Founder and CEO, Liz Lange Maternity
www.lizlange.com

Liz Lange, whose wildly successful lines of chic maternity clothes have satisfied the fashion cravings of pregnant women everywhere, says she succeeded in large part by not listening to the many people who said she couldn’t.

In the 1990s, few believed Lange’s idea for a new line of high-fashion maternity clothes would sell, but she created the line anyway and turned it into a brand coveted by celebrity and consumer markets, made millions of dollars and became a household name.

Thanks to innovations like those from Lange, pregnant women today can find more on the maternity market than one-giant-size-fits-all. They can choose from a wide selection of fitted bottoms and tops in flattering, au courant shapes and colors. Liz Lange Collection clothes are sold through upscale boutiques, including three Liz Lange Maternity stores in New York and Beverly Hills, online at lizlange.com and Nordstrom.com. Her exclusive line for Target is sold at its stores nationwide and at Target.com.

Not Dreaming of Being a Designer

“I grew up in New York City on the Upper East Side and as a New York kid, always had a love of fashion and a mother who was pretty fashionable. But what has happened in my career has been a surprise to me - I thought I would have a life more like my mom’s - married with kids, staying at home, going out to lunch with my friends.”

Falling in Love at the Seams

“I went to Brown University and majored in comparative literature. I got a job with Vogue, and while I was there met a struggling young designer (Stephen DiGeronimo). I visited his showroom in the garment district and fell in love with the area. Fell in love with the idea of how a garment becomes a garment. I begged him to let me work for him.”

‘What are you doing here? Go to a maternity store.’

“Because it was just us and we had little money, we did everything ourselves - it was a crash course in dressmaking. Meanwhile, my friends started to get married, I got married, my friends started to become pregnant. They would come to our showroom and literally try to squeeze themselves into anything that had a slight A-line or stretch to it. I would ask them, ‘What are you doing here? Go to a maternity store.’ And they would all, without exception, tell me they could not find anything that was quote unquote ‘normal’ in maternity clothes. I thought it was strange and found it hard to believe.”

Before “Stylish” and “Maternity” Belonged in the Same Breath

“So I took a look at some of the maternity stores. Stores that were supposed to be considered high-end were not high-end at all… the styling of the clothes bore no resemblance to fashion. It was just the beginning of stretch fabric being put into everything - it used to be that other than knits, nothing stretched. I approached Stephen and his business partner about doing a maternity line and, fully understandably, they weren’t interested. It wasn’t considered a sexy niche at the time.”

Her First Line - Conservative and Radical at the Same Time

“I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. I decided that I had to try to make a little line of maternity clothing. No maternity panels on the pants. I would create fitted clothes from fabric that would stretch. Today this is de rigueur, but the idea was quite radical at the time. I ordered one fabric from Europe in navy, chocolate brown and black and created a little cigarette pant, an A-line tunic, pencil skirt and cashmere twinset. No babyish prints or patterns or weird details.”

‘New ideas are never greeted with enthusiasm.’

“It was very, very scary - in fashion, new ideas are never greeted with enthusiasm. The same friends who had been squeezing themselves into Geronimo thought it was a terrible idea. They told me they wouldn’t spend a lot on maternity clothes. I talked with major retailers who said they tried maternity lines and failed. They told me if I created a line, I would have to sell it myself.”

No Advertising Budget? No Problem.

“I compared the situation in my mind to when I had been engaged - at that time I made myself hyper-educated in the wedding business and talked to a lot of strangers. That’s what women do at seminal times in their lives. I thought to myself, ‘I have no budget for advertising, but if I can get some women to like it (her line of maternity clothes), they will tell others.’”

Cravings: Ice Cream, Pickles and Cute Clothes

“I rented a windowless room on Park and Madison and called a few women who I thought might be interested in the clothes. Almost immediately, the line took off beyond my wildest expectations. I thought I would be in the office a few hours a day and a lady of leisure the rest of the time, but before I knew it I was living, breathing and sleeping in this one little room. Each morning my answering machine would be full, saying it couldn’t take any more messages. That’s how desperate women were.”

Changing Perceptions at the Big Fashion Pubs

‘I cold called editors and all of them said to me, ‘We don’t cover maternity clothing.’ I said, ‘You have to see this, it’s different.’ I started in October of 1997. By January of 1998 my clothes were in Vogue, celebrities were calling and stopping by. It became this snowball thing that I had hit on what women wanted, and they didn’t even realize they wanted it.”

Defying the Doubters, Again

“We ended up making a move from our little office to second floor space on Lexington Avenue. People told me selling maternity clothes doesn’t work, and that selling them on a second floor on Lexington really doesn’t work. But within six months we were so successful that we were looking for ground floor space on Madison Avenue.”

And Again

“Nearly everything I’ve ever done has been met with skepticism. When I did Target, people said it would hurt my high-end business. I think that’s underestimating women and their understanding of the marketplace. Our high-end line is perhaps more successful because of what Target has done for our name.”

Maternity Chic for the Masses

“I would get e-mails from customers saying, ‘C’mon Liz, I’m not Cindy Crawford. I can’t spend $150 on maternity pants, but I want to look good, too.’ I felt that Target was doing such a good job of showcasing designers and letting them be designers. They could distribute our clothes at a price point that we could never do. So I approached Target, not knowing, of course, how many designers approach Target. But we struck a deal quickly and rolled out a special line within 12 months.”

Nothing to Fear

“I’ve never been afraid to go after what I want in this business. People get so bogged down in why things can’t happen. I’ve always believed that anything and everything is possible.”

The Wonders of Good Word-of-Mouth

“There are all of these books now about influencers, but this happened for us without having to hire any influencers. Women recognized a great product. The minute you have that, you have it all, because they were shouting it from the rooftops.”

Especially When the Words Come from Celebrities

“When celebrities are not pregnant, you have hundreds of designers vying to dress them.
No one was offering to dress them while pregnant. It was 1998 or 1999, and Cindy Crawford had a weekly gig on one of the morning TV shows and she would talk about our clothes. Our phone would be ringing off the hook. When Kelly Ripa first got the job on Live with Regis, she was pregnant, highly visible, and wearing Liz Lange every day. More recently, we did costumes for Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda. That has been huge for us.”

Favorite Summer Clothes for 2005

“I love color right now. Especially when pregnant, women think they’re going to look best in black. But greens and blues and yellows are great. I always like the idea of keeping clothes fitted, but we’re also seeing interest in pieces with a little volume, like skirts with flirty-ness at the bottom.”

Having It All - Except a Social Life

“I love what I do, but when I’m not working, I’m with my husband and our four-year-old and six-year-old. Ten years ago I had lots of time for friends and lunches and coffees and dinners. But something has to give. To be a good wife and mom and businesswoman, I don’t do that anymore. We’re home with the kids during weeknights, since we’re not with them during the days. On the weekends, it’s lots of family stuff… skating lessons. I have a Saturday night dinner-and-movie date with my husband. We’re kind of boring now.”

Words of Advice - See the Possibilities for Yourself

“Nothing new would ever come about if potential entrepreneurs took the advice of other people. I’m not suggesting that you drive off a cliff. But I have read that even with a company like Xerox, when they were starting to raise money, there were guys who would say, ‘Why would anyone want to make a copy?’ And today people can’t imagine a world where you can’t make copies. It’s hard for people to envision new things. It’s important for the entrepreneur to find the strength to keep persevering and find ways to make things happen.”