Reading yesterday that Liz Claiborne had died, I thought about the first “business suit” I owned.
It was not a Liz Claiborne. Rather, it was a grey pin-striped, fine wool suit, the jacket cut exactly like a man’s suit coat, the skirt straight and dutifully falling just below my knee cap. My parents purchased it for me, along with a blouse or two with floppy little bow ties sewn into the collar (remember those??). Midway through my senior year of college, the three of us went looking for a “power suit” for me to wear to job interviews. We found it at Joseph A. Bank Clothiers, an upscale men’s shop on the North Shore that had at the time only recently added a women’s department to the back of the store.
It was the only time I ever shopped at Joseph A. Bank.
I entered the workforce, wearing that power suit, in 1985. I became a newspaper reporter, which was definitely a man’s profession, or had been up until a few years before. And for the first few months, I wore clothes that covered my insecurities—ones that made me look like a man. But because journalism leans ever so slightly toward the artsy, and the men that dominated the profession didn’t wear suits but rather wrinkled shirts, bad ties and ink-stained khaki’s, I soon found I really didn’t wear the power suit very often. But then the question became, what do I wear to work to look professional but not overdressed, feminine but not overly sensual, sophisticated but still fun and comfortable?
My working friends and I discovered the answer was Liz Claiborne. She was “affordable” but still a designer, which meant I could only afford a couple of pieces, but they worked well. Her clothes fell in the category of “sportswear” but it was actually perfect for a reporter chasing stories, or a girl chasing her dreams.
As a working girl in the late 1980s, I thought her stuff was wonderful. Not stuffy or power suits, but sophisticated and easy.
As a woman running my own business in the twenty-first century, I find her life inspiring. Her company was the first founded by a woman to be included in the Fortune 500.
The news reports on her death said that with her husband and two partners, Claiborne launched own design label in 1976 after working for years for someone else as a dress designer.
She was born in 1929, so she’s not a boomer. But that means that she started her own company when she was 47. Who says midlife can’t be the beginning of something great?
Liz Claiborne gave our generation something to wear as we moved into a part of the world previously dominated by men. But she also provided a role model for how to do that. At midlife, she started her own company. Rather than doing things the way they’d always been done, or trying to dress women like men, she did things on her own terms.
One news report included this: “The goal was to clothe the working American woman,” Claiborne told Fortune in 1990. “I was working myself, I wanted to look good, and I didn’t think you should have to spend a fortune to do it. Only a couple of companies were catering to that emerging woman — both in traditional, suited ways. I felt we could do better.”
In 1981, when the company went public, Claiborne founded the Liz Claiborne Foundation to serve as a center for charitable activities, focusing on ending domestic violence, and promoting economic self-sufficiency for women and positive development for girls.
My husband sometimes wishes I would get a 9 to 5 job, instead of this crazy freelance writer and speaker thing: Sporadic income, writing in the middle of the night sometimes, weekends traveling to speaking gigs. But I like doing things on my own terms. Living creatively, being my own boss, being available to my kids, (though not 24-7) is a better way for me to live. Like a great Liz Claiborne outfit, it’s made up of separate pieces but somehow it works, and it fits.
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Release Date: 2009
Release Date: 2010
29 Comments
WOW! First of all, I didn’t know Liz had died. I knew Paris got out of jail, but not that this fashion icon has passed away. This just goes to show you where my brain has been the last few weeks.
Like you, I love Liz’s clothes! They are stylish yet comfy, look classy yet are affordable. All the basics we gals need.
Keri, I bet you look great in anything! Power suit, casual Liz, or a pair of Wal-Mart sweats!
Thanx for the news brief and the fashionable post!
Liz died? I’m a “Liz Girl” myself (and a little Coldwater Creek on the side), but I had no idea. That’s what I get for not watching the Today Show for the past 3 months! I’m so behind (I didn’t even know Paris got out of prison!). This is absolutely dreadful. That’s it…I’m off to buy something in Liz’s honor (retail shop therapy does the body/mind good!). But I promise I won’t buy “black”–something colorful in honor of the “Lady of Fashion.”
Interesting post. Was not aware of Liz Claiborne’s background, and can’t say I’ve worn many of her fashions, although I love her purses and perfume! Keep inspiring me with stories of people who start stuff in their 40’s!
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I don’t watch the Today Show but the announcement greeted me when I logged on to AOL yesterday. I thought it was really cool that her company was the first one started by a woman to break into the Fortune 500.
Did you know her company also owns several other lines, including the trendy Juicy Couture? I don’t own any of that, but I think a lot of my target stuff imitates that style!
Great post, Keri! And I’m with you - I like this crazy writer life - on my own terms.
Thanks for writing about Liz. I was also saddened by her death. She was good for us boomers, both her style and her passion for fashion and entrepreneurship. What a role model.
I recall those suits from Banks and the little stupid ties we would put around our necks to emulate the men. I’m so glad those days are over. I am so glad we have added a little femininity to our sress for success look. That’s another thing we can thank the boomer women for!
Tracy
tried to leave a comment on your blog but it wouldn’t let me.
I loved the story about the little girl’s birthday
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