Body Wrappers 25th Anniversary

New York... Body Wrappers, Attitudes in Dressing, one of the few "Made in America" apparel manufacturers left in the United States is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Body Wrappers is also offering their retail customers a direct connection to the factory inventory 24 hours a day, seven days a week with their informative Business2Business website. On the site a customer can log on and find real time inventory information as well as many other resources.

To help mark their 25th Anniversary, Body Wrappers will reintroduce the
original Le Wrap; a one piece garment that wraps around the body and ties to
create five jumpsuit looks and five pants looks, 10 different styles all in one. The
original design was made with a non-stretch printed fabric. The 2006 25th
Anniversary version has been redesigned with a solid stretch fabric.

Marie West founder and President started the company on Jan.17, 1981 and soon partnered up with Nicholas Karant. In 1983 she was joined by Michael Rubin, partner and CEO and together they have built Body Wrappers into one of the most successful dance apparel companies in the world with over 100 employees.

The Body Wrappers factory is located in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 1890 historic landmark building that housed the Singer Sewing machine company. Body Wrappers uses about 167,000 square feet of the building on five levels. Approximately 50,000 square feet of space is used to warehouse inventory. The fifth floor is the home of the company's photography studio and some storage. The fourth floor inventories fabric and contains a large automated cutting room. The third and second levels both hold inventory with the second level also staging shipping and finishing operations. The main floor houses the sewing, pattern making, design, manufacturing and business offices as well as the customer service department.

In June 2001 Body Wrappers® celebrated its 20th anniversary. Marie West, the founder and president, started Body Wrappers® in 1980 in her apartment in Queens, New York with $1000.00 from an inheritance. Marie, who studied fashion at Virginia Commonwealth University, started the business with the idea of being a fashion designer. Her first design, which put her on the map as a company, was called "Le Wrap". It was a one piece, one-size-fits-all wrap type leisurewear garment; hence the name Body Wrappers®.

Today Body Wrappers® showroom and corporate office is located on Broadway in New York City, where every dancer hopes to end up. "We are right here where all the action is," says Marie West, "and through our model Maria Kowroski, principal dancer of the New York City Ballet, know first hand what the professional dancers like to wear. We then take those ideas and adjust them for our young hopefuls, who are between the ages of three and twenty."

Body Wrappers® products are all made in the USA, in the factory in Elizabeth New Jersey. Marie's partner Michael Rubin, is there every day managing every aspect of the operation to assure quality control and good service to their customers.

Body Wrappers® now has over 100 employees and has become one of the prominent names in the dance apparel business. Known for high quality in tights and dance apparel designs, Body Wrappers® continues to grow, just like their customers.

"Our mission as a 26 year old American manufacturer of dance apparel is to produce dancewear of the highest quality, comfort, durability, versatility, value and beauty designed to enhance the experience of the dancer. Body Wrappers is driven to achieve excellence not only through our diverse line of products but in the service offered to our retail partners."

CORE PHILOSOPHY

Integrity: This is our bedrock value. Not only do we aim to provide the world’s best dance products while practicing honest and considerate business ethics, we also feature dancers at the peak of their craft in our marketing materials to give young people the best examples and role models to follow.

Opportunity: We have the resources to create both traditional and trendy dance apparel, needed and desired by all types of dancers. We maintain a constant watch for new and improved fabrics and designs that will enhance the individual dancer’s experience.

Diversity: Body Wrappers works to stay current by offering diversity in our designs as the world of dance evolves from the traditional forms of dance to the more contemporary.

Support: Body Wrappers strives to be a part of the dance community by giving apparel prizes, scholarships and sponsorships to numerous events in all areas of dance. These are made available to our retail partners along with dance organizations, dance teams, and schools.

Community: The Body Wrappers family includes our retail partners as well as our dedicated staff and we are committed to providing our retailing partners with outstanding products, customer service and marketing support that will help all of us grow our businesses within the world of dance.