Charlie Wetzel - The Spanx Story

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ISBN 978-1-4002-1617-8 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-1611-6 (HC)

Epub Edition August 2020 9781400216178

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020941781

Printed in the United States of America

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Anyone can become an inventor as long as they keep an open and inquiring mind and never overlook the possible significance of an accident or apparent failure.

PATSY OCONNELL SHERMAN,
Scientist and Inventor of Scotchgard

S ara Blakely never set out to revolutionize and revive a dying industry, create a new category of clothing, or become a billionaire at age forty-one. As she has told it, all she wanted was to make a good impression at a party.

Standing by her closet door, Sara looked down at the invitation in her hand. For the young, single twenty-seven-year-old, still new to the big city, an invitation to a big social event in a swanky rooftop bar would have been a huge deal. Like many other recent transplants to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1998, Sara had moved there for work. A few months after relocating, she would have met and interacted with many of her coworkers in the offices of Danka, a national business machinery company.

Sara spent several days each week outside of Atlanta, visiting small cities and towns like the one where shed grown up and been offered her first real job out of college. There at the Danka headquarters, in her cozy beach hometown of Clearwater, Florida, she had started selling fax machines door-to-door. But it didnt take long for her work ethic and sales results to attract the attention of management. A fast learner and skilled salesperson, she was soon called upon to guide and help others in her department. And when it became clear that Sara was also a skilled instructor, Danka offered her a promotionout of sales and into the training department at the regional office in Georgia. Now she spent her time teaching other salespeople throughout the country how to get a foot in the door, connect with potential customers, and close the deal.

Naturally outgoing and charismatic, Sara normally had no problem making friends. The invitation to this social gathering created a high-stakes opportunity for Sara. And it had to be more energizing than drinking office coffee while discussing sales strategies for office equipment.

Like everyone preparing to meet new people, Sara knew first impressions matter a great deal. Of course, when she walked into the room, it was important to look her best: professional, put-together, appropriate. The clothes she chose needed to meet those criteria. But it was even more crucial to look confident and relaxed. To appear confident and relaxed, she needed an outfit that would enable her to feel confident and relaxed. And, honestly, was that too much to ask?

Sara has described in dozens of interviews that moment in front of her closet. And, according to her, the answer to that question was a resounding yesit was too much to ask. Over and over, her eyes kept being drawn to a pair of brand-new white pants that would match perfectly with the light summer blouse and strappy sandals that she had in mind for the party. But the pants, which had looked amazing on the hanger and beautiful in the dressing room mirror, had yet to be worn out of the house. In fact, theyd hung there in the closet for eight months with the tags still on. For one thing, she said that seeing the trousers was a reminder that shed paid too much for themnearly $100not to wear them. According to Sara, her attention immediately went to every imperfection, making her feel insecure and unsure of herself. So, every time, she ended up taking them off, hanging them back up, and changing into something else before leaving the house.

Picturing Sara in 1998, at just twenty-seven, she was pretty, slender, and petite. Her long blonde hair, white teeth, and casual vibe made her look like shed grown up on the beachwhich in fact she had. In her hometown of Clearwater Beach, Florida, Sara said she grew up where everyone wore shorts, flip-flops, and swimsuitsfor eleven months out of the year. The professional attire that businesswomen wore in Atlanta was much more structured, formal, and expensive. High fashion and design were foreign to me, Sara said of her life before Atlanta.

Everything moved faster in Atlanta, too (aside from the traffic). People walked fast. Serious people in serious clothing strode purposefully to do serious work for serious employers. The men tended to wear dark-colored suits, ties, and shiny dress shoes. Even on Casual Fridays, they all wore a uniform of sorts, of khaki trousers and golf shirts. But the womens attire really stood out. Many of them seemed to put a lot of effort into looking effortlessly fabulous. In downtown Atlanta, I noticed everyone dressed up, Sara said, whether they were working in offices or... shopping or having lunch with their friends. On the street, she noticed, All of the women looked so cute, wearing pretty colorful dresses or little capri pants and high heels. She said she wanted to look like she fit inthus the white pants. And they didnt just look great on the hanger; every time she put them on, they fit her perfectly. They fit the bill for effortlessly fabulousin every way but the one that counted.

The problem with the pantsin a nutshellwas the rear view. Sara believed they looked amazing everywhere except on her rear. The issue was that she could not figure out what to wear under them. Regular underwear definitely didnt workthe panty lines were lumpy and clearly visible. They drew attention to her backside for all the wrong reasons. She even tried the pants on over a thong a couple times, but she didnt like how they felt. Plus, thong underwear solved only the VPLvisible panty lineproblem; they didnt help at all with her other issues. I was terribly frustrated by not having the right undergarment available, she said, so I could wear those pants with comfort and confidence.

Only a size two at the time, Sara was both tiny and physically fit. Yet she couldnt help noticing what she described as some cellulite on the back of my thighs that you could see through the pants. The curve-hugging trousers, both white and thin, made every bump and ripple stand out. That was not confidence-building.

With the party only weeks away, she stood paralyzed in front of her closet. For the anticipated warm summer evening, shed already settled on a beautiful blouse and her favorite pair of high-heeled sandals. As she considered the bottom half of the outfit, her thoughts kept going back to the white pants. A good mix of businesslike and fashionable, they would project self-confidence and style.