Meet Diane Gilman

We recently connected with Diane Gilman and have shared our conversation below.

Diane, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

The truth is my purpose found me. It appears I knew what I not only wanted, but must do, from a very young age. I was born to live, breathe and design fashion.
I was born in the late 40s, a time when movies, not fashion, dominated the magazines. And I wanted to design the female star’s costumes. I was so different from other little girls. I didn’t have any desire to play with baby dolls, I was more interested in creating clothing for them.
I was obsessed! There was no fast-fashion. There were no female fashion designers (besides Coco Chanel). And women were not encouraged to have a career. Actually, there was no such thing as a “career woman”, and yet that’s what I knew I was destined to pursue.
I had no family support, only disapproval, obstruction and belittlement for my dreams. yet I pursued them. When I realized the conflict my “purpose” created, that my dreams were never going to gain family acceptance, I knew I had to choose the unthinkable. I had to choose between family and purpose, which for me was fashion design. Purpose won.
I taught myself to sew, to make patterns, to sketch and draw my fashion ideas into reality. There was no mistaking that great feeling of fulfilling your destiny. All through my life, even in the tough times, my purpose and my talent carried me through. Designing fashion was as important to me as breathing air. It is that elemental to me.
My best advice is if you find your purpose, don’t let others drag you down. I learned that those who couldn’t or wouldn’t support my dreams simply weren’t meant to stand beside me in that moment. Manifesting your destiny is honoring your purpose, what you were meant to do. It was my privilege to accomplish something I loved and fought for, no matter the obstacles. I made my own dreams come true.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

A serial entrepreneur and fashion rule-breaker, I started my love affair with fashion in the 1960’s when I opened a boutique in LA called “I’m a Hog For You Baby”, where my friend and co-owner, Rosanna Norton, and I would sew all of the dresses to stock our store. I went on to paint, embroider, and bejewel jeans for rock icons such as Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Grace Slick and Jimi Hendrix.
After moving to New York to fully commit to a career in fashion, a chance encounter while working in Bloomingdale’s led to the start of my brand of the first-ever line of washable silk garments called the “Diane Gilman Collection”. Shortly followed by my clothing line “Diane Gilman for CABAL”, which soon was distributed to every major department store and boutique nationwide.
However, not unlike many women’s stories, true recognition came later in life with the launch of my denim brand, DG2 Jeans- the “middle-aged jean” on the Home Shopping Network at the age of 60. DG2 by Diane Gilman became the top tele-retailing brand globally, making over $100 million dollars a year in retail sales domestically, and could be seen on QVC UK, Italy, France, Australia & Canada.
In 2017 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This diagnosis forced me to step back from TV while I recovered. During this time, I felt I needed to expand my purpose. Yes, my DG2 jean for middle-aged women was a lifeline to aging more gracefully, but there was so much more to giving comfort to my Baby Boomer community. So, I published my 2nd book, Too Young To Be Old, partly autobiographical and partly self-help.
I took a deep breath and even though I was tele-retail’s (QVC/HSN) #1 Fashion personality, I felt I had more to give and left everything in my career I was familiar with. At the age of 77, I began a new career as a podcast host (which I named after my 2nd book, Too Young To Be Old) and moved into the wild west and the unknown of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to become a silver-haired Influencer.
At age 78, I just published my 3rd book: Women Thrive Vol. III, an international anthology of inspirational stories about women facing huge obstacles in life and triumph over tragedy. And I am proud to announce Women Thrive Vol. III is an Amazon Bestseller!
I knew retirement was not for me, but I also knew staying in the same safe place (tele-retail) was no longer stimulating and I needed to refresh myself to start learning and challenging my talents. After 30 years on TV, I slipped right into podcasting and loved it. The move was scary but exhilarating at the same time and after just 1 year, we are the #3 “Podcast for Women Over 50” on Feedspot with a fast-growing audience, which now makes me officially a silver-haired influencer!
I am loving every minute of my new career adventure, at an age where most people, especially women, don’t know there can be new beginnings. I am here to tell them there is a vibrant life to accomplish past 50!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I managed to have a 50-year career in Fashion, which is truly a privilege. If you asked me what were the elements that supported such a long and successful career, I would say dedication to materializing your dreams, love of your craft, and patience.
1. Cherish and nurture your dreams. Don’t let anyone take those away from you!
2. Honor your choices and be brave enough to defend and pursue them when no one around you may understand.
3. Finally- Be patient! You may have a wish for youthful success, but it doesn’t always work that way. My greatest fashion “lightbulb moment” didn’t manifest until I was 60. Way past the age of most fashion stars, and long after most designers quit the youth-obsessed fashion industry. It was no less fantastic just because I wasn’t young anymore. In fact, it was better! My late success made my journey so unique, it became a theme of overcoming society’s negative view of aging and fueled my 2nd, 3rd and possibly 4th books- all focused on viewing aging as a privilege, not a punishment.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

My #1 obstacle, currently, is age itself. Our society is so youth-obsessed and judgemental of aging- especially for women. I have found I do not get as many opportunities as I deserve because people prejudge me and have an image of me that is pre-set in their minds for what a 78-year-old should be and what they can do.
My passion at this stage of my life is to bust those images and show how great our “Third Act” can be. I refuse to set limitations on myself or my female sisterhood just for a number. We are now the majority of Americans (over 50) and we need to start acting like it. Be brave, be bold, believe in your personal power, forge your own reality and never stop dreaming! It is never too late to “start over”!

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Image Credits

Josh Lehrer

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