Lane Bryant Inc. is an American women's apparel and intimates specialty retailer focusing on plus-size clothing.

[3] Widowed at an early age, and the orphaned daughter of Lithuanian Jewish refugees, Lena Bryant supported herself and her young son as a dressmaker.

[1] Asked by one of her pregnant customers to design something "presentable but comfortable" to wear in public, Bryant created a dress with an elasticized waistband and accordion-pleated skirt.

To produce in quantity and at lower cost he began to have dozens of dresses mechanically cut at once and employed high-speed sewing methods.

Though Bryant came up with an innovative and commercially viable product, she had trouble getting the word out: Tradition dictated that topics like pregnancy were not discussed in the press.

[1] To bypass exclusion from the newspapers, the Malsins created the first mail order catalog for maternity wear.

Today, Lane Bryant is a large retail chain, present in many shopping centers across the United States.

[7][8][9] On July 23, 2020, the parent company of Lane Bryant and Ann Taylor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns as having “severely disrupted” its financial foundation.

[10] In December of the same year, Ascena Retail Group sold Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor and their related brands to Premium Apparel LLC, an affiliate of Sycamore Partners, for $540 million.

[11] In 2010, Lane Bryant accused Fox and ABC of censoring their 30-second ad spot during commercial breaks for Dancing with the Stars and American Idol.

Lane Bryant accused the networks of discrimination because they had no problem airing Victoria's Secret advertisements, with similarly clad models, in the same time slots.

[12][13] In March 2016, Lane Bryant accused ABC and NBC of banning a 30-second lingerie ad featuring the tagline "This Body", which depicted mild nudity and breastfeeding.

[15][16][17] For Holiday 2013(December 2013), the duo produced a capsule collection with a logo tee and a tote bag featuring Ruben's sketches.