From Black Business.org
Cherry Blossom Intimates, a Black-owned boutique in the Washington, D.C. metro area, is the first-ever lingerie and medical custom prosthetics store for breast cancer survivors and women in general. Founded by Jasmine Jones and Dr. Regina Hampton, the store is unique because they carry a thoughtful collection of oncology products, supportive services, and intimate wear that is not typically found under one roof.
Jones, a beauty queen and Miss District of Columbia USA 2016, serves as the chief operating officer for Cherry Blossom Intimates. Breast cancer survivors are close to her heart as she herself has lost her grandmother to the disease.
“I remember her having to go and shop for prosthetic pieces that didn’t properly fit and only came in one color while store employees stuffed her behind a curtain to try them on,” Jones said in an interview. “It got to the point where after a while, my grandmother just stopped wearing them all together…
They didn’t fit or make her feel beautiful.”
Learning about her grandmother’s experiences is what led her to do something to help make cancer survivors feel beautiful and “to be able to do it with dignity and comfort.”
Dr. Regina Hampton, a Howard University alumna, with over 10 years in practice, one of the few breast care surgeons in Prince George’s County and one of the founders of Southeast D.C.’s Breast Care for Washington, was the one who came up with the vision. She described her collaboration with Jones in Cherry Blossom Intimates as a “dream come true.”
“Women should be able to feel empowered every day by what they have on, from outer garments to lingerie – and breast cancer survivors are no exception,”
Hampton said in an interview. “I mean at our store we have shapewear, push up bras, wireless bras, lace and everything in between.”
Aside from those lingerie products, the breast care store also offers chest wall graphs that mimic natural breast for prosthetics as well as nipple coverings in different skin tones and bra sizes from AA to size Q. The store is made for everybody — from cancer survivors to young girls – and “will for the first time, allow girlfriends with or without breast cancer to laugh and shop together.”
The boutique also plans to provide medical in-house billing for all types of insurance for their products and alternative to those without appropriate coverage.
“Being able to help other people is so important and it makes you feel so good,”
Hampton said. “I just want to show women that they are all beautiful no matter the package and make them believe it.”
For more information about Cherry Blossom Intimates, visit www.cherryblossomintimates.com
or follow them on Facebook at @ CherylBlossomIntimatesUSA
