Black Widow Lingerie is preparing to open in the Pohlig Box Factory building in Richmond. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Two years after opening Magdalena’s, a shop selling crystals and incense in Shockoe Bottom, local entrepreneur Extasis Bouton is trying on a store of a different sort around the corner.
Next month Bouton will open Black Widow Lingerie at 2405 E. Franklin St., offering a range of lingerie from brands such as Leg Avenue and Coquette International as well as shoes, jewelry and adult novelty items.
The lingerie store will be in the same building as Magdalena’s, which Bouton opened at 20 N. 25th St. in October 2022. Both are in the Pohlig Box Factory apartment building at the corner of East Franklin and North 25th streets.
Bouton said that Black Widow is inspired by the energy and culture of New Orleans, and that while the shop will carry some modern-style lingerie, there will also be vintage looks with inspiration pulled from pin-up models.
Extasis Bouton, on right, with wife Kieyondra Nash. (Courtesy Extasis Bouton)
“New Orleans has a certain style,” Bouton said. “It’s like stepping into a different timeline. They’re well known for jazz and music, and everything is lively from the stores to the streets. I wanted to have that in a lingerie store. I wanted a spot that’s fun.”
Bouton believes there is an opening for a lingerie shop in Shockoe Bottom, amid what she called the increasing popularity of lingerie boosted by the launch of brands by celebrities such as Rihanna in recent years.
“I feel like anybody can wear lingerie, everybody is looking for shoes and jewelry,” she said.
Bouton estimated that about $20,000 has been invested in startup costs to launch Black Widow.
She said she’s betting Black Widow will complement Magdalena’s by tapping into a new customer base, while also having appeal among her existing store’s following.
Bouton said opening a store like Black Widow has been a goal for several years.
She spent about nine years working at local adult-novelties store Taboo until she was laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the sudden unemployment pushed her to create Magdalena’s. Magdalena’s started off as a pop-up concept in August 2020 and then became a brick-and-mortar store.