“It has pockets!” is the universal refrain when a woman tries on a dress and delights in the rare acknowledgment that, yes, women want to carry things too. Sali Christeson, founder of the women’s workwear brand Argent, makes sure her designs come loaded with those details—think plentiful pockets and blazer sleeves that actually stay pushed up. But when she first went out to raise funding, one male venture capitalist gave her a piece of feedback that would make any woman who’s ever cheered for pockets roll her eyes.
On the latest episode of the Marie Claire podcast "Nice Talk", Christeson shares the piece of sexist feedback she still keeps in her “inspire folder.”
“In 2015, I was out raising money—not a lot, but just enough to get Argent off the ground, because there’s a high barrier for entry in apparel. It’s costly,” Christeson tells editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike. “Our deck got in front of a man who’s a partner at a really reputable VC, and his feedback—and I have it saved in my inspire folder—was, ‘We’ve seen a lot of pitches for women’s workwear brands and utility does not belong in women’s clothing.’”
She continues: “This is a 50-ish-year-old straight white man. That’s the demographic that’s been leading this industry … They’re making decisions without having the lived experience.”
Christeson knew firsthand that women were “frustrated” by the options available. She had been working in a corporate job at Cisco Systems before launching Argent, and the evidence was everywhere.
“‘Utility doesn’t belong in women’s clothing?’ What’s, like, the most meme-d thing across the internet? It’s pockets. So I already knew there was an opportunity. But I love stuff like this. I love people who don’t believe in me.”
Today, Argent is worn by many high-profile women, including Hillary Clinton, Meghan Markle, and Kamala Harris. Christeson calls seeing celebrities in her designs “pretty surreal,” adding that it “legitimizes and gives credibility to our business, because we are still small.”
But it isn’t the big names that drive her. “I consider our woman to be time-constrained, a pioneer, and most often not a household name,” she explains. “The woman I get most excited about is behind the scenes—a chemist in a lab, someone creating a cure for morning sickness. I get really excited about that doctor who’s working on that. These are the women who are truly incredible and remarkable, leaving their mark on the world.”
For more from Christeson—including the study linking women’s appearance and income that inspired her to start Argent, and her take on the term girlboss—check out this week's installment of "Nice Talk". The episode is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.
