Bra-vo! Stoke Newington firm Rosa Lingerie opens ‘after hours’ boudoir

Pretty in pink: Rosa Lingerie

Amid the huge social and structural changes in Stoke Newington over the past 75 years, one shop has stood as a pillar of stability.

Rosa Lingerie is the longest on-going business in Stoke Newington, established at 3 Stoke Newington Church Street in 1938 as a traditional corsetiere by a woman known as Madame Rosa.

Its mission then was to provide an excellent bra fitting service for women of all ages, sizes and shapes, and that core value remains the same.

“It’s an ethos of good fits, top customer service and amazing products” says Rosanne Berry, who has owned Rosa Lingerie for 18 years. “To get every woman to look and feel amazing is something I love.”

Innovation, however, is the key to a successful business. Berry is proud of how her customers who have never been fitted with a bra have left the shop gleaming with a new found sense of comfort.

Comfort, however, is not every customer’s number one priority.

“I found that girls wanted something sexier,” she admits. “I was fitting them with a bra and they were having to go elsewhere for these things. It made me think why am I sending them some place else?”

Berry decided to convert two storage rooms above the shop into a boudoir and call it Rosa After Hours, a discreet space where customers can browse and try on a range of risqué underwear.

“We decided to open the upstairs and put in a bit of naughty, as well as doing more in the way of chemises, slips and nightwear,” she says.

Berry explains that mixing sexy underwear and accessories with regular fittings would not have been ideal. “A lot of girls are interested in the sexier stuff but something that wouldn’t work for them is going into the shop and asking to try it on.

“The environment we have upstairs is very private, much like a bedroom, which is the whole idea. You should feel relaxed about what you’re wearing and empowered to wear what you want to wear.”

Although primarily an extension of the shop, Berry is keen to use the new space in different ways: for photoshoots and as a “partyish” venue. “I’d love to let the space out for hen parties and ‘girly’ nights,” she says. “You could hire the whole shop for a couple of hours to kick off a night out.”

Rosa After Hours may be drawing in a younger crowd to the shop, but according to Berry women of all ages are taking advantage.

“I’ve had a real mix of ages,” she insists. “I’ve had a 50-year-old lady here saying how amazing it is that she can get stuff like this so close to her home.There’s no age limit to wearing good-fitting sexy lingerie.”