Bare Essentials This entrepreneur has hipsters lining up for her low-riding undergarments and sportswear.
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Vital Stats: SarahSiegel-Magness, 30, founder of So Low
Company: Los Angeles-basedmaker of intimate and sportswear apparel
Sales: 2003 projected salesof $3.5 million to $5.5 million
Uprising: The daughter ofCelestial Seasonings' founders, Siegel-Magness exhibited aknack for entrepreneurship early on, working by age 13 andoperating a successful Celestial Seasonings kiosk in college.Envisioning low-rise underwear that wouldn't show intoday's belly-baring, hip-hugging fashions, she asked heratelier to make a sample from her prototype.
Solo Mission: WhenSiegel-Magness took her creation to the California Market Center, awholesale buyers' marketplace in Los Angeles, hoping to findrepresentation, she brought one pair of underwear. "Gettingpicked up with one style was unheard of," she recalls."My ignorance paid off, because I walked in there like I knewwhat I was doing." When her new rep asked her to come up withthree more styles, she quickly followed with low-rise boxers andtank-top and G-string styles.
"I would alwaysjoke, 'I'll make 10,000 pairs, and if I just have to wearthem myself, I will.'" |
Mirror Image: Sporty, sexyand young is how Siegel-Magness describes the line that'sevolved from underwear to a collection of low-rise sportswearspotted on celebs like Lucy Liu and Gwen Stefani. "It'swhat I saw missing from the marketplace and needed myself,"she says.
Public Spectacle: Teen queenHillary Duff donned a So Low skirt for The Lizzie McGuireMovie poster, displayed in high-traffic areas like SunsetBoulevard and Times Square. The distinctive striped skirt hasincreased interest in So Low, especially among the youngerdemographic. Siegel-Magness didn't angle for the placement, butshe's not complaining: "Today, celebrities can really makelines."
