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Choosing the right bridal lingerie might be overlooked at times, but it’s an essential part of a wedding trousseau. You want to feel beautiful from the time you put on your dress to the time you take off your dress. At Thornes Marketplace, 150 Main St. (Lower Level L1) in Northampton, MA, Ooh La La has lingerie for everyone’s body and comfort level. From elegant lacy sets to everyday basic pajamas and everything in between. Ooh La La will help people feel confident under their clothes.
Owner Monica Fogg said, “We do have a lot of undergarments that we’re noticing brides are coming in for. We have some beautiful lingerie under garments for the after party or for the wedding night. And lots of gifts for bridesmaids, mothers-in-laws to be or whoever you’re gifting for in the bridal suite.”
Fogg took over the shop in January 2026. Her first mission was to expand the range of sizes and skin tones. Fogg expanded the definition of nude to incorporate all skin tones. Though it’s her first time owning a business of this nature, Fogg told Go Local the response has been positive. “We’re moving from the traditional small, medium and large into sizes extra small to 7X,” said Fogg. “We’re also expanding the bra size because it’s been conventionally difficult to find sizes in the high band and cup sizes.” She continued, “Size inclusivity is something that’s really important to me as well as skin tone inclusivity and gender- and body-affirming items. My goal is that anyone that walks into the store immediately feels like there’s something in there for them.”
Fogg started her career at Nickelodeon in their children’s book publishing division. Afterwards, moved into all-ages media with the internet radio service Pandora. Then she worked at IBM for ten years. Fogg was a customer at Ooh La La. She liked what original owner Ali Ingellis built and her feminine flair.
Fogg also loved that Ooh La La was a woman-owned business and that Ingellis was working hard to challenge some of the notions of what is feminine, what is beautiful and what customers can have access to as people who want to feel elegant under their clothes. Fogg went from being a customer at the shop, then part-time sales associate, and now owner.
Ooh La La was established in 2020 out of Ingellis’s house in Amherst. The idea of opening a lingerie shop came from her recognizing a gap in the market. Ingellis thought there weren’t many places that approached lingerie in a way that felt both refined and elevated. She was drawn to the idea of creating a boutique that balanced luxury with attainability, where customers could receive personalized attention and feel truly cared for.
Ingellis worked on every level from initial design to tech packs to meeting with manufacturers. She started by selling online and then saw a space available in Thornes Marketplace. As soon as Ingellis walked in she felt the call to open the full boutique. “From the very beginning, my hope was to create a space that felt both elevated and welcoming, a boutique where people could explore their femininity,” Ingellis said. “I wanted it to be more than just a retail store; I envisioned it as a place where people could feel confident, seen, and celebrated in their own bodies. It was important to me that the shop offered not just beautiful pieces, but also an experience rooted in comfort and self-expression.”
Ingellis felt Fogg was a natural fit because she truly understands the heart of the business. It was important to her that whoever took over shared the same respect for the customer experience and the same appreciation for what makes the shop special. Ingellis said Fogg brings both a fresh perspective and a genuine alignment with the values that Ooh La La was built on, which made the decision feel right, not just from a business standpoint, but on a personal level as well. Under Fogg’s stewardship, Ingellis thinks there’s a real opportunity for the shop to expand its reach and deepen its impact.
“Monica has this magic to her that people can feel in her presence,” Ingellis added. “She chooses to share that with others to help them feel beautiful. That is really the whole point of Ooh La La.” She went on to say, “Monica has a strong sense of how to grow something thoughtfully, and I believe she’ll find ways to both honor the shop’s legacy and introduce new experiences that keep it feeling fresh, relevant, and engaging for both longtime customers and new audiences.”
Fogg aligns self-image with finding your intrinsic worth and care, how graceful you can treat yourself. Even though body image can mean many things to many people, she looks at it more as liberating oneself from the external constraints placed on appearances by dominant societal norms, neutralizing the judgments we often carry within ourselves about how we look and what we’re allowed to wear. Fogg applies that to her business every time she makes an inventory decision, when she interacts with customers who may have some critical self-talk and she applies this all to herself as a practice, essentially of decolonizing her mind and practicing living with more liberation.
“It’s been cathartic and affirming to carry inclusive sizes, which isn’t difficult nor particularly radical. It’s basic human decency, and it’s wonderful to practice and live out my values of equity and inclusion,” Fogg said. “For me, it is the reason for doing the business; it is paramount. My hope is that everybody, regardless of age, gender or body type, can walk in and find something that contributes to their confidence.”
Ooh La La is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday & Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
and Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m. Visit their website at www.oohlalamv.com.
Follow them on Instagram @oohlalanoho