Liz Claiborne Research Paper

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Anne Elizabeth Jane “Liz” Claiborne was born on March 31, 1929 in Brussels, Belgium. She was the only child of Omer V. Claiborne and Louise Fenner Claiborne. Her father taught her to appreciate the arts and her mother taught her how to sew. In 1939, at age 10, Liz Claiborne’s family left Brussels, Belgium for their new home in New Orleans, Louisiana. When Liz was twenty-one years old, her sketch for a women’s coat won a design competition for Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. With her sketching abilities and her winning sketch, she began working on Seventh Avenue in New York City as a design assistant and a model. While working on Seventh Avenue, she designed sportswear, dresses, and tailored clothing. From 1960 to 1975 she was the main designer for the junior dress division of Jonathan Logan, a major women's apparel manufacturer. …show more content…

Liz Claiborne Inc. was founded in 1976 with approximately $250,000, including $50,000 of her and her husband's savings. Liz’s husband, Arthur Ortenberg, was the company's secretary and treasurer. A friend, Leonard Boxer, handled production and Jerome Chazen joined the company in 1977 to operate the company’s marketing. At a time when a large percent of women were entering the workforce, Liz built the company into a billion-dollar-a-year business, first designing stylish, moderately priced sportswear that freed working women from plain, dark suits, then expanding into menswear, accessories and

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