Before her startup, Mariwear, was chosen as a finalist in May from a field of 1,200 companies in the accelerator and competition MassChallenge, Melanie Berger had to stand before a panel of judges and pitch her new line of sleepwear and lounge wear.
"The panel was all men, so I had four men staring at me," Berger, 51, remembers, "and I was wearing the garment, so there was that awkward moment when they all realized I was bra-less."
Not that she looked it. The genius of Mariwear is its "bra-less bra," as Berger calls it, a lining attached to the inside of the garment to offer shape and support without any of the wires or fasteners legions of women have come to loathe in traditional bras.
After 10 minutes of questions and answers, she knew she had a chance when one of the judges said, "I wonder why no one else has done this yet."
A former advertising executive who lives in Sudbury, Berger founded Mariwear in August 2011 after looking in vain for sleepwear and lounge wear that was as fashionable as it was comfortable.
"Women should be able to get out of their bras at the end of the day and feel comfortable and still feel confident about the way they look," she said.
To make her collection of tops, bottoms and nighties, she started with a fabric that's a combination of Siro Micro Modal and spandex, and had the cups of the tops' interiors designed by a bra expert.
Susan DeSantis, one of Berger's neighbors, attended the products' launch last September and went away with a small cache of clothes.
"I originally went to support a neighbor," said DeSantis, 53, "and I left as a customer."
Last spring, after she broke her foot, she wore the clothes all the time around the house, she said. And later, when her sister was burned in a car crash, she too became a convert because the fabric didn't irritate her skin.
Kim Nottonson, 45, of Natick had had four back surgeries in 21⁄2 years when her helper spotted some Mariwear at a shop in Wayland earlier this year.
"I started using them for yoga," Nottonson said. "I realized why don't I use them around the house for other things. They're so comfy and easy to wash. I even wore them in the hospital."
Berger didn't have women recovering from surgeries specifically in mind when she started Mariwear, she said, but she's thrilled women are discovering other uses for her clothes.
To date, more than 500 women have bought her clothes at select boutiques and spas, as well as on her website, Mariwear.com.
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