INSIDE

“I think (my launch) was a moment where it just came at the right time in fashion,” she says, “And I was very open.”

Today Josie’s lacy, slinky lingerie and loungewear range from soft willow greens to coppers and reds accented by black lace and leopard-prints, all with a sexy, girly appeal.  She’s bringing this appeal to Target with a line that represents a first for the retail giant – and will no doubt be a revelation.

“I’m very proud of the business we built,” she says. “It’s not about the utilitarian mind-set of wearing (something) until it falls apart…. I believe our brand has been instrumental in women being more conscious about fashion in the at-home wear and in their sleepwear, I really do,” Josie says with real conviction. “Otherwise, we’d still be buying white nightgowns,” she notes with a smile.

“Look, I believe in timelessness and in building wardrobes that don’t make you a fashion victim one season later. But there are certain things that need to be refreshed and to me, the beginning of the year is a great time to do this.

“And certainly with lingerie, which is the closest to your skin and most personal, why should you have to save an old, ratty bathrobe? Why shouldn’t you be changing it? Are you kidding?” She throws up her arms in amused exasperation, as if to say, “Come on, people.”

“These are the most personal, intimate things. To me, it’s more important than what is on the outside.”

Josie bets there are women walking around now with thousands of dollars worth of outerwear and just “the worst” lingerie, a major faux pas.

She shakes her head. “I know what it does for you when you feel fresh, which by the way, goes beyond just underwear to how you bathe, the soap you use, a new shampoo, a new cleanser, fresh, new underwear and a bra, all these ways you’re good to yourself from the inside out. I don’t understand how women can put up with wearing ratty inner-wear.”

Refreshing lingerie “is not just a necessity” but a real treat to yourself, Josie says.

At home with Josie

But it doesn’t end there.

“I have a home fetish,” she acknowledges,  a passion that manifests itself in her home collection, featuring luxury linens, bath and beach towels, ornate dragon accents, lacquer frames, wood-grain vases, napkin rings and coaster sets, as well as “The Art of Natori,” a sensuous coffee-table book.