By Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Sep 16, 2005 at 5:24 AM

 "Lingerie has always been my true love," says Pamela Flasch, owner of Brady Street's Miss Groove Accessories & Apparel. Flasch is not alone. For many women, what they choose to wear underneath their clothes is just as important as sporting the perfect pair of jeans.

Given her affinity for attractive undergarments, Flasch is doing what any lingerie lover with a knack for business would do: she's giving all the pretty little pieces their own store.

The soon-to-be Miss Groove Intimate, 1224 E. Brady St., is the expansion that Flasch has been dreaming about since she opened Miss Groove in 2000. Starting with only one line -- Cosabella -- Flasch began carrying lingerie at Miss Groove in 2001. And with her supply of fashionable intimates came an even larger customer demand, quickly cueing her in to the value of upgrading the East Side's underwear options.

"I've been wanting to do this for years, but I was waiting for the right space," she says. With Miss Groove, 1225 E. Brady St., literally across the street, Intimate will act more as a specialized store extension, rather than a separate entity.

"Miss Grove Intimate allows me to give lingerie its own environment, which I feel is important when you're shopping for items as personal as underwear."

At only 670 sq. ft., the small space, which used to house the Grava Gallery, creates the cozy, intimate setting that Flasch says is reminiscent of the type of lingerie stores found in Europe and New York City.

{image2} "Shopping for lingerie, by yourself or as a couple, should be a totally different experience than shopping for other things," she says. "It's much more personal." To enhance privacy, Flasch will hang curtains in her front windows to deter all of Brady Street from peeping her customers' undergarment selections.

Miss Groove Intimate, which Flasch hopes to have open by late October, will feature more than just the usual panty and bra basics, however. "I purposely left the 's' off the end of "Intimate" when naming the store so that I wouldn't be limited in what I sell. 'Intimates' implies just that, but I want to do a bit more."

You'll find a section for sexy sleepwear, including novelty pjs for the holidays, as well as loungewear, which Flasch describes as "soft pants, camisoles and little jackets that are cute enough to wear on the street and comfortable enough to hang around the house in without feeling like you're in your underwear."

"I'm also going to have a bridal section and gift registry in the store. Inevitably, most brides-to-be receive some sort of lingerie. If they register for what they want ahead of time, they can avoid the uncomfortable situation of opening something hideous or that doesn't fit."

Featuring lines from high-end labels like Cosabella, Hanky Panky, Mary Green, Wendy Glez, Claire Pettibone and Fantasie, Flasch has the ingredients for a tasteful, sexy and extremely feminine lingerie boutique with a contemporary edge.

{image3} Placing emphasis on fashion as well as function, Flasch prides herself on providing quality and uniqueness for a diverse crowd. "Nothing I sell is mass produced. Actually, many items are specially engineered to accommodate the vast spectrum of body types."

And when she says vast, she's not exaggerating. Her bras, for example, can comfortably cater to sizes C through J. "Everything is very specialized for a better fit, but that also means I don't have 20 more of everything in the back. When it's gone, it's gone and I move onto something new."

Miss Groove Intimate will have the same hours as the original store: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday, and 12-5 p.m. on Sunday.

Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com

OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.

As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”