Forty Winks was featured in this month’s MyBoston magazine, highlighting small local business owned by bestie duos. Click the image above to read the article.
Besties in Business
They say if you want to ruin a friendship, go into business together. But they haven’t met the owners of Forty Winks, Dress Boston, and Crush Boutique, three of Beacon Hill’s most elegant boutiques. Remarkably, all these stores were founded and are still owned by women who bonded early in life. MyBoston sits down with these dynamic duos—women who are both close friends and business partners.
BY CLAIRE VAIL
They say if you want to ruin a friendship, go into business together. But they haven’t met the owners of Forty Winks, Dress Boston, and Crush Boutique, three of Beacon Hill’s most elegant boutiques. Remarkably, all these stores were founded and are still owned by women who bonded early in life.
FORTY WINKS
Beacon Hill’s only lingerie store celebrates its first anniversary next month, but its owners, Meredith Amenkhienan and Rachel Wentworth, have long aspired to bring their brand to Boston’s toniest neighborhood.
Amenkhienan and Wentworth met in 2007 when they worked behind the counter at Harvard Square’s Mint Julep, where they noted an interesting pattern. Customers were always asking where they could buy strapless bras to go under the glam party frocks. Intrigued, the two friends explored Boston’s retail market for undergarments. Victoria’s Secret sold sex appeal over comfort in the form of stiff push-up bras with mountains of padding. Department store lingerie sections had small, depressing selections, with no one to assist. “Women hate bra shopping! We started thinking, ‘wow, we could do this better—a lot better!’” says Wentworth.
Still in their 20s, the women wrote an extensive business plan for a lingerie store and looked for retail space in Harvard Square. At first, no one took them seriously. But with help from family and some unselfish mentoring from Mint Julep’s two female founders, Forty Winks launched in 2010. Bras are their number one seller, though Forty Winks has a variety of lingerie. They carry 90 bra sizes, which is more than most women know exist, with cup sizes from A to L and bands from 30 to 44. They have over 50 brands from all over the world and a generous range of styles.
Selling intimates is a delicate business, they explain, and a bespoke touch is the only way to do it right. “You can’t just stick customers in a dressing room with a bunch of bras and say, ‘Let me know how it works out.’ You have to get different sizes, help them adjust bands, evaluate the fit, gauge their reaction to the bra,” says Amenkhienan.
Wentworth adds, “You also have to give honest feedback that is gentle and takes into consideration people’s comfort levels around being half-naked in a fitting room with a stranger.”
This personal approach has attracted many loyal customers who want bras that match their specific lifestyle, career, or aesthetic preference. Some hate lace, while others have an aversion to underwire. Amenkhienan describes fitting an opera singer who couldn’t tolerate a band that restricted her ability to expand her rib cage. Even after almost 20 years in business together, the partners say disagreements are rare. “We communicate really well,” says Wentworth. “We always check in with one another. It’s so good to have a sounding board.”
The two are delighted to be celebrating their first-year anniversary in a neighborhood they love. “Beacon Hill is a great fit for us,” says Wentworth. “We have lots of friends here, and we are so happy to be part of the community.”