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Lane Bryant (1879?-1951) was founded by a Lithuanian emigrant named Lena Himmelstein Bryant. When her husband unexpectedly died, Bryant went into business for herself in 1901, sewing bridal clothing in her apartment. Three years later, she was ready to expand into larger quarters. While applying for a loan, a bank officer misspelled her name as “Lane”, and she kept the name.

Lane Bryant was one of the first to mass-produce maternity wear. She had a hard time even getting newspapers to carry the ads for it, so she turned to catalogue sales. By the early 1920s, the Lane Bryant company was specializing in maternity and full-figured clothing. By the 1950s, Lane Bryant was the sixth largest catalogue retailer in the US.

In 1915, the first branch store was opened in Chicago. The chain steadily grew until the late 1960s, when it passed the 100 store mark.

After Lane Bryant’s death, the business continued to thrive under the direction of her sons. Lane Bryant was acquired by The Limited in 1981, and today is still a leader in the plus-sized market. The business is now owned by Ascena Retail Group, Inc.

Written by idymom810, fuzzylizzie


from a 1920s coat - courtesy of Gen Gebhardt

from a 1920s coat

courtesy of Gen Gebhardt

from a 1930s maternity corset  - Courtesy of lakepals

from a 1930s maternity corset

Courtesy of lakepals

from a 1940s dress - Courtesy of denisebrain

from a 1940s dress

Courtesy of denisebrain

from a 1950s dress  - courtesy of fast_eddies_retro_rags

from a 1950s dress

courtesy of fast_eddies_retro_rags

from a 1950s jacket - Courtesy of TBonita Style

from a 1950s jacket

Courtesy of TBonita Style

from a 1960s dress - Courtesy of indymom810

from a 1960s dress

Courtesy of indymom810

from a late 1960s dress  - Courtesy of pinky-a-gogo

from a late 1960s dress

Courtesy of pinky-a-gogo

from a late 1960s dress - Courtesy of coutureallure.com

from a late 1960s dress

Courtesy of coutureallure.com

from a 1970s shirt - Courtesy of indymom810

from a 1970s shirt

Courtesy of indymom810

from a 1970s raincoat - Courtesy of indymom810

from a 1970s raincoat

Courtesy of indymom810

from a 2000s sweater  - Courtesy of fuzzylizzie.com

from a 2000s sweater

Courtesy of fuzzylizzie.com