Tory Burch Tops Forbes' Businesswomen List

Women are unquestionably at the top of the totem pole within the fashion industry. And amongst those self-made women who founded their own eponymous companies that have bloomed into multimillion dollar enterprises, designer Tory Burch is perhaps one of the most renowned. Forbes released a list of the most affluent and powerful self-made women, and Burch, with her lifestyle designs, clothing line, and covetable accessories, fittingly made the cut.

Though some attribute the designer's prosperity to her now-defunct relationship with tycoon Chris Burch, Tory herself has a discerning eye for design as well as a keen business acumen, the combination of which has yielded an incredibly profitable brand on the brink of its twelfth birthday. Read on for the reasons why Tory Burch does in fact deserve her spot atop Forbes' self-made women list.

1. Burch's products are priced in a more affordable range than other contemporary designers.

2. Despite her reputation as an arbiter of all things preppy, Burch's designs are quite timeless — and therefore not the type of item consumers purchase on a whim, only to realize the product has become staid within the month.

3. Burch began her business within the walls of her own home, albeit one located at New York's esteemed Pierre Hotel. In addition to keeping business costs at a minimum, the decision was, as noted by Vanity Fair, quite a humble move.

4. The designer's eponymous Tory Burch Foundation encourages and finances like-minded women to create their own business from the ground up.

5. According to Anna Wintour, Burch has championed and shepherded her business each step of the way instead of leaving the minutiae to a subordinate within the company. And quite frankly, Anna Wintour's endorsement is sartorial gold.

6. Despite an acrimonious divorce and the subsequent creation of the now-defunct store C.Wonder that many observed closely mimicked the Tory Burch aesthetic, Burch has yet to utter a vicious word about her ex-husband.

7. Unlike many of her colleagues in the fashion industry, Burch creates products that revolve around sartorial experimentation, vivid colors, and, quite simply, optimism. There is something to be said for designs that bring a smile to a consumer's face, and Burch's products are exactly that.

Images: Getty Images (2)