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Dora Larsen

Dora Larsen Lingerie: Colorful and Fresh Everyday Designs

  |   By Elisabeth Dale

If you're thinking it's time to shop for new and unique everyday bras; you'll want to get to know UK indie brand, Dora Larsen lingerie.

There's nothing quite like it on the market today. Dora Larsen's use of color, mesh, and lace is both modern and refreshing, but at the same time, flirty and feminine. These are sets that let you take on the world because there is something brave and bold in their design. (Can you tell I'm a fan?)


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The brand is only a couple of years old, so not yet available in a big range of sizes; although they currently offer up to an E cup. But they have an excellent selection of styles, from full cups, strapless, to lightly padded bralettes. The good news is that you can soon buy them in the US at Nordstrom's, both online and in stores.

Learn more about Dora Larsen Lingerie in this interview with their founder, Georgia. If you like what you see, check out their SS2018 lookbook here.

How long has Dora Larsen been in business and what was the impetus for launch:

I (Georgia) launched the brand in the summer of 2016, after working on it for a year. I quit my job as a lingerie buyer at Topshop, after realizing a clear gap in the market for a lingerie brand that solely focused on colour and how beautifully colours can be placed together. I also felt there was a need for interesting designs that ALSO focused a lot on fit and comfort – the market at the time seemed quite heavy in strappy, uncomfortable looking styles. I wanted to offer something the customer could wear every day and under any outfit, but still felt special. We try to produce a style for every need – so we now do pads, no pads, underwires, no underwires, strapless, bodies! I don’t want to exclude any customers for feeling they aren’t the right shape, or we haven’t considered their needs too. We’d love to grow our size range, but that takes time as it can be very expensive. We keep expanding it year on year, and hopefully soon we can produce bigger than E cups too.

Dora Larsen

Ali Strapless
 
Dora Larsen Lingerie
 
Sky Soft Bra

What makes it different or unique in the lingerie or intimate apparel market? What’s the lingerie niche you are trying to fill?

We definitely want to be the ‘go to’ brand for when you want to inject some colour into your lingerie drawer. We try to be as experimental with colour as possible. We want to inspire our customers with colour palettes they haven’t seen before. As mentioned, we definitely also want to fill that gap of comfort and fit, but from an ‘indie’ brand. So many of my friends are scared to step away from the trusted big brands with regards to comfort and fit, but Dora Larsen is opening their eyes to try something new!

Dora Larsen

Ali Strapless
 
Dora Larsen Lingerie
 
Maddie Half Pad Balconette

Who do you see as your ideal customer?

I think she’s pretty wide-ranging! I think she’s somewhere between 25 and 45, although I definitely wouldn’t limit her to being just in that age range. We get a lot of younger and older customers too. She’s in need of something that looks different to the other items in her lingerie drawer. She wants something she can rely on, buy in new colours and come back for a different shape. She wants to buy something luxury, but also doesn’t have the budget, or feel justified, in spending over £56 ($80) on a bra. She definitely wants something she can wear again and again, rather than just a one-off Valentines treat, for example! She wants to look sexy, but in a subtle way.

Dora Larsen

Beca Triangle

What’s been the most significant business challenge in establishing your brand (other than raising funds to launch)?

Dealing with the emotional anxiety of launching a brand! It’s very scary on a personal level. I was worried I would be judged, and I wouldn’t get the reaction I was hoping for. In the early days, I used to get so fraught with the stress of anything going wrong. But I’ve got a bit stronger these days, and accepted that it’s fine that not everyone will love what you do. The reaction I’ve had overall has completely exceeded anything I expected. It’s been so wonderful to experience such positivity!

Dora Larsen Lingerie

Kaia Half Pad Balconette
 
Dora Larsen
 
Kaia High Apex

Is there anything you find frustrating about the lingerie industry of which consumers have no clue?

The never-ending sizing issue! For example, we would love to produce every size under the sun…! But it’s very expensive to cover the minimum order quantities, and it makes it even harder to achieve a good sell through. It’s so hard to predict what size knickers the customer will end up buying with each bra, so juggling this costs the brand a lot of money.

Dora Larsen

Becca 3 Pleat Underwire
 
Dora Larsen Lingerie
 
Anette 3 Pleat Underwire

Where do you want the brand to be in the next ten years?

I definitely want to take it big! I always felt the brand could reach big levels with regards to its offering; it’s commercial, yet interesting. It’s luxury, yet not too expensive. I would love to expand our stockists' list into more department stores worldwide. We are currently stocked in 20 countries, but I want to take it further than this! I’m not sure how I feel about opening up any shops, but it may be something to consider, as our online sales have grown so much recently, it’s becoming a more attractive concept.

Dora Larsen Lingerie

Philippa Body

What is the one thing you want customers to know about the brand?

That we deeply care for our customers! Every single order still gets us excited, as we are still such a new brand. Every lovely customer email makes my day. It’s just two people full-time and one part-time at the moment, and we care A LOT. Sometimes I think customers forget some brands are the entire world of just one or two people!

Dora Larsen Lingerie

Maddie High Apex

Dora Larsen Lingerie

Rupa Body

Dora Larsen Brand Recap:

Styles:

Everyday styles – include half pad balconettes, unlined underwire bras, removable padded triangle bras, high apex mini-wire bras, high waist knickers, low waist knickers

Bra Price Range:  In US/EU/UK, etc.

Bra’s - £46 - £56 / €54 - €66 / $66-$80

Knickers - £32 - £38 / €38 - €45 / $46 - $55

Sizing:

30-38 back (for next season), A-E cup. Knickers XXS-L 

Where to Buy: 

On their website, or through our list of stockists here. We have also just confirmed 15 Nordstrom stores plus Nordstrom online so excited about taking on the US!

What do you think of Dora Larsen Lingerie? Which styles and colors appeal most to you?

 

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