The Juicy founders met at a mutual friend's clothing store in Los Angeles 16 years ago.
gela Nash-Taylor was a struggling actress with a baby on the way. Pamela Skaist-Levy, a fashion school grad, was designing hats. (This gives you the G&P).

Their first creation was maternity blue jeans: They spent $200 adding elastic to some old Levi's and sold them at maternity clothes stores. After a photograph of actress Melanie Griffith in their jeans appeared in Glamour, sales took off.

Maternity jeans aside, it was their reinvention of the sweat suit in 2001 that got the world's attention. It was cut to show off curves, came in pastel colors and plush fabrics such as velour and terry cloth, and cost about $200. Later, they splashed the word "Juicy" across the rear end. Celebrities such as Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez wore the sweat suits everywhere. Taylor says she realized they had created a fashion phenomenon one afternoon while standing on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills: Women on all four corners were wearing their sweats. "It was what we call a major Juicy sighting," she says.