With images of her former Park Slope townhouse in just about every major magazine and home interiors board on Pinterest and the news constantly full of reports of her alleged $1million salary, it's easy to lose sight of just how much Jenna Lyons has brought to the table at J. Crew. Last year the retailer began what is only the beginning of a series of expansion plans when it launched it's European e-commerce site and sales couldn't be better. The fact that a certain First Lady wears the brand - and without a discount - certainly helps. In addition to their great women's wear offerings, the retailer has an extremely successful menswear section, along with kids and bridal wear. Not bad for what was once a catalogue only-company.
Despite being such a powerhouse, Lyons is completely unaware of her ever-growing status. 'I was in Westfield in London and a girl comes up to me and says: 'Are you Jenna Lyons?' My father is British, so I was thinking: are you a long-lost relative? Was I nice to you when we were kids; did I give you some of my Kipling cakes? And she just said she was a huge J Crew fan,' she told Sarah Harris in her profile in the Guardian. 'I was so taken aback.' And that status isn't going to slow down any time soon as Lyons has no intention of leaving J. Crew in the near future. 'I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity that I've been given,' she said. 'This company has changed my life in so many ways, and as long as Mickey wants me here, I will be. My God,' she added, 'he's seriously going to have to give me a cow bell and a green pasture one day, and yell: 'Go! Go girl! Go!' As Harris wrote, we're all grateful.
