Lane Bryant was founded in 1901 by Lena Bryant, a dressmaker who was widowed when she was very young. Knowing she needed to support herself and her infant son, she borrowed $300 from her brother-in-law and opened a small shop on 5th Avenue in New York. A banker who handled her account misspelled her name as Lane and Lena left the name as it was.
Lena Bryant made the first ever maternity dress and thus began a career of making clothing for pregnant women and larger, plus sized women. By 1910, the company was making $50,000 a year.
Today, Lane Bryant has more than 800 locations in 46 states. The company also sells online and via mail order catalogs. The company specializes in larger women’s sizes from 14 to 28. Lane Bryant topped $1 billion in sales in 2014.
Lane BryantLane Bryant was founded in 1901 by Lena Bryant, a dressmaker who was widowed when she was very young. Knowing she needed to support herself and her infant son, she borrowed $300 from her brother-in-law and opened a small shop on 5th Avenue in New York. A banker who handled her account misspelled her name as Lane and Lena left the name as it was.
Lena Bryant made the first ever maternity dress and thus began a career of making clothing for pregnant women and larger, plus sized women. By 1910, the company was making $50,000 a year.
Today, Lane Bryant has more than 800 locations in 46 states. The company also sells online and via mail order catalogs. The company specializes in larger women’s sizes from 14 to 28. Lane Bryant topped $1 billion in sales in 2014.
