Ten things you might not know about Ann Taylor
1. Ann Taylor was not a real person. The retail chain is named after a bestselling shirtdress style.
2. In addition to women’s and petite collections, Ann Taylor also sells bridal and maternity wear.
3. The first Ann Taylor store opened in 1954 in the Hotel Taft in New Haven, Conn.
4. In an early example of brand collaboration, Ann Taylor partnered with Finnish design studio Marimekko on a collection in the 1960s.
5. In the 1970s, the Ann Taylor shopping bag was inducted into the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
6. Anyone with a valid college or graduate school ID receives 20% off their entire purchase of full-price merchandise in stores until they graduate.
7. Lisa Axelson, Ann Taylor’s creative director, has also designed for Gap, Banana Republic, Club Monaco and Abercrombie & Fitch’s Ruehl.
8. Before she was an Oscar-winning actress, Geena Davis worked as a window mannequin for Ann Taylor’s flagship store on New York’s 57th Street in 1981.
9. Julia Roberts was discovered while she was working in an Ann Taylor store in Georgia.
10. Naomi Watts is the face of Ann Taylor for the fall 2010 ad campaign. The collection she’s wearing is inspired by the Ernest Hemingway book “A Moveable Feast.”
— Booth Moore
