OPRAH WINFREY: Six years ago, I discovered a miracle product
and shared it with the world.
Now, my next favorite thing is a great invention.
Here comes the elves with Spanx. Pantyhose for all.
There they go. Spanx really changed the way I wore clothes.
You know those fabulous footless hose that suck it all in?
Okay, here we go. Do you see my Spanx? No?
Okay. I've given up panties. I wear Spanx.
That's more information than you all need to know, but.
Spanx started as a simple idea when 27-year-old Sara Blakely
cut the feet off of her own pantyhose.
SARA BLAKELY: They made me look a size smaller,
smoothed everything out and got rid of the panty line.
And I thought this should exist for women.
OPRAH: But her body-shaping solution wasn't an instant hit.
SARA: I remember verbally saying, I'm, I'm asking for a sign.
I'd flipped on the end of Oprah, and that day,
Oprah told the world that she had been cutting the feet off
her pantyhose for years.
OPRAH: Today, in order--'cause I have these shoes,
and it's hard, and I didn't want the toe--so I cut my
pantyhose, and they're right there.
OPRAH: At that moment, Sara cleaned out her $5,000 savings
account and went for it.
SARA: I went to craft stores and found little bands
and things that I thought could maybe go on the end of it.
I researched yarns. The hosiery mill helped me.
There are thousands of yarns to choose from,
and we went through hundreds of prototypes before we came up
with the original Spanx.
OPRAH: After two years, Spanx were born and women never
wear their clothes the same again.
OPRAH: Wow. Wow. This is our first time meeting.
So how are things going?
SARA: Oprah…
OPRAH: I'm so glad I gave you the idea.
SARA: Yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah.
SARA: You are, you were my moment. I mean, God- listen, okay.
I was trying for a year to get this idea made,
cold-calling all the hosiery mills, talking to men.
Nobody thought it was a good idea. I let go of it.
I asked for a sign, flipped on your show. You're my sign…
OPRAH: There I was…
SARA: ...which means I'm going for it.
OPRAH: Yeah.
SARA: And I then got it made. It took me, oh, another
additional year to get it made. And I started it with a $5,000.
Spanx now is--we have over 100 products.
I've done-I mean, I have to pinch myself--but we've done
over $100 million in retail sales.
OPRAH: Oh, my goodness.
SARA: And listen, Oprah, I need…
OPRAH: Not starting with $5 million-$5,000?
SARA: Yes, out of my apartment. Oh, no.
OPRAH: That is amazing.
SARA: It's amazing. I mean,
these--all the men that I was cold-calling said,
this isn't a good idea. I don't get it.
And it just has taken off. I believed in it.
You--you were such a big part of it.
OPRAH: Well, you know, because that is truth.
I mean, for years…
SARA: Yeah.
OPRAH: I know--did you all ever do that?
For years, I would cut off that you would have a run,
and then you cut off that leg, and then you would save,
save the other half. Sometimes you have two halves on
at the same time.
SARA: Yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah.
SARA: Right. I mean, I had a patent attorney
tell me he though, I'd been stumped by candid camera,
'cause he thought the idea was so bad when I presented
it to him.
OPRAH: Really?
SARA: And I…
OPRAH: And what is he saying now?
OPRAH: One-hundred-million-dollar sales later.
What does he say now?
SARA: No. He's so excited and proud,
'cause I actually wrote my own patent,
but he helped me write the claims parts.
So--but the journey has been amazing.
And you've--I feel like you've been present
almost the whole journey.
OPRAH: Oh.
SARA: So I'm thrilled to meet you.
OPRAH: I'm thrilled to meet you.
SARA: 'Cause women are gonna be so happy.
OPRAH: Yes.
SARA: They think we're good friends.
OPRAH: Congratulations. Congratulations.
So, how many of you are wearing Spanx right now?
Not enough. Not enough.
OPRAH: Spanx are it. It means you don't' have to have,
you know, like especially when you're wearing sandals,
'cause it's such a no-no. I was some place recently
and I wanted to tell the lady--I wanted to hand
her--take off mine and give it to her…
SARA: Right.
OPRAH: ...'cause she's wearing the sandals with the pantyhose.
OPRAH: Oh, my goodness. You need Spanx.
SARA: Right.
OPRAH: A few weeks ago, Sara let our cameras go inside
the Spanx factory to see exactly how these little slimmers
take shape.
OPRAH: At Spanx headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia,
it's all about trim tummies and firm fannies.
SARA: The first step is conceptualizing,
where all the girls get together.
We high-waisted up to just below the bra line, but…
OPRAH: Step number two, start sketching.
SARA: Once we do that, we collaborate with everyone
at the mill and they start strategizing with us on what
yarns would be possible for this concept that we dreamed of.
OPRAH: The Spanx factory turns out 36,000 body shapers a day.
SARA: Every product is tested on a real person.
And if you work for Spanx, you wear the product.
And I mean everybody.
SARA: Once we have the drawings,
we input the data into the computers.
OPRAH: The computers then send out signals to over
150 knitting machines that use 6,000 pounds of yarn
to create those figure-flattering tights.
Next stop, quality control where the hose are stretched
to make sure they stay snug.
DARLENE: Hello. I'm Darlene.
I'm checking to make sure that the Spanx products come
out all right today.
OPRAH: After inspection, Spanx are steamed and conditioned.
Then, they add the part that protects your privates. Ooh, nice.
CINDY: Hi. My name is Cindy. And I sew about 500 crotches
a day for Spanx.
SARA: The ladies, they get one long tube like this
and they'll cut it in half, and that's where they actually
stitch in the crotch.
OPRAH: Once both legs are sewn together,
they weave on a waistband. Then, it's off to the dye house.
SARA: Sometimes, we'll mix over 100 to find just
the right color black.
OPRAH: Ready to battle the bulge.
Each pair of Spanx is folded and packaged by hand.
SARA: Every pair is touched by 40 different women
and they take 8 hours to make. So there's a lot of love
going into those Spanx.
OPRAH: Wow. How did you come up with the name, Spanx?
SARA: I'm Sara.
OPRAH: Oh. Now I know that's you on the Spanx package.
That's you. That's you.
SARA: The girl in the middle of the cartoon?
OPRAH: Yeah, yeah. yeah.
SARA: Yeah.
OPRAH: That's you. How did you come up with the name?
SARA: I--you know what? I had spent a year coming up
with really bad names.
And I narrowed it down in my mind and thought, okay,
Kodak and Coca Cola are the two most recognized names
in the world. What do they have in common?
They both have a strong K sound.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
SARA: Stand-up comedians, the trade secret that
the K sound will make your audience laugh.
OPRAH: Yeah.
SARA: So, in that moment, for good luck, I said,
I want this name to have the K sound in it.
Spanx hit me sitting in traffic in Atlanta like
a lightning bolt.
And I knew it was right because it's all about making
right here look better…
OPRAH: Yeah.
SARA: ...and it kind of makes your mind wander.
And nobody forgets it. Spanx, Spanx.
OPRAH: Sara recently--fantastic. You know what?
I know there are women in our audience and lots
of women who are watching for whom you will
be a huge inspiration, because somebody has an idea.
You think it's a great idea.
Everybody else may not think it's such a good idea.
5,000 turned, $5,000 turned into $100 million in sales.
SARA: Mm-hmm.
OPRAH: You are an inspiration, Sara.
SARA: Thank you, and you know what?
You're a huge help to me. So, thank you.