We recently connected with Raine Clark and have shared our conversation below.

Raine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Lorraine and Friends first began to form when I was in my last semester of graduate school. I was a history student primed for entering into the world of museums and national historic sites, but I was in a personal slump. And what do you do when you’re in a slump? You go out and buy things.

So I bought a fuzzy pink cropped sweater that I thought was pretty cute, even though it was out of my usual comfort zone. That’s when things started to change. All of the sudden, my old identity as the serious student, who wore seriously striped shirts, had become uncomfortable and ill-fitting, but I couldn’t figure out why. It didn’t take me long to realize after I followed up by buying a pretty pink bra that the reason for this was because it simply was not who I was at my core. I was so afraid of not being taken seriously, that I denied my true authentic self. At my core, I was a pink girl who wore pastels and liked things that sparkled and felt soft and fuzzy. Bit of a 180 if I’m honest.

Unfortunately, that pretty pink bra was cheap quality (I was on a student’s budget), and it fell apart pretty soon after the semester was over, but the effect was lasting. My eyes were shinier, my smile was brighter, and my friends would often tell me that I was glowing. The fuzzy sweater might have started it off, but the bra sealed the deal.

It was too bad that shopping for pretty undergarments that expressed who I was felt embarrassing and even a little shameful. The lingerie industry’s marketing seems to yell that if you don’t have the intent on using lingerie to impress someone other than yourself, it’s just not for you, so find something matronly and move on. In addition to this message, everything on offer seemed to just be a carbon copy of the last piece, with what large companies wanted to tell buyers was sexy or beautiful. They never seemed to mention that there are many different kinds of beautiful.

I knew, however, that there was good quality and inspired lingerie out there, so instead of going to work in a museum, I decided I was going to find it, and I might as well find styles that would suit the personalities of different friends that I have in my life while I was at it. Finding interesting outerwear to curate would be easy enough, but it’s a challenge to find interesting undergarments that actually have something to say that isn’t the same old same old message. Lorraine and Friends is about accepting yourself in your most authentic and unique form.

Awesome-so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce your brand to our readers.

The concept for Lorraine and Friends emerged from a need to revolutionize the lingerie industry. Buying women’s undergarments has been marketed almost exclusively as something that can only be done with a certain intent, which is to attract the gaze of others, namely straight men.

In attempting to appeal to that gaze, most easily accessible lingerie pieces have taken on a kind of uniformity with the same key traits: scraps of poor quality lace, rough materials, and tired embroidery patterns. There seemed to be no inspiration, and certainly no artistry in the garments which were in the stores and on the most popular lingerie websites. Unfortunately, this situation that the lingerie industry finds itself in has become a major deterrent for many women and lingerie wearers who may not necessarily be looking to attract that kind of gaze, but still might want something pretty to wear. To them, shopping for undergarments that are just as aesthetic as their outerwear is implied to be something shameful or scandalous, and dimly lit stores with signs screaming “seduction!”, and nervous looking people darting in and out isn’t going to help soothe their anxiety. Shopping online is no better. Same amount of discomfort, different experience.

But what happens when you detach the garment from the gaze of others and focus it back on the wearer’s own self-perception? What happens when you inject the same kind of style and artistry that often goes into outerwear, into underwear? Truly beautiful and artistically inspired lingerie does exist, but it is hidden. That is why I have made it my mission to seek out the lesser known lingerie designers with inspired works, and curate their pieces into a one-stop shop for interesting and expressive lingerie that centers around the person wearing it.

Lorraine and Friends is all about the lingerie wearer, and what they want to get out of wearing lingerie. If our outer clothing is chosen and worn for the eyes of others, then the inner clothing is worn for the eyes of the person who wears it. Lingerie should be fun and reflect the truest version of the self at any given moment. If you want to change your life and become a different version of yourself, then you can always start with your underwear, and no one has to know that you are experimenting with who you are and who you want to be.

At Lorraine and Friends, we believe that lingerie has the power to change your life by changing your mentality. The confidence to change your life can be boosted by lingerie, but only if you are being your authentic self. If you want to be cool, be cute, or maybe even be seductive, you can, but you can only pull it off if you are doing it your own way. Lorraine and Friends can help with that.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell the lingerie that I curate on my own website, and it was a difficult decision, especially as a brand new company that was still in the beginning stages of development. I decided to create my own website because I wanted to have more control over my growth and what I could do with my own business. I can market however I want, and make decisions based on the feedback that I am seeing. I can collaborate with the people I want to collaborate with. I can form a community with a wider purpose than just selling my products. In short, there are more possibilities for my company to explore when it remains unattached to another platform. I have more control over whether I sink or swim, and there’s definitely a longevity factor there.

The one bad thing about this is that I end up taking on more job descriptions than I originally intended. All of the sudden, I’m a web designer, when I’m terrible with tech stuff. Add graphic designer and social media manager to that too. In addition to this, there are so many little loose ends that appear and someone has to keep track of these. The bank account needs to be hooked up to the merchant account and the merchant account needs to be hooked up to the website platform. Don’t forget about email marketing and shipping, that all needs to be electronically connected as well. Being on a platform like Amazon or Etsy would probably take care of all of this for me. I can see why people would want that convenience, especially if they were just starting out and testing the waters.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson I had to unlearn was that there is a particular way of doing things or a particular order of going about starting a business. There isn’t. Of course, there are some things that absolutely must be checked off the list like taxes and legal documents and such, but other than that, I have found out that I can do whatever I like. I can market however I like, I can unveil new products in whatever order that I like. I can completely go with the flow if I wanted to. That is one of the perks of running my own business. I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself, the only bosses I have are the results. If the numbers say that I can’t do something, then I really can’t, but other than that, I can run my business however I like.

Getting out of school not too long ago meant that I was still used to following directions and coloring within the lines. I have had to unlearn that, and instead learn to take more risks. That can be a little unnerving, because the stakes are a lot higher and there is no safety rail to hold onto. One wrong choice and I could completely fail, and it would not just be a business failure, but also a personal one. However, one right choice, made entirely by me, without anyone telling me what to do or exactly how to do it, could put me on the verge of creating something that is truly noteworthy. And that thought is exhilarating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lorraineandfriends.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorraine_and_friends/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lorraine-and-Friends/100083933500095/
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lorraineandfriends