Can being fitted for the right size bra change your life?
Gena Lisanti, owner of the Nyack’s Gena Lisa Lingerie, believes it can.
“Many women wear undergarments that are the wrong size,” Lisanti explained. “They can’t wait to get home and remove their bras because they feel so uncomfortable.”
She should know: Lisanti recalls having to constantly adjust her bra and yank up her falling straps. “It made me so cranky,” she said.
That was before she decided to be fitted and, much to her surprise, discovered she was wearing the wrong size. Once corrected, she began to see herself in a new way.
“Being properly fitted for the right size bra improves your posture and breathing,” she said. “When you feel more comfortable with your body, you tend to carry and present yourself in a more positive way.”
And to Lisanti, the most important thing is to help women feel at ease with their bodies.
“It makes me so happy to see a woman’s eyes light up when the right bra fits,” she added.
Note: it’s never to late to make the switch. She recently fitted an 87-year-old woman who looked in the mirror and said, “Now that’s the way I am supposed to look!”
The core of Lisanti’s business philosophy is to fit women and teens of every age by providing personal, caring and individualized service.
Prior to Nyack, she was co-owner of a lingerie shop in Armonk, NY—but her heart had always been set on running a business across the river.
“I have always loved and supported Nyack and saw that it was lacking a real lingerie shop,” she said. “I set my intention to have one here someday.”
In June of 2009, she opened a shop in the Woolworth building on Main St., and moved to her current location on North Broadway in April of 2010.
Lisanti has a particular fondness for the women of Nyack because she believes they are strong individuals who really enjoy expressing their uniqueness and creativity. She took time to learn what the ladies of Rockland wanted and needed—and the result is a soothing and tastefully decorated shop that features feminine pieces reminiscent of that old, Hollywood-style elegance, but are also comfortable, versatile and durable.
For some, lingerie may automatically mean unaffordable luxury items. But Lisanti counteres:
“You don’t need to spend a lot of money on many pieces. Buy fewer, good quality items that fit well. If you rotate and wash them by hand, they will last much longer.”
And although the word lingerie has evolved to evoke intimacy, it really derives from the French word linge, “washables,” as in faire le linge, or “to do the laundry,” and from lin, for washable linen.
The Gena Lisa Lingerie shop offers a terrific selection of bras, slips, camisoles, chemises, and panties made of cotton, silk and organic fibers like bamboo, which feel comfortable against your skin.
But that’s not all: you’ll also find wonderful robes, pajamas, swimwear, lounge wear, resort dresses, wrap tops, boxer shorts, draw string pants and yoga attire that easily transfers from doing downward facing dog to picking up the kids from school to having dinner with friends.
And Lisanti has a keen eye for mixing and matching items.
“Everything I carry can be worn on it’s own, with jeans or layered up,” she explained. “You can get great pieces that have multiple use.”
Lisanti so loves Nyack that she is even considering transforming the space above the shop—which offers relaxing river views—into an art gallery that would feature local artists and her family’s artwork. Her father and two brothers are all very talented and professional artists.
Conversely, Lisanti has always been the business person of her family. When she was a small girl, she transformed her bedroom into a little shop where she pretended to sell ceramic animals, jewelry and art. She used monopoly money as currency, storing it in a little box from which she made her imaginary transactions.
Even now, she does not use a cash register, preferring the simplicity of a decorated box instead. She remembers telling her parents that someday she was going to have a real shop of her own—well she did it; and how lucky for us she chose Nyack to actualize her dream.
Come in anytime for a personalized fitting by the warm and welcoming Gena Lisanti.
And if you have bras that are in good, clean condition that are no longer being used, please bring them in and she will donate them to those in need.
The shop is located at 17 North Broadway, Nyack. Visit their website for more information.