The fourth generation of Schlobohms is being primed to jump into Shirley of Hollywood's intimate apparel business. Roy Schlobohm, the son of founder Herman "Grampie" Schlobohm, CEO and a class-A joker, says he's already offered to train his granddaughter Renie Walczuk in the family biz. She named 100% Babe, the company's new, playful, young line. The 10-year-old could even quit school and work for Shirley, he jokes. But Roy Schlobohm is serious about the promise he sees in the young girl. With 2008 heralding 60 years of Shirley and Schlobohms, having an eye for lingerie is practically genetically encoded.
Shirley is in no way heading to retirement. "We're ready to blow out the windows," Dana Walczuk, the director of design and marketing, says with a laugh. "We're opening up a new space across the way, and we're still growing. We grew 20 percent last year." Why? "We give customers what they want: great fit, personal customer service and sexy, sexy design," Roy Schlobohm says. "A naked woman is OK; it's cool. But I used to love watching Lili St. Cere dance. It really gets you going. There's nothing compared to a woman in lingerie."
Some of the family-Roy Schlobohm, Ron Schlobohm (purchasing and production manager), Eric Schlobohm (international sales director) and Dana Walczuk-speak about Shirley's 60th-anniversary plans around a table in the company's Vernon, Calif., headquarters that serves as an office, warehouse and design center. Like the facility overflows with the clan, the space teems with lace, elaborate appliqués and affordable, quality product. It's a veritable fantasy closet for seduction.
One pièce de résistance that has yet to grace Shirley's warehouse racks is a sparkling, diamondesque corset set to debut with the company's 2008 12-piece Diamond Anniversary collection at the April International Lingerie Show in Las Vegas. This commemorative collection will showcase a retrospective of sultry looks from Shirley's 1948 beginnings to the present day. The prices will range from affordable to more special-occasion pieces. Sheer peignor sets Mae West would have loved, babydolls and Shirley's signature corsetry, among other delights, will be given tweaks and updates for the modern woman. Notably, the silhouettes will be updated, and new materials will substitute for fabrics that have gone out of production.
Until then and until 2009, each month of the year is marked by a Shirley girl from the book of babes the company has used over the years. The "Sexy Stars of Shirley" wall calendar showcases celebrated models and media personalities like Brooke Burke, Leeann Tweeden and Victoria Silverstedt.
But Shirley of Hollywood does not have an exclusive attitude toward the ladies who wear its sultry creations. A phrase coined by one of many long-term employees says it all: "There's a Shirley in every woman." This year, the company is putting this sentiment into action with its "Shirley Sexy Model Search." All women are encouraged to enter the contest. Hopefuls with a photo of themselves in lingerie can apply online at ShirleyOfHollywood.com or at stores that carry Shirley garments. Winners will be announced in October and will be featured in the 2009 catalog, among other luxurious prizes. "This could be the start of someone's career," Dana Walczuk says, adding that this contest can launch the two winners-one missy and one plus-size-to the film, TV or modeling fame Shirley's professional models have experienced.
The contest is likely to create extra buzz around the brand, which has built quite the network through not only online and boutique sales and presence in major stores like J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart, but also in the house-party circuit. In the 1970s especially, when the country was experiencing recession and people were looking for new ways to earn a living, Shirley watched this side of the business grow, supplying sample racks and catalogs to resourceful women who weren't afraid of the split-crotch panty or just wanted a sweet babydoll to welcome their husband home. Roy Schlobohm is suddenly reminded of how his old neighbor, actor Cheech Marin, used to introduce him: The Crotchless Panty King. At one time, the company led sales of this product, which has been a staple since its early beginnings. And who wouldn't want to represent a brand that specializes in timeless sexy?
As one of the chief suppliers to Frederick's of Hollywood in the 1960s, Roy Schlobohm found his passion for the business with this daring style of playful, teasing intimate dressing and helped shape the company accordingly. As the years marched on, Shirley was the first to leave behind catalogs filled with Alberto Vargas-style drawings in favor of photographic catalogs, and the company wasn't afraid of embracing Madonna's controversial lingerie-as-outerwear style. Fittingly, the 1980s saw a rise in sales of "Material Girl"-inspired bustiers. In the 1990s, Shirley let its designs go wild to suit the decade. "We did more dramatic necklines, dramatic cutouts," Dana Walczuk says. "We went away from basic to outrageous." In these years, conceptual pieces of corsetry lacing as from toe to cleavage mixed in with classic babydolls and teddyettes that sold for more than 30 years. Shirley clearly is a company that-through the strength of family-like loyalty, care and attention to customers and employees, and the fearlessness to evolve with the times-will tantalize for generations to come. Especially if Roy Schlobohm can convince little Renie Walczuk to lend her flair and fresh perspectives to the design team.
Shirley of Hollywood
3240 E. 26th St.
Vernon, CA 90023
323-261-0265
ShirleyOfHollywood.com
