Spanx

It all started with a pair of pantyhose, some scissors and a bright idea.  From the moment founder Sara Blakely cut the feet out of her pantyhose to make her butt look better in white pants, she transformed from a frustrated consumer to a fearless entrepreneur. With $5,000 she saved from selling fax machines door-to-door, she wrote her own patent and with her lucky red backpack, showed off her Spanx under her pants. The buyer immediately said “I’ll buy 3,000 pairs,” changing the lives of women all over the world.

Spanx invents, inspires and gives back. We dream big and we care a lot.

How it all began...

'I literally wore my outfit every day for the first three years after starting Spanx. I kept the pants (they still fit - thank you Spanx!), and of course, I kept my lucky red backpack!' This was Sara's a-ha moment!

Right after she incorporated Spanx, she ironed-on the word Spanx to one of her favourite black t-shirts and she didn't take it off for years! The footless pantyhose was her first invention. If you met her in the first 4 years, she's sure she lifted up her pant leg, flashed you her product and proudly showed off her smooth rear-end! There is still nog better product in the Spanx line for wearing underpants - and it's still her favourite! It's not hot, it's super comfortable and it does the trick! Try it!

Sara bought the cream pants for $98 in 1998. At the time she was selling fax machines door to door. Frustrated, they hung in her closet unworn because she couldn't figure out what to wear under them. Until...

Brand codes

Though they're flattered that their name has become synonymous with shapewear, Spanx is the only company that offers women the support and innovation that they're known for. While some rules are made to be broken (like no cake for breakfast), these guidelines provide rules for us to follow to maintain our unique brand identity. To make sure that they are never mistaken for someone else, these guidelines should be followed for anything and everything Spanx does.

Sara noticed that Kodak and Coca-Cola were the two most recognized names in the world, and they both had a prominent ''K'' sound. She also knew from her history a as a stand-up comedian that the ''K'' sound makes people laugh. It seemed like a no-brainer, then, to have the ''K'' sound in her company's name. When she came up with ''SPANKS'' she knew it was perfect.

At the last minute, she changed ''SPANKS'' to ''SPANX'' after doing research that made-up words do better for products than real words (and are easier to trademark). Spanx is edgy, fun, extremely catchy and for a moment, it makes your mind wander (come on, admit it!).

When she designed their logo, Sara liked the ''S'' to be smooth to highlight the smoothing power of the product. That's why their ''S'' is sans-serif while the rest of the logo has serifs.

From her signature red lip to her whimsical collection of wigs, their founder, Sara Blakely, lives in colour. It's part of their brand language - a way for them to connect, communicate and stand out from the crowd. Red is the colour that started it all. Red was the colour of Sara's lucky backpack that she took to meet with buyers. It's also the colour of the original Spanx packaging. Sara picked it to stand out in the sea of grey, white and beige in the hosiery department. Just like Spanx, Sara Blakely Red is bold, brave, disruptive, confidence-boosting and powerful.

Order Spanx online

Have you seen your favourite item from Spanx? Don't wait any longer and order it online at our webshop. We will start to work on your order as soon as possible so you can wear your new clothing item very soon!