from www.gazette.com – Every day is Valentine’s Day at Nice ’N Naughty.

The Old Colorado City shop has lingerie, garter belts and novelty items as well as jewelry, dressy shirts and flannel pajamas.

“Love and romance should be celebrated every day,” store owner Carole Jourdan [pictured said.

She opened Nice ’N Naughty in 1983 in a small shop across the street from its current 1,800-square-foot site at 2504 W. Colorado Ave.

It is not an “adult store” but a store for adults, she said.

“One of the greatest things about owning my business is that I can order anything I want,” she said. “I can do flannels. I can do fleece. I can do sexy.”

She employs one full-time worker and a few part-timers.

“Business is not always easy,” Jourdan said, “but it’s always fun.”

Question: How did you get in this business?

Answer: As a baby and child, I was brought up in my mother’s office at a department store back east. My mother did all the advertising and promotions for the store. As I grew up, her boss would have different little jobs for me to do around the store in different departments until I was old enough to work on the sales floor, and then my fun really began. Retail is pretty much in my blood.

I came to Colorado Springs in 1972 to find there was no real income in working for a department store. No challenge or creativity, either. But I missed the fashion world and interaction with the customers.

In 1983, I took the leap of faith, took my small savings and opened up Nice ’N Naughty in Old Colorado City.

Q: How have you and the business changed over the years?

A: At the beginning, Nice ’N Naughty was a ladies’ and men’s lingerie store only.

Now Nice ’N Naughty has all the things that I love, and love to sell: clothes, lingerie, jewelry and accessories. How fun is that? Way fun!

Being in the same business for so long has been very cool. The customers who shopped the store in early years with their children in hand now are the grandparents coming in with those same children and their babies. Nice ’N Naughty has become a shopping tradition for some wonderful families, and I am honored.

Over the years, styles and how people dress for specific events have evolved. My personal challenge over the course of time is to find a comfortable mix between classic and trendy that most shoppers will be drawn to.

Q: What do you sell?

A: Along with the nice clothes, we have Nice ’N Naughty lingerie for any occasion. Silk robes and gowns, bras, bikinis, garter belts, stockings, pajamas, novelty items, corsets, teddies, camisoles. We also carry a selection of men’s robes, boxers, thongs and a few novelties.

Of course, love and intimacy go hand-in-hand, so it is a natural that the store carries games, oils and lotions, personal lubricants, candles and many other items to set the stage, or mood.

Q: What do men like?

A: That’s a really silly question. Men like everything!

Q: What do women like?

A: Women like to make themselves crazy. They are so worried that they are not perfect that sometimes they just make themselves nuts with worry about how they look.

Women forget that they are dressing — whether it be lingerie or clothes — usually for a man who loves them just as they are.

Q: Why have you stayed in Old Colorado City?

A: When I am traveling on a highway and see a sign for a Historic District, I always want to visit, shop and eat. Old Colorado City is a great shopping area with history, great and unique stores, good restaurants and a wonderful ambience. Plus, I live in and love the west side.

Q: How has the economic downturn affected your business?

A: I find that my customers still want quality items, but do not have as much money to spend. So, they buy less items and, of course, shop the sales racks.

Q: Where did the name Nice ’N Naughty come from?

A: My husband of over 30 years named the store after me, and he would know best that I can be very Nice ’N Naughty.