This year, lingerie shop Lady J celebrates its 20th anniversary. Women's Editor Christen Pears meets owner Jean Walker.

Jean Walker knows everything there is to know about bras. She's so passionate about the lingerie business, she even wears a gold brooch in the shape of a corset on her lapel, and her Darlington shop, Lady J, attracts customers from across the North-East, keen to benefit from her expertise.

She opened the business in the summer of 1983 after giving up the milk round she did with her then husband. "It was a bit of a change," she laughs, "but I was looking for something different to do and I saw an advertisement for a little shop in Skinnergate. It was all vests and old ladies' knickers but I thought I could make a go of it. After I'd taken over, I started stocking bras and it just grew from there."

The business had soon outgrown its premises and Jean moved into another shop, before taking over her current one in Post House Wynd eight years ago.

She stocks more than 15 brands, including Fantasie, Gossard, Triumph, Playtex and Charnos. Bra boxes are stacked up in their dozens on the shelves that line the wall and on the rails there's everything from a black, marabou-trimmed nightie to flannelette pyjamas.

Jean says: "When I started out, there just wasn't the choice in bras there is now. You were lucky if you got up to an E cup but now we go up to JJ. It wasn't until the last five years that things started to change. Manufacturers have started to realise that women have bigger busts now."

But despite the improved choice, research shows that seven out of ten British women are still wearing the wrong size bra. "People think that measuring is the thing but that's just a guide. Bras vary so much depending on what style or make they are, you have to have them fitted."

Jean spends a lot of time with her customers, bringing them bra after bra to try on until they find the right one. She also offers a specialist fitting service for women who have had mastectomies.

Her attention to detail and old-fashioned service attracts customers from across the region and women of all ages and tastes.

She says: "We have bras that suit everyone from teenagers to 100-year-olds. We even still sell laced corsets and corselets for our older customers, although they're a lot less popular than they used to be.

"There's a huge range and all prices too. We start at £8 and go all the way up to £65 so you can always find something."

Although Lady J specialises in bras, Jean also stocks an extensive range of nightwear, including nightdresses, dressing gowns, bed jackets and pyjamas, which go right up to size 50.

She's also one of the biggest swimwear stockists in the region. "I keep swimwear all the year round, which a lot of people don't do, and it can be really hard to find something if you're going on holiday out of season. You can guarantee that there'll be someone who comes in on Christmas Eve and wants a bikini."

After 20 years in the business, she says she has no intention of retiring.

"This is a traditional shop with an old-fashioned service and every customer is treated individually. I love what I do and I think customers appreciate it."