European Luxury for All Legs
VienneMilano, an online boutique dedicated to thigh-high stockings and more
Vienne Cheung Brown’s combined love of fashion, travel and fine hosiery led her to create her own online brand, VienneMilano, sharing her passion with her customers.
“I love wearing thigh-high stockings,” Cheung Brown said. “I’m short, so pantyhose was usually up past my waist. Thigh highs are so much more comfortable.”
Born in Hong Kong, Cheung Brown grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and now resides in Windham with her husband and two young children. Her online business, started in 2011, is based in Salem.
Frustrated by the inability to find a wide variety of luxury hosiery in the United States, Cheung Brown decided to step up to the challenge — leave her comfortable, but unfulfilling, corporate job, and put all her efforts into developing VienneMilano.
“Stockings are a true fashion complement, as they can define the outfit. Legs are a canvas for color and texture — thigh-highs allow you to use it,” Cheung Brown said.
“Yet, VienneMilano is not just about making a fashion statement — by wearing thigh-highs, a woman gains a little glamorous secret that provides her personality with an extra boost.”
What are thigh-highs? Thigh-highs are hosiery pieces held in place by a comfortable silicone band. The band holds the hosiery in place on the upper leg without the need of garter belts.
Lower-quality thigh-highs use elastic straps to attempt to stay in place. High-quality products instead use silicone bands. Silicone works best, because it gently but firmly adheres to the skin, does not pinch or squeeze uncomfortably, and does not create that unflattering “muffin top” effect, Cheung Brown said.
“When I couldn’t find thigh-highs that stayed up on my legs, I turned to Europe, especially Italy, knowing it would have this comfortable product,” she said.
All of VienneMilano’s thigh-highs are from Italy, and Cheung Brown keeps them at affordable prices. Her online store also sells items from other brands that her customers are looking for, such as garter belts and lingerie.
“I wanted to make sure the prices for the thigh-highs were reasonable,” Cheung Brown said. “We offer discounts for first-time buyers, and we also offer military service discounts.”
“VienneMilano is a boutique brand,” Cheung Brown said. “We do not always mass produce all of our styles. This allows us to focus on high-quality craftmanship and offer exclusive, limited-edition designs that our customers love.”
“Now that we’ve grown, we want to serve individuals of all sizes from extra small to 3X large,” Cheung Brown said. “We have larger thigh-highs that offer support.”
“With the silicone band, the trick is to wear right size,” Cheung Brown said. “The subject requires a bit of education. This is why we offer education about hosiery, stockings and thigh-highs.”
Fashion shouldn’t mean inequality or suffering, Cheung Brown said.
“That’s why, at VienneMilano, it matters to us how our products are made and where they come from. Italy is known for its craftmanship, and their fair labor laws are the icing on the top,” Cheung Brown said.
On a more thread-deep level, all of the products are sourced from Oeko-Tex certified suppliers, meaning the materials are free from hazardous chemicals and toxins.
For as long as she can remember, Cheung Brown’s driving force has been uplifting women from all walks of life, eventually choosing fashion as a means to achieve this goal.
Cheung Brown is currently the president of the Windham Moms Alliance, where her goal is to serve moms in the community.
She previously served on the advisory board of Uncommon Threads, a nonprofit focused on uplifting low-income women through style, clothing and, in their own words, an “outside-in, inside-out” approach to building lasting self-esteem.
She has also served on the board of ASPIRE (Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence), a nonprofit based in Boston. ASPIRE takes on the challenges that Asian American women face throughout everyday life to achieve equality.
“Our motto is ‘every woman deserves to look and feel fabulous,’ and we work hard to fulfill that motto every day in everything we do,” Cheung Brown said. “At the end of the day, stockings make a woman look and feel fabulous. It reinforces the idea that it doesn’t matter your skin color or size — you feel special when you wear them.”
This article is featured in the fall 2024 issue of 603 Diversity.
603 Diversity’s mission is to educate readers of all backgrounds about the exciting accomplishments and cultural contributions of the state’s diverse communities, as well as the challenges faced and support needed by those communities to continue to grow and thrive in the Granite State.
