For Eileen Kelley (MBA ’04), founding partner of women’s clothier company Eileen Kelley, what started as a simple class assignment ended up changing the course of her life. Kelley was working for a boutique design firm when she decided to pursue an Executive MBA at SMU Cox on the side as a way to become more involved with the strategic decision making of her company. But once she enrolled in the entrepreneurship class taught by Jerry F. White, director of the Caruth Institute, Kelley quickly learned that she had a real opportunity to start her own brand.
Dallas-based Eileen Kelley (www.eileenkelley.com) was started as a class assignment to identify and evaluate an opportunity, develop a business concept to take advantage of it, and prepare a professional business plan for implementing the concept.
As a frustrated consumer, Kelley decided to pursue women’s fashion as her class project.
“I recognized a problem in the women’s clothing line, primarily that we are subject to ambiguous, non-standard sizing,” said Kelley. “I wondered why women can’t get onsite tailoring in the same quality and shop by inches like men.”
She envied the way men get to shop – the quality, price, and service, she said, are better all the way around. Even at retailers with “Warehouse” in the name, men receive tailoring service. Kelley was tired of being crammed into one-shape-fits-all, off-the-rack products while men get exact measurements and onsite alterations.
Although Kelley got to wear jeans and t-shirts most days at her former job in the design world, she always liked the look of tailored clothing. Then she interned with a large corporation while at SMU Cox and had to overhaul her wardrobe to meet the company’s dress code.
“Nothing fit, and I felt bound up all day for two main reasons,” she said. “One – most women’s tailored clothing are synthetic or a blend (polyester, triacetate, etc.) even in the most expensive designer labels, and I’d been used to wearing breathable natural cottons. And two – the fashion industry decided the straighter shape was in, so there were literally no pants made for women with hips or thighs, and having sizes altered in the waist never looks or fits right because of the rise.”
Her goal was to create tailored clothing that felt as comfortable as pajamas.
To get started, Kelley wanted to know why the women’s clothing industry was the way it was, in case there was some legitimate reason she was overlooking, so she researched both men’s and women’s clothing as far back as the 1500s.
She discovered the reason men’s clothes are made to be easily altered stemmed from the needs of the military, where large numbers of men needed to be suited up quickly. The men’s suiting industry grew out of the military uniform industry. Military uniforms were designed to be easily altered with seam allowance so they could quickly tailor sizes for many men at a time. Prior to this, generals and officers had suits custom made, which was expensive and time consuming.
Kelley also found that women’s clothing is currently based on the corset sizing system from the 1800s. Corsets were the first “off-the-rack” designer component for women because of the self-adjusting string, which avoided the need for tailors. Tailors were predominantly male, because many had acquired their skills from making uniforms for men. It was considered improper for a woman to go to a male tailor and because most tailors were men, women had to resort to mending or sewing themselves, or have a seamstress who was not as thoroughly trained.
So centuries later, women’s clothing and services are still warped and behind the times.
The myth “women don’t want to know their actual size” was distorted from the fact that also during that time period, it was considered “indecent” for a woman to be seen, measured, or touched by a tailor. However, through a survey, Kelley found that 77 percent of women today want to know their sizing in inches.
After completing her project for the entrepreneurship class, Kelley was approached by people wanting to invest because the business plan looked so credible. “There was still a lot involved in structuring terms and negotiations, but other course work in the EMBA program gave me a great base of knowledge from which to navigate,” she said.
Kelley began selling her products to the public in December 2005, and she expects to reach profitability in 18 months. Part of the reason behind Kelley’s success lies in her timing, but what the triumph really comes down to, says White, is her precise research and the fact that the market supports the business idea.
“I can’t understand why the market has not realized and reacted to this need before,” said White. “Eileen Kelley should be able to build a significant business by addressing this need among professional women.”
Kelley emphasizes that while she was creating a product for women, she couldn’t have done it without the help and support of many men. “Mentors and supporters can come from any background, age, gender, or association, so don’t limit your networking opportunities.”
A big believer in empowering people to see their own potential, Kelley volunteers with Big Brothers and Big Sisters as well as Alley’s House, a non-profit organization focused on empowering teen mothers.
ABOUT EILEEN KELLEY
Eileen Kelley is a premier brand in tailored women’s clothing, dedicated to creating stylish separates distinguished by superior fit in breathable natural fabrics. The company uses only the finest wools, cottons, and silks for natural drape, durability, and luster. Every garment is crafted and sewn by a team of skilled artisans who are also involved in product design. The result: Terrifically tailored pieces that feel like your favorite PJs.
