It’s Istanbul/It’s Constantinople

Anyone care to fill me in on the scoop with Woman Within and Lane Bryant Catalog? I clicked on the Woman Within link a few weeks back, to find things labeled “Lane Bryant catalog.” I thought, absently, hmm, they must still be in transition on the rebranding – LBC was around for years, it probably will take awhile.

Then, a Lane Bryant Catalog lands in my mail. Most of the things from Woman Within that were kind of cute, especially a pajama set I had my eye on are just gone. And now, when I run a search I get two separate websites -Lane Bryant Catalog, which also has links to Old Pueblo Traders among others, and Woman Within, which seems to have teamed up with Jessica London and Roaman’s.

So are Woman Within and LBC separate businesses or not? I’ve got to say, the gradual disappearance of stiff polyester pantsuits from Woman Within was a relief and I’m sad to see their return in LBC.

http://diaryofamadfashionista.blogspot.com Hoardmeister

Dahling -

This has puzzled me as well. After all, there is the Lane Bryant catalog, which is distinct from the Lane Bryant stores (which are a division of Charming Shoppes, and Woman Within is a division of Redcats Inc.). Meanwhile, the original founders of Lane Bryant have started a new, youth-oriented store, Fashion to Figure, which is NOT allied to any of the others. A person could get quite the headache…
Doug Williams

Hi,
I saw your post and thought it would be good to respond. I can understand your confusion regarding Lane Bryant catalog. For several years LBC was operated by Redcats on a license from Charming Shoppes (which owns and operates the Lane Bryant retail stores). On Oct 21, 2007, Charming Shoppes regained the license to Lane Bryant catalog (and lanebryantcatalog.com). Redcats transitioned their title to Woman Within. Now all Lane Bryant brands are owned and operated by Charming Shoppes. Technically LBC is a division of Arizona Mailorder and is part of Charming Shoppes “direct to consumer” (catalog) business. Arizona Mailorder also mails out other catalogs like Monterey Bay, Old Pueblo Traders, Willow Ridge, etc.

Hope that helps clear up some of the confusion.

Happy shopping,
Doug
http://www.fat_the_power.livejournal.com notblueatall

LBC and WW are now synonymous, I thought…I haven’t received an LBC in ages and have been getting WW for a long while now. And Roaman’s seems to be identical to WW. If there’s more to this identity deal, please let me know.
http://fatchic.dianarajchel.com di

Doug Williams has kindly cleared this up. Woman Within and LBC are completely separate; Roaman’s is under the same corporate umbrella as Woman Within but is NOT the same company.