‘Noooo! I love your store!‘ Johnson County shop known for customer service is closing
Clair de Lune is shutting down in Overland Park’s Hawthorne Plaza after more than 17 years.
The bra and lingerie shop, at 5053 W. 119th St., is having a closing sale with items 40% off. It plans to close at the end of business Friday.
It has built a strong following over the years by specializing in high-quality merchandise with many exclusive-to-the-Kansas City-market brands. But it also was known for its bra fittings, saying 85% of women are wearing the wrong sizes. It carried a wide range of sizes from 30A to 52K, along with nursing bras.
Each year it would collect gently used bras to donate to nonprofits providing shelter and services to victims of domestic violence. It has donated more than 30,000 bras since 2005.
It also founded the First Bra Foundation (FirstBra.org) in 2014, which donates a free bra to breast cancer survivors following treatment or surgery.
Husband and wife Terry Levine and Clair Keizer founded the boutique in Hawthorne in October 2004 and later moved a couple of doors down and nearly doubled the size of the store in the current space.
They closed for six weeks at the start of the pandemic and concentrated on online sales, taking advantage of government subsidies to help keep their employees on the payroll. They reopened a couple of months later and said business has flourished since then.
They thought a longtime manager was going to take over the boutique or become a partner. When that didn’t pan out, they began looking for a buyer.
“But some health issues came into the play and made the decision for us — to close down,” Keizer said. “We developed a tremendous following. We did something good and that will always mean something to us.”
Customers commented on the closing on the store’s Facebook page:
▪ “Noooo! I love your store! You are the only place that I can find pretty lingerie in my size!”
▪ “I am so excited for your next chapter but so sad. I just love to come here and get my foundations. You and your team are fantastic!”
▪ “Thank you for being my #1 place (only place) to buy. So sorry to see this.”
▪ “I’m legitimately going to cry!!”
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 10:13 AM.