Liz Claiborne- The Woman
- Before She Was A Famous Fashion Designer
Liz Claiborne didn’t become successful until she was how old?
The most inspiring thing about Liz Claiborne to me is that she wasn’t famous until she was well in to her 40′s. Born in Brussels to an American banker, she did not speak English at all until she was 10 and moved to New Orleans. French was her first language and always stunted her spelling skill in English. From New Orleans her family moved to New Jersey where Liz only completed school through the 10th grade. Imagine, such a world re-known woman that didn’t even complete high school or learn to speak English until she was 10.
After the war was over her family moved back to Brussels for 2 more years where Liz was put in a convent/finishing school. Her father had an affinity to paintings, architecture and landscapes and so thought Liz should study art and become a painter. She took art classes for the 2 years she was at the convent before her family moved back to New Orleans where her father’s family has deep roots. In 1948 while Liz was living in New Orleans she read about the Harper’s Bazaar design and sketch contest.
Harper's Bazaar Cover 1943
Out of the entire country, Liz’s sketch of a military style coat was chosen. She was flown out to Paris to spend a week with Jacques Heim, the famous fashion designer. Her award winning coat design was manufactured by Linker & Herbert and sold at such stores like Lord & Taylor.
After her infamous trip to Paris in 1949, Liz spent a year studying art in Nice, France.
In the book, “Liz Claiborne: The Legend, The Woman,” Liz tells a story to her employees about how she told her parents to stop the car and she got out and told her parents- “I’m getting out here. I’m going to find work in New York. I’m going to be a designer.” At the next stoplight, Liz’s father got out of the car, grabbed Liz’s suitcase from the trunk and placed it on the sidewalk and gave her a $50 bill. ”Good luck,” he said to her as her parents drove away.
Liz, as narrated by her husband in the book said, “When we got to New York I struck out on my own. My whole life had prepared me…I had been very fortunate. My father and mother had made me aware of beauty and determination. I owed so much to them for the schooling that they had exposed me to. I had been encouraged to take classes in art and to study with painters. I had been encouraged to find my life in the visual world.”
Liz self-admittedly did strike out in her 20′s. To some she may have seemed like she made it because she was working as a designer and sketch artist. But for Liz, a person who doesn’t believe in dreaming too big, she had struck out. For the next 25 years her vision of being a famous designer did not come true. Not only did her career not fair as well as she had expected, but her personal life struggled as well during those years as she went through a divorce.
Persistence, determination, and FAITH is what kept the dream alive in this amazing woman whose name is known throughout the world.
