Finally, I’ve been given permission to share the news: Monica Nassif, founder of Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning products, makes a lousy retiree.

She tried just slipping into something lovely to lounge around in when she stepped down two years ago, but she couldn’t find anything between pinup and frumpy. So she made it herself. For the past year, Nassif has been building Sophia Graydon, a luxury sleepwear line that launches online today. It’s elegant and tailored, with impeccable attention to detail: from petite French seams to genuine shell buttons picked by hand.

The brand is based in Minneapolis, where Nassif has set up a design studio with a staff sewers. She intends to keep production local as much as possible. As another nod to her hometown, collections are named after Minnesota places—Lowry silks; Grand Marais cashmere. I’m willing to bet no one in Grand Marais has worn a robe like Sophia Graydon’s Scottish cashmere and French silk.

Look for my interview with Nassif in the September issue of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.