MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Polly McMasTeR, 38, founded label The Fold in 2012. she lives in london with her husband, James, and children, lainey, three, and Finn, four months. I’VE always loved fashion. At school, I took evening dressmaking classes because I couldn’t afford the clothes I liked in the shops.
I seriously considered a career in fashion, but in the end studied science and got a PhD in virology (the study of viruses). But the love of great design stayed with me.
Starting out in the world of finance, dressing well was a nightmare. I loved dressing up for big meetings, but for women then, options were so limited.
A suit was expected, but all the offerings were very masculine or boring, frumpy and ageing. And, working 70-hour weeks, I just didn’t have time to piece together outfits that gave me confidence, without inviting constant comments.
After a couple of years, I left my job to do an MBA and found many other women with the same frustrations. With another student, I decided to make a capsule collection that we and women like us would love to wear — focusing on dresses and tops in comfortable fabrics that looked smart and would take you from desk to dinner.
We invited all of the women’s business networks we knew to see the collection and couldn’t believe their enthusiasm. In 2012, we set up The Fold, selling online and directly to women. We went into similar offices to where I used to work and showed our clothes.
Dresses are an amazing foundation for a working wardrobe, a one-piece solution to looking the part. We’ve made a name for ourselves with dresses with sleeves that are still flattering and modern and which aren’t then ruined by an old cardigan in a chilly office.
They’ve been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa Middleton. And I was honoured that BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg chose a Fold dress for the 2017 election night coverage.
Since I started in the world of work, there are more female role models who widen the definition of a traditional dress code.
Our customer can put on a Fold dress and feel like she can conquer the world — then do just that.