Klaber, Louise. Jewish Women's Archive. Learn more. Lane Bryant Malsin — Lena Lane Bryant Maslin. In Brief. Early Life and Family. Lane Bryant, Incorporated.
EJ, Fucini, Joseph J. Mahoney, T. National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. NYTimes, September 27, , , s. World Almanac Biographical Dictionary Donate Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.
Listen to Our Podcast. Her son Raphael B. Malsin had become CEO in and would remain in that role until Another son, Arthur Malsin, would be chairman of the board until the company's acquisition by The Limited in In , Lane Bryant launched a discount chain called Town and Country.
The unit was closed in Lane Bryant began the s with stores in 33 states, plus another 29 Smart Size stores in six states. The company also owned Coward Shoe and Farr's Shoe stores, two small regional chains, and the Olof Daughters footwear importer. Perceiving a lack of interest in plus fashions from the national fashion press, Lane Bryant began a short-lived publishing venture, It's Me magazine, in August LB for Short, the company's first catalog for petites, was launched in January Lane Bryant already catered to tall women; petites, another underserved market segment, were defined as being 5 feet 3 inches or less in height.
They accounted for 37 million U. The Limited Stores Inc. Lane Bryant updated its fashions after its acquisition by The Limited, which was known for the trendy clothes of its other stores, including Victoria's Secret and its namesake The Limited chain. This caught the attention of other manufacturers, giving Lane Bryant some competition. According to one estimate, the number of manufacturers in the category had grown to 1, Lane Bryant was opening about new stores a year in the late s.
It had closed its Fifth Avenue at 40th Street store in , however, after losing its lease. In , Brylane was spun off as a privately held company; it was acquired five years later by Redcats, the home shopping unit of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute. In , reported the Los Angeles Times, new marketers were brought in to update Lane Bryant's image, particularly among younger women.
Lena also took care of her customers. Any Lane Bryant customer who lost her wardrobe in a disaster was offered a free wardrobe through the American Red Cross. After a major fire in Texas in , 58 customers received new Lane Bryant wardrobes. Lane Bryant stores became centers for clothing donations for the poor. Lena died in Get the best of Accidental Talmudist in your inbox: sign up for our monthly newsletter. Our monthly newsletter connects you with our most popular posts and episodes.
All rights reserved. Website by The Coup. Without family, she supported herself by working as a seamstress for a dollar a week. A gifted dressmaker, Lena quickly became skilled at her craft and within a year was earning an extraordinary wage of fifteen dollars per week.
Soon after their first son Raphael was born, David died suddenly and the widowed Lena, thrown back on her own devices, supported Raphael and herself by returning to dressmaking in their cramped Upper West Side apartment.
Lena was an innovator, well ahead of her times as a designer and an entrepreneur. According to historian Louise Klaber, at the turn of the century proper ladies who happened to be pregnant were rarely if ever seen in public. She thus produced the first known commercial maternity dress. The garment liberated the increasing number of middle-class women who wanted to break with Victorian tradition. It also helped poorer pregnant women who had no choice but to go to work.
In , Bryant married Albert Malsin, who became her business partner. Tradition still dictated that such topics were not discussed in the press.
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