Lingerie Brand Harper Wilde Plans to Expand Sizes to 6XL, Adds Sleepwear
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Harper Wilde is settling into the holidays with some new sleepwear and extended sizes — this time up to a size 6XL in select bras and underwear.
“It speaks to the demand [for larger sizes],” Jane Fisher, cofounder of Harper Wilde, told WWD. “The average American woman is a size 18,” she added. Meanwhile, innerwear choices are slim.
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In the case of Harper Wilde, the Los Angeles, California-based brand’s Bliss Bra, which currently goes up to a size 4XL, routinely sells out in sizes 3XL and 4XL. As a result, the lingerie e-tailer is planning to expand the size range of the popular bras up to a 6XL, possibly in the next six months.
But that’s not all Harper Wilde has in store for the holidays. The digital intimates business is launching its first sleepwear assortment later this month. Fisher said the collection’s gender-neutral palettes and minimalistic designs — complete with wider hems, oversized pockets and pima cotton — mean the pieces can be used for lounging or sleeping.
“Women don’t need to have a super sexy teddy to sleep,” she explained. “They can have something nice to bed, but comfortable.”
She added that many consumers are “over the bright pinks and lace found in many sleepwear offerings. [The Harper Wilde customer] has a more sophisticated, class and gender-neutral taste, which can be seen in the [new sleepwear collection’s] color palette. Our customer values comfort and gravitates to versatile pieces that can take her from cozy nights into busy days.”
The new sleepwear collection, which will be available Nov. 3 at Harperwilde.com, ranges in sizes XS to 3XL. Pieces are priced between $45 and $65 each.
Harper Wilde was founded online in 2017 by Fisher and business school friend Jenna Kerner. (The name is a combination of female authors: Harper Lee and Laura Ingalls Wilder.) The brand grew quickly, attracting the attention of former Victoria’s Secret chief executive officer Sharen Turney, who became an adviser in 2019.
The brand partnered with Nordstrom in April 2021, offering its bra recycling program in five of the department store’s brick-and-mortar locations.
“And it’s been awesome,” Kerner told WWD last year. “We’re struggling to keep products on the shelves with them.”
In June of that same year, Harper began offering underwear.
“We have a lot of newness on the way,” Fisher said at the time. “The main thing for us is listening to our community and that’s how we decide what she wants next.”
The brand has also gained a cult-like following for a string of limited-edition bras with messages written on the sides that say things like “F–k Your Laws,” — a style first launched in 2019 and relaunched after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this year — as well as “Lift Up the Ladies” or “Be Kind.”
“It’s a great way to showcase our values, while getting new customers,” Kerner said recently. “It’s great to see people voting with their dollars.”
She added that the duo is not opposed to opening its own stores, finding new wholesale partners or even selling the company, but for now is focused on its direct-to-consumer business.
“There’s a lot of opportunity,” Kerner said. “Our North Star is to be the number-one intimates brand for women. We are literally and figuratively supporting her.”
