Kim Kardashian West Wishes That DASH Had Carried Shapewear

Despite being one of the most digitally-savvy women on the planet, starting this week, Kim Kardashian West is infiltrating the IRL fashion world in a new way: through nation-wide department stores.

As of Feb. 5, shoppers can scoop up their favorite pieces from Kardashian's fan-favorite — and previously only direct-to-consumer — shapewear and underwear brand, SKIMS, at select Nordstrom locations throughout the country. Naturally, Kardashian celebrated the milestone in a big way, staging a dramatic presentation of the collection at Nordstrom's NYC flagship as her husband, Kanye West, looked on.

Moments before the event began, Kardashian sat down with InStyle to discuss her decision to bring a retail partner into the mix. "I really wanted everyone to feel the product, touch the product, and be able to try it on," she mused. "And I really do want it to be accessible to everybody."

Despite her success launching brands like KKW Beauty, KKW Fragrance, and SKIMS online, the perks of offering in-store availability aren't lost on her. "I love having a direct-to-consumer business, but I do think there is something special when you can come in and feel something for yourself," she said. "It's really different. With the products that I work on— fragrance, makeup, shapewear — it is hard to explain to people what that fragrance smells like or what the shapewear really feels like. I think we do a good job at messaging that, but there is something special about people being able to try it on and feel our fabric."

Long before she launched her own lines, Kardashian worked as a stylist and ran three DASH boutiques with sisters Kourtney and Khloe. It was there that she realized the need for a new type of shapewear. "I've always wanted to pick pieces and things that I didn't feel existed in the marketplace," she said. "That's really important to me. When I would work at DASH, we didn't even have shapewear. We didn't have stuff like that; it existed, but it was just kind of like this secret that no one talked about. I wish we would have had it, even just underwear and little pieces up at the register."

At the time, the lack of options forced Kardashian to get creative. She explained, "As a stylist, I would always be cutting up shapewear and making different styles that just didn't exist." She continued, "When I had the opportunity to come up with my own brand and make something that I felt was missing in the marketplace that was the best feeling."

And never fear SKIMS lovers, Kardashian plans to keep the launches coming. In fact, with her husband Kanye West on hand to celebrate her Nordstrom debut, she revealed that SKIMS will be dropping something new just in time for Valentine's Day. "We have something coming up that, if you're a fan of our shapewear, I think you guys will really like," she teased. "It's still very SKIMS-ish, but also something just sexy in general."

As for Kardashian's own go-to lingerie for the holiday? "Always a thong and a bra," she said. "I don't like to go too crazy with a specific set. I'm not your typical like, 'Oh, it's Valentine's Day so red and frilly stuff!' I'm not a very lace-y person. So to me, the bra and the underwear is as sexy as you can get. I'm pretty simple when it comes to stuff like that. I think you just need something that makes you feel good, 'cause then you'll want to wear it, feel good in it, and be confident in it."