusarek is the owner of JOY all things underthings in Manchester, Vermont and is proud to help Anita celebrate 130 years in the lingerie industry.
