Designing Clothes for Tall Women
Written by Mary Welch Wednesday, August 25 2010
Snapshot: Anita Lamb
Anita Lamb, founder and president of Altitude Fasique, is passionate about empowering women to reach the next level. With more than 10 years experience in a corporate environment, Lamb understands how important image is to advancing a career and life. She incorporates her knowledge into designing stylish clothing for women taller than 5 feet 9 inches.
Lamb, who earned a master’s degree from Georgia Tech and a bachelor’s from Voorhees College, lives in Georgia with her son, Elijah.
Womenetics: Tell us about yourself.
Anita Lamb: I am a native of Augusta, Ga., and was raised by my mother, a single parent, who taught me at an early age to be independent. She taught me that I could do anything I set my mind to do.
I saw the impact of not having the education to obtain a decent job; my mother had to work two jobs to make ends meet. While I truly valued and learned from her perseverance and her hard work, I also knew that I wanted a better life for my family one day. I knew that education was the way to get there. On May 4, 1997, I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in computer science. I had achieved a lifelong goal, to be the first person in my family to graduate from college. Twelve days later, I gave birth to my son, Elijah.
Society thinks that because you have a child at a fairly young age your life is over, your possibilities have ended. I thought differently. I knew I could still think big and become successful. I now just had someone who looked up to me. I knew that despite your circumstances you can achieve anything.
Womenetics: How did you get involved with the Possible Woman Foundation?
Lamb: To help alleviate the financial burden of attending Georgia Tech I began researching possible scholarships on the internet. I found and applied for the 2004 Possible Woman Foundation International (PWFI) scholarship. I was very excited and grateful to be selected as one of the scholarship recipients.
After receiving the scholarship I was compelled to become involved with the organization as a volunteer because the organization’s mission aligned with my beliefs and my passion to empower women by supporting education to fulfill their dreams. I volunteered for the scholarship committee. Receiving the scholarship changed my life, and I want to continue to be involved with changing the lives of other deserving and underprivileged women.
Womenetics: Why did you go to Georgia Tech if you wanted to become a fashion designer?
Lamb: As a high school student, I always wanted to attend Georgia Tech. I was afraid to apply because my SAT scores did not meet the requirements. Someone once told me that it doesn’t matter where you start but it matters where you finish. So, after receiving my undergraduate degree, I decided I would achieve my dream of going to Georgia Tech for my graduate degree.
In 2003, I applied and was accepted into the Executive Master’s of Science in Management of Technology degree program. Participation in the program gave me the ability to continue to work full-time and balance my responsibility as a single mother with classes every other Friday and Saturday for 18 months.
Being able to attend Georgia Tech to obtain my business technology degree gave me the business foundation I knew I needed to help me launch my own business.
Womenetics: Why did you want to go into fashion?
Lamb: I recognized an opportunity and a gap in the marketplace.
As a woman working in a professional environment for more than 10 years in the IT industry, I could never find appropriate business attire for my 5-foot-10-inch physique. Instead of having fun shopping with friends for the latest business fashions, I would come home empty-handed and frustrated because I couldn't find clothes that fit well and matched my sense of style. I learned about specialty stores that offered clothes for tall women, but the clothing they offered was too old-fashioned, shapeless, and nondescript for me. My frustration inspired a journey of research and preparation to launch my own business that would serve as a stylish, fun, and professional brand for women over 5 feet 9 inches.
Through my own experiences I know how it feels to wear stylish clothes that fit, and I know how it feels to wear clothes that are untailored, not stylish, and don’t fit. I wanted other tall women to know the feeling of having clothes that were tailored to their height.
Womenetics: Why did you decide to open your own line?
Lamb: After receiving many compliments on my own attire, pieces I made for myself, and then researching the market and finding very limited options for taller women, I decided to represent women over 5 feet 9 inches, with the intent of making a difference in the lives of women. Many times senior level executives would compliment me on my suits after a meeting. I thought to myself, “If I am getting compliments from the CIO then I could, and should, be producing my own brand.”
At one point, I designed a halter top maxi dress in a floral print. I wore the dress to Lenox mall (in Atlanta) one day and people were turning their heads to look at my dress, which was long enough for my 5-foot-10-inch height along with two-inch heels. Every time I wore that dress people stopped and watched me go by, giving me compliments. Celebrities were pictured in magazines the following season wearing long sundresses in various prints. That gave me the confidence to develop my own line.
Womenetics: What are the challenges?
Lamb: 1.The availability of an infrastructure of suppliers and manufacturers in Georgia to support my vision to become the No. 1 brand for women over 5 feet 9 inches.
2. The lack of capital investment – not having sufficient resources for our core competency of designing and marketing our products. It has been difficult gaining the support from the Atlanta investment community because the entrepreneurial support systems are mainly focused on technology ventures. A brand for women over 5 feet 9 inches does not appeal to a male-dominated culture even though I have a sustainable and profitable business model that could potentially create jobs for the citizens of Georgia.
3. Managing a virtual team and streamlining business processes – I need company office space where all the work can be done – designing, developing patterns, and making samples. I need a location where we can control our intellectual property – fashion designs, copyrighted prints, and unique patterns.
Womenetics: How are you funding it?
Lamb: In 2009, Altitude Fasique obtained a Small Business Administration community express loan of $25,000 after President Obama passed the Reinvestment Act to help small businesses. With this funding, I was able to visit a well-researched list of manufacturers in Georgia and was able to contract with a company in Carrollton, Ga., to make my designs.
Currently, the company is in bootstrapping mode and intends to continue to raise additional investment capital over the next year.
Womenetics: What have you learned about yourself and others as a result of the Possible Women Foundation?
Lamb: What I’ve learned is that, as women, we are all connected through our stories of triumph and strength in overcoming obstacles and unexpected challenges in our lives. I discovered, reconfirming the lessons I learned from my mother, that I am a Possible Woman. It was possible to be the first person in my family to graduate from college. It was possible to be a single mother and a role model to my son. It was possible to fulfill my dream to graduate from Georgia Tech. It was possible to launch my own company. It is possible to actually live my dream of empowering women through stylish clothes that fit.
As a Possible Woman, I have learned how important it is to pay it forward to other women who also desire to get an education to fulfill their dreams.
Mary Welch is a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. Previously, she held many positions with Leader Publishing, including editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman, editor of Business to Business magazine, and editor of Catalyst magazine. As editor of Business to Business, she assigned, edited, and conceptualized a series that was awarded Silver in the 2005 GAMMA Awards for Best Series. Welch was a reporter for the Atlanta Business Chronicle for eight years and freelanced for publications including Glamour, Advertising Age, South, Georgia Trend, and Oz. From 2000 to 2003, she served as vice president of media relations for Bank of America, during which time she authored Forever Green: A History and Hope of the American Forest with Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell.
