SHAPEWEAR REVOLUTIONIST

– Sara Blakely, SPANX Founder

Words: Liv Morgan

Sara Blakely is the mind, or should I say butt, behind SPANX — footless bodyshaping tights that minimise figure flaws and banish unsightly visible panty lines. Bridget Jones’ granny pants or not, they aren’t so laughable when totting up retail sales of $350 million (2008).

Frustrated consumer turned entrepreneur, Sara created SPANX when she couldn’t find the right underwear to wear with cream trousers and open-toed shoes. In an attempt to resolve the problem she cut the legs off of a pair of tights and wore what was left as her underwear. The Florida native believed she wasonto something but the invention was met with raised
eyebrows and some patent lawyers who were certain that they were on candid camera.

“After being told ‘no’ by everyone along the way, I finally asked for a sign that I should keep going. Soon after, I turned on the TV and clicked on Oprah, and there she was showing the world that she had cut the feet out of her pantyhose. She was the sign I needed. I called the hosiery mills and said, ‘I’m taking a week off work and coming in person to talk with you.’ I met with all the mill owners, and they all sent me away again. Two weeks later, one of the mill owners called and said, ‘I’m going to help you make your crazy idea. When I asked why, he said, ‘I have two daughters.’”

She took $5,000 in savings, invented and patented footless tights, and began her adventure in the $2 billion male-dominated hosiery industry. Two years later, with her first pair of SPANX in hand, Sara contacted a buyer requesting ten minutes of her time. Sara flew to Dallas with a pair of SPANX in a zip lock bag. “At my first meeting with the female Neiman Marcus buyer in 2000, I took her into the bathroom stall with me and did my own ‘before and after’, literally putting my own butt on the line. She totally got it and placed an order that day.”

Read more about Sara Blakely in the Summer 2011 issue of WMB, on newsstands from June 1st.