We found this video of Spanx creator Sara Blakely recently and were pretty impressed. 41-year-old Blakely is now the youngest self-made billionaire in the world. She used $5000 to start the company and it now makes just under $250 million in annual revenue. She owns 100% of the company and has never advertised.
Have a look.
At the Grammys this year, soul singer Adele walked away with four awards and a place on everyone’s “best dressed” list of the night.
On that same night, she was wearing “three or four” pairs of Spanx.
She admitted that little piece of information in a recent interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer.
And when Lauer asked whether she liked the way she looked, she replied: “I loved it! No, I loved it. I actually had another dress made for the Grammys and I ended up passed out in it — I had a corset on so I was like, ‘I can’t wear that.’ So I ended up wearing it on short notice.”
But she did remove two pairs of the Spanx before she sang so she could, you know, breath.
So Spanx. Otherwise known as control underwear or the undies that end just below your boobs.
It’s not just Adele that’s wearing them. There’s Bridesmaids star Melissa McCartney (who told a hilarious story of Spanx on this episode of Ellen), our very own Mamamia publisher Mia Freedman, and lots and lots of Mamamia readers.
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Comments
32 Comments so far
I wore a pair of Nancy Ganz (assuming very similar to Spanx) to a dinner the other night. I had a stomach ache by the end of the night because they were so restrictive. Also it’s sooooo hard to go to the toilet, having to peel them off and pull them back on.
I didn’t go for my normal size but one larger so I can only imagine how it would have been worse if I wore a medium.
I can’t believe Adele (and others) would wear 2, 3 or 4 pairs at once?!? How do they move?
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Lawd, so much criticism, sanctimony and bitterness. How is spanx any different than companies that sell make-up, hair product, jeans with a more flattering cut, stockings, fake tan, waxing, or bras and underwaer for that matter? Good on her for having an idea, being brave enough and savvy enough to build a company around it and double good on her for not being embarassed about its success. We should encourage people (men, women,whomever) to build and create something from nothing, its a whole lot better than the extreme alternative at the other end, entitlement, laziness and limited contribution to society.
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I watched “the Lorax’ yesterday with my kids. She reminds me of the Once-ler.
“everybody needs a thneed…”
*shudder*
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I wouldn’t like to wear them all the time, but I wore one under my dress I wore to my fortieth last year, and under my little black dress I wear occasionally on special occasions. It gives clean lines and sucks in the fat for a couple of hours!
Anyway, good on her, she’s living the dream. $5,000 to a billion. Nice work.
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i would no more wear spanx than i would wear a corset. so she made a lot of money trading on women’s insecurities? i remain unimpressed.
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What a terribly catty thing to say
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Where do all the wobbly bits go though? Seriously – what happens when you internalise all those wobbly bits? Squished kidneys?
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I look forward to the swing back towards comfort when spanx has run its course. Remember bra burning? Remember our mums swearing they would never suffer the discomfort of girdles for the sake of shallow beauty? I look forward to spanx burning and the anti Brazilian, anti cosmetic surgery, hairy feminist comeback! All this pain for beauty makes me nervous. Pretty things are nice but nothing is worth the distraction of pain from what matters in life.
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I’ve tried Spanx and just feel like a great big huge sausage with all my fat stuffed into the tight ‘casing’, being the Spanx. I think they are better suited for people who aren’t overweight, people who are sizes 8-16′s, but who perhaps are just a bit soft or ‘spongy’. I’m 5’7″ and a size 18 and they are soooo uncomfortable for me.
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I am 5’10″ and a size 10.. AND I LOVE SPANX! it gives such a smooth line under tight fitting clothes, and i actually find it really comfortable
.
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I’d rather exercise to be honest.
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I’ve exercised with a personal trainer for 2 years and I’m a size 14 that likes to wear spanx for a smooth look, so I’m not sure what you mean?
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Isn’t Mark Zuckerburg younger and self made?
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Depends if you believe the movie…
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Yes, but he is male. Sarah is one of the few female self-made billionaires in the world. And she didn’t make her money in the obvious routes like entertainment. I don’t use spanx, I use copious amounts of make up but for some reason I don’t want to lie about the appearance of my body, but I really admire her achievements as a woman.
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I know that the title identifies her as the youngest female billionaire but in the article it didn’t mention her sex
“41-year-old Blakely is now the youngest self-made billionaire in the world”
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Got a spanx singlet on as I type! Love them, but it is always nice to take them off too!
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I love spanx in fact at times I get addicted to wearing them as I feel so much more toned with them on!!
Great woman fair play to her,
Another woman worth reading about is the lady who started the Ultimo lingerie company – rags to riches through pure hard work!
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It’s Sue Whyte from Intimo Lingerie you are referring to who sadly passed away last year. Because of Sue, Intimo supports breast cancer initiatives, women in domestic violence situations and women in Fiji that cannot afford supportive bras.
Sue was a truly inspirational woman who touched other womens lives in an authentic way. She understood that its not all about making money but about giving back to those that have supported you when you are in a position to do so.
Rest in peace Sue Whyte, you are very sadly missed.
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I think they are referring to Michelle Mone, the UK businesswoman behind Ultimo.
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I am anti spanx or any uncomfortable underwear.
everytime I am tempted to buy underwear that will change my body shape, I remember helping to put my Nanna into her girdle. She was dead, and we were dressing her for burial. She had said that she had worn a girdle every day of her adult life and she wished to be buried in it.
She was 92.
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breathe* Mamamia!
#grammarpolice
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Good on her for making a gazillion dollars. But really how did she do it? She did it by profiting off the back of women’s body insecurities.
I have a few pairs. I actually find them tight and restrictive. Oh, the irony.
Is she really that inspirational?
How can no one see the hypocrisy involved here? We are putting up on a pedestal a woman who made her fortune from feeding off a societal and media obsession with having women’s bodies look a certain way.
So she “gives back” (like Oprah) by featuring a woman entrepreneur inside her catalogue for nothing in return? Um, really, is she serious?!
I think Sara will have to do better than that if she wants to be in Oprah’s league of philanthropy.
Is she actually helping women? Is she helping women that cant help themselves? Is she helping underprivileged women that are born in to a cycle of poverty and abuse that they will never get out of? Is she building orphanages?
Is she doing anything of any intrinsic value to society?
In her words, she likes making money and has lots of fun spending it. That is fine but don’t insult us by trying to look altruistic by saying you give back like Oprah with your shallow gestures.
What is her ambition? She wants Spanx in every corner of the globe. Fist pump included. (It is incidentally in most first world economies already). She is already a billionaire. She has more money than she can spend in a lifetime. When will enough be enough? How much more money does she need to make before she wakes up and sees the precarious state our precious planet is in?
Sara, here is a thought. How about you start “giving back” by with joining a cause that actually matters like helping to provide clean running water for half of the worlds population or cleaning up our oceans that are riddled with plastic and rubbish. Maybe when the whole world has the basics covered then you can concern yourself with getting the whole world looking slim, lump free and svelte wearing Spanx.
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Just Saying, perhaps you should research a little before you criticise her so roundly. How about you start here:
http://press.spanx.com/pr/spanx/sara-blakely-foundation.aspx
Clean running water is on the list…
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I was going off the video. But thank you for this. I couldn’t find anything on the main website but didn’t spend any other time looking beyond that.
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Are you doing any of these things? Just saying.
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Love this, she is so inspirational!
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this is an interesting read too:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2012/05/23/10-lessons-i-learned-from-sara-blakely-that-you-wont-hear-in-business-school/
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Another spanx lover! I’ve built up quite a collection depending on the outfit.
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Love stories like this, sometimes it gives you the boost to keep plugging away!
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this woman is one hell of an inspiration!
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Love Spanx! Am 27, a size 12 and am in proportion – I just find with Spanx everything looks smoother. Thankyou Sara!
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