In 1984, I started EILEEN FISHER for a very personal reason: I was having trouble getting dressed. At the time I was working as an interior and graphic designer. In my mind I kept seeing these simple shapes for clothes. I knew they had to be beautiful colors, great fabrics and have certain shapes and proportions that worked together. This was my "aha" moment: a system of dressing that I'd been looking for ever since I abandoned my Catholic school uniform back in Des Plaines, Illinois. Although I couldn't sew and only had $350 in the bank, I believed in these simple shapes. I had four shapes made up and took them to The Boutique Show in New York. Encouraged by $3000 in orders, I expanded my "line" to eight pieces. The second show brought in $40,000 in orders. Suddenly I wasn't just Eileen Fisher. I was EILEEN FISHER, INC.