JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The COVID-19 virus has claimed another Jacksonville staple.
In just one week, Bryant’s Bloomers Lingerie is closing its doors after being in business for more than four decades. The Riverside shop became known for directly working with women who’ve chosen not to undergo reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy.
At Bryant’s Bloomers Lingerie at the intersection of King and Park Streets, women who’ve been through an emotional journey stop in, and leave feeling wonderful. Carol Bryant opened the store with her husband in 1978.
“A woman comes in, she’s lost her breast, she doesn’t want anybody to see her,” Bryant said. “We get her in the fitting room and show her that she can look good and she can feel good.”
Bryant told News4jax she used to work at an orthopedic brace inland company. She got the idea to open the specialty shop after attending a conference, and meeting women who owned and operated mastectomy boutiques.
Upon returning to Jacksonville, Bryant contacted the American Cancer Society and learned there wasn’t such a store in the city. Thus, Bryant’s Bloomers Lingerie was born. At one time, the Bryants had four stores operating at one time, but eventually scaled back over the years to the original store in Riverside.
While the shop adapted to changing lingerie fashions, one of its main services has stayed the same: fitting women who’ve had mastectomies for bras. But Bryant said with the pandemic in effect, they just haven’t been able to work the same way, and that is why they must close.
“It’s close contact,” Bryant said. “You cannot fit a bra from six feet apart, and social distancing is hard as well.”
Bryant’s daughter, Michelle Salinas, has been running the store for her parents during the pandemic. She showed News4Jax how the specialized bras work with the breast prostheses.
“They come in two different colors, there’s a beige, there’s a tawny,” Salinas said. “They have pockets that the prostheses just slip into.”
Salinas said one of the most rewarding parts of her job is to see these survivors smile.
“Women normally come in and they don’t feel good about themselves,” Salinas said. “And they leave with their chest held high!”
Now, with the store set to close, the reality is setting in for the family.
“You get to be someone they can talk to, and you get to know them,” Salinas said. “It’s going to be sad to not see these ladies anymore.”
What’s more, all the inventory must be gone by the time they close their doors. Bryant says there’s no way of knowing if they could reopen at some point, but her heart is with the customers she serves.
“If the virus were to completely go away, we might consider it” Bryant said. “My fear is that these women are not going to be taken care of.”
When Bryant says, everything has to go-- she means everything. The merchandise, the fixtures, furniture, etc. is all 60% off.
Bloomers is currently only open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. To keep up with the sale, you can check out the store’s Facebook page.