What surprised you most about Mary Quant’s career? Are there other businesswomen you can name who succeeded against all odds in a male-dominated field?
One thing that really surprised me was was how determined and persistent MQ was, even in the face of many “older and wiser” voices shouting against her.SHe was always controlled and civil.
She had a vision and she stuck to it, not letting others tell her how to design. Really admired her for that.
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I think what surprised me most was how she was such a creative force and had her husband to take care of the business aspects. Their partnership impressed me.
When I read this question what really startled me was how long it took me to think of successful, strong businesswomen I admired. I need more examples! I do have a few non-famous examples, including a minority woman in my town that has been able to go from a food truck to a small business that sells the most amazing biscuit sandwiches you will ever eat!
But for a famous person, I would list Oprah. She rose out of poverty, a broken home and a rough childhood to running several businesses. She manages to have successful enterprises and yet we don’t see any court cases or nasty memoirs. Besides she started the celebrity book club direction! I may not always like her selections, but I value what she has done for the industry.
I didn’t realize she was so prolific! I thought only of her fashion designs not the other products she put on the market incuding perfume. Names like Gloria Vanderbilt, Coco Chanel, Anne Klein, Tracey Reese, Liz Claiborne, Diane Von Furstenburg and Lily Pulitzer to name a few.
I found another book about Claire McCardell by Elizabeth Dickinson. She titled the book “The Designer Who Set Women Free. After World War II she challenged the haute couture designers by introducing a more streamlined style by introducing pockets and trousers.
Mary Quat became a strong businesswoman in a time that she had few female role models. She had a vision and made it work. I think that there are a lot of successful businesswomen in our modern world but there were very few back in the 60s.
It did surprise me that Mary Quant was so successful, given the time frame. But I think women have to work harder to succeed. I just read Ina Garten’s book, “Be ready when the Luck Happens” . She had to work hard to prove herself in a world where the head chef’s are mostly men.