Article by Katie Stapleton-Paff | Photos by Lindsay Larin

A year and a half ago, Stephanie Percy was experiencing a roadblock in life.

After her marriage ended, she found herself unsure of whom she truly was, having spent the better part of a decade and a half absorbed in her identities as mother and wife. She now felt lost.

“I needed to rediscover the woman I was who I had lost,” Percy said. “I needed to grab hold of life’s reins with both hands and steer it in the direction I wanted it to go. I needed to pursue my dreams.”

A former Washington state trooper, Percy had joined the Navy after high school in search of adventure and college money. There she met her husband, married young, and had her daughter, Shelby, at 22. After four years of service, she decided to apply for the Washington State Patrol. After an extensive six-month application process, she became the 40th woman to be hired in the history of the program.

Percy worked as a trooper for three years, before resigning in order to find a less risky position that would enable her to be around more for her daughter. With an innate knack for creativity and promotion, she decided to go into marketing, starting her first job in the field at HealthComm in Gig Harbor, and later going into the financial services industry where she worked as a marketing and branding specialist for several local banks and credit unions. She enjoyed the work, but said her heart was never truly in finance – her true passion always lay in lingerie.

“I’ve always loved being a woman, and had a passion for making women feel pretty,” Percy said. 

“Even as a state trooper, I wore fashionable lingerie underneath my uniform.

It was important to me, because it allowed me to feel feminine in a man’s industry and a man’s uniform,

reminding me that I’m still a beautiful woman on the inside. It kept me centered.”

Flash forward to the present-day, and Percy, 43, couldn’t be happier. After a whirlwind of planning and scheming, she has seen her dream of over 20 years materialize, as her upscale lingerie boutique La Bijou opened to the public at the end of last month.

Located in Old Main, La Bijou has a mysterious boudoir feel to it. Dimly lit dressing rooms have black, flowy curtains and chandelier lamps. In the main store, a zebra print chaise longue sits alongside the racks of lingerie pieces. Merchandise is on display in small amounts, to promote the boutique feel and prevent clutter. 

Brands range from the very upscale such as Le Mystere, Chantelle, Simone Perele and  La Perla, to more affordable yet still luxurious brands like Felina, Wacoal Luxe, Foxers and Jezebel. Another distinguishable feature of La Bijou is that it also sells a small selection of men’s underwear, from four lines: Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, and two upscale boutique brands, Bend the Rules and Saxx. This way, when buying for their significant others, men can also pick up a little something of their own.

While she admits she’s aware of the tough economic climate, Percy said she’s not too concerned about the recession affecting her customer base.

“One thing I saw when doing my research was that the recession is changing the way people are spending money,” she said. “They’re taking fewer vacations, staying local and having more intimate nights in. Yes, they’re spending less, but they still have the desire to have nice things such as lingerie, and are still treating themselves to small luxuries.”

La Bijou is located at 10311 Main St., www.La-Bijou.com