StartUp The Conversation is a biweekly series on Deadline Detroit that features local startups and small businesses. Deadline Detroit hosts online video interviews and posts the footage along with an article.

A new shop in Midtown seems to have found success in a small retail niche.

Busted, a bra boutique, opened on Woodward and Kirby in December. It's Detroit's only dedicated bra shop, offering people the option to buy their under things without leaving the city.

Owner Lee Padgett explains the specialized store simply: "Women need bras."

"As a chick, I wear those everyday. I got tired of having to leave the city to buy something that was a staple part of my everyday."

Padgett got Busted up and running after participating in the Hatch Detroit contest last year. Although she didn't win, publicity from the contest connected her with investors.

A few months and a bunch of bra orders later, Busted opened in the Park Shelton stocked with skivvies of all sizes.

But, Busted specializes in custom fits and hard to find sizes. Padgett says she hooks up a clientele that wouldn't be able to find the perfect thing at Victoria's Secret or other chain stores.

Her best-selling product is a Goddess-brand bra that's even available in 42N, a size you're unlikely to find at Target.

"We've had people cry in the dressing rooms because they haven't been in the right things [before]," Padgett says.

It may sound like hyperbole, but having an ill fitting or uncomfortable bra is the opposite of titillating. It shows on a woman's face, according to Padgett.

"People are coming back for a second or third time even though we've only been here for a month."

Although the search for the perfect bra is not unique to Detroit (just ask Oprah), Padgett says that Detroit's ladies are looking for little more pizzazz than most.

"Detroit women want a lot more color than is being offered in other places," she explains. She tells the representatives she buys bras from "Show me something… that's spicy and fun and colorful, not just utilitarian."


The Busted shop, via Facebook

Looking Forward

Padgett hopes to see Busted expand to include specialty-sized bathing suits, and everyday nightgowns and other negligees. 

"The Park Shelton gave me a huge space," she says. "I'm hoping to fill that up with as much product as we can get because women are coming in and saying 'Thanks, I appreciate you selling me two but can we get five more?'"

Since the response in Midtown has been positive, Padgett wants more Busteds around town. She's got her eye on the Avenue of Fashion, Highland Park and downtown Detroit .

In the meantime, Padgett says "I know it's cold right now, but we're still here! There are lots of businesses open in the Park Shelton."

Looking Back

Busted is Padgett's second business in Detroit. She owned Cafe Detroit, a coffee shop, from 2003-06. Padgett shut the place when her husband got a job in Germany, but found herself back in Detroit when they were given the option to move again.

"I never really had a bad experience opening a business in the city of Detroit," she says. "Maybe I didn't notice that it wasn't going well? I don't know. But so far every things been great."

Her advice for opening a small business in Detroit? It "shouldn't be horribly difficult."

  • "Have a good business plan." Use it a map for your business development.
  • Find a good tax attorney. "That's my weakness -- the paperwork."
  • Interview a lot of people. "Ask questions. Talk to entrepreneurs."
  • "Find a good landlord that you can trust and talk to and other people have had good experiences with."

See more StartUp The Conversations here. If you’re associated with a business, contact info@deadlinedetroit.com to be featured.