SURE you're "showing." And you'd look sleekly proud-of-it in this cocktail dress. Or how about this stylish button-front shirt? Maybe a pair of leather pants to go with that? j While you're looking, though, don't stress yourself out. Come, take a break on this plush sofa; here, page through this interesting coffee table book.

No, this isn't your ordinary maternity store. This is Liz Lange, on New York City's Madison Avenue. And it being Saturday afternoon, you're in for a further treat: Lange herself is going to personally help you find your look for this special time in your life.

For the company's 39-year-old namesake, there's no joy like doing what she does best: Helping pregnant women find maternity clothes that make them feel good about themselves. It's like, well, leading a revolution.

"We've changed the way people dress when they are pregnant," she says enthusiastically.

With the same evident pride, Lange anticipates expanding the already multimillion-dollar company. But for now, there's also just the hands-on fun of it: "I visit my Madison Avenue store at least twice a week. I was the only salesperson for so long that it is really hard to stay away," she explains.

Bit by the Fashion Bug

Growing up in New York City, Lange caught the fashion bug early on in life but never envisioned how it would eventually captivate her. She majored in comparative literature at Brown University and after graduating, landed a job with Vogue magazine. She met a struggling young designer, Stephen DiGeronimo, who invited her to his showroom in the garment district.

"I fell in love with the idea of how a garment becomes a garment. I begged him to let me work for him," she said. He did.

Inspiration struck when her fashion sense collided with a peculiar need. As a young wife herself, she circulated in a crowd that soon included many moms-to-be. Their complaints seemed universal: There was nothing stylish for pregnant women to wear. And yikes, most of the going fashions for expectant moms were themselves baby-doll cute.

A woman has a baby, not morphs into one, Lange thought.

"The clothes were appalling. Fabrics were cheap, and the styling did not resemble non-maternity clothing," she recalls. "Pregnancy is a process, an evolution, and the clothes out there didn't take this into consideration. They were all so oversized and unflattering."

A Line With a Difference

Lange set out to change that. She started in a small office with one phone and the belief that her high-end fabrics and stylish designs would differentiate her from the others. "I used good fabrics that stretched so the clothes could grow with the pregnancy. Plus, my styles were just like what non-pregnant women wear," she explained. She knew she was taking a huge risk - a $35,000 one to be exact. That was the amount she borrowed from her parents to have her first sample line created. It was built around core pieces found in any wardrobe: stretch pants, button-front shirts, and pull-on skirts. No baggy blouses or cutesy bows, just classic-cut sweaters, pants, and dresses in sensuous fabrics like wool, cashmere, and silk.

At the beginning, her only customers were pregnant friends whom she would meet with by appointment. She would show them her samples and if they wanted one of the pieces she would order it and wait about two weeks for delivery.

It worked, word got around, and business began to pick up.

The demand prompted her to open a small store in a second-floor space on Lexington Avenue and 73rd Street. She quickly outgrew that space and in 2000, opened her flagship store on Madison Avenue and 75th Street. Today, there are two others Liz Lange boutiques, one in Long Island and another in Beverly Hills.

"It took off way beyond my wildest expectations. The demand was so strong that I was working around the clock," Lange recalls.

The thrill was mutual: The expectant customers could dress like they always did, and many wrote Lange to thank her. Even celebrities came calling.

But the fan mail included some criticism: Not everyone could handle price tags averaging around $150. "Some of the letters I received said things like, 'Gee, I would like to dress like that but I don't have Cindy Crawford's budget,'" she said.

The complaints got her thinking sympathetically - and seeing new opportunity: Maybe she could create a more affordable collection to add to her product line. And that is exactly what she did, by partnering with Target stores. The national chain now features Lange's collection at prices topping out at $32.

Drowning Out the Negative

"Many thought designing Liz Lange-branded clothes for a huge discount retailer was a terrible idea. They said it would hurt my brand. I had to ignore the naysayers and listen to my instincts. I blocked out the noise and forged ahead."

Lange also benefited big-time, literally, by becoming an integral part of Target's ad campaign and being featured in magazine ads, newspaper inserts, and on TV. Suddenly, all of America got to know her name.

She subsequently widened the road to success through partnership, becoming the first designer to ever partner with Nike in 2001. Their new product line: maternity workout wear. Last year, Lange also started two upscale wholesale divisions that distribute to specialty maternity stores worldwide. She's also put out a book, Liz Lange's Maternity Style, that offers tips on how to dress fashionably during pregnancy.

While riding the crest of business development, Lange notes, she was also building that big other part of her life as a wife and mother. Lange now resides in Manhattan with her seven-year-old-son Gus, five-year-old-daughter Alice, and husband Jeff, a fellow entrepreneur who has his own derivatives/software business.

"I love what I do, but when I'm not working, I'm with my family. Ten years ago," Lange says, "I had lots of time for friends and lunches and coffees and dinners. But something has to give. To be a good wife, mom, and businesswoman, I don't do that anymore. I have a Saturday night dinner-and-movie date with my husband. We're kind of boring now."

Lange the Leader

Lange oversees a staff of 40 that includes the employees in her three stores. Many of them contacted Lange to compliment her clothing line, and that prompted her to favor them when jobs opened up.

"When you have a small business, it is important to have employees who are loyal to you and the brand. I hire people who approach me because they love the brand," she said. "I offer my employees a lot of independence, I encourage entrepreneurial spirit. I empower them to make decisions. I want them to think about the company in general and not just their specific role."

Lange didn't set out to be a leader, but her success has forced her to become one. She's learned the most about the intricacies of leadership by actually leading.

"An entrepreneur who finds himself or herself being a leader is different than other leaders. I don't have a corporate culture; I didn't come out of a corporation. I know how to do every single job in this company and I expect everyone to do as good a job or better than I did. I am passionate about the company and I have a vision of where we're going," she said.

Like many successful business figures, Lange works at open communication with her staff, including being candid about the ups and downs of the business.

"I try to be as accessible as I can be. My door is always open. My employees do not need an appointment to see me," she says.

"I instill in them the fact that I understand that mistakes happen and that I don't believe in the blame game. I don't want them to expend energy on covering their mistakes. They all know I'm never going to be angry about mistakes but I would be angry if they don't brainstorm for a resolution."

The important thing is getting a problem out of the way because, "you can never lose sight of the future," she says. "I have a small team that is extremely busy with licensing, wholesale, retail, manufacturing. It's like we're pushing a rock up the hill every day."

Lange said her leadership skills have been helped by her activities in organizations that cater to entrepreneurs. She is a member of the Committee of 200 (C200), an international not-for-profit membership association whose members are pre-eminent businesswomen who collectively control more than $100 billion annually in revenue, and Ladies Who Launch, a fast growing, women's business group. She cites two successful leaders in particular who serve as her mentors and sounding boards: Meg Touborg of Waterworks, previously with Kate Spade, and Pauline Brown, senior vice president, global business development of Avon.

But then there's the one adviser who knows her best. "I must say the best advice I've gotten in life about business was from my husband," Lange concludes. "He exuded in me the notion of shutting out the negativity and negative noise. You have to keep looking positively toward the future. Don't let yesterday's mistakes get in your way because they don't help."

Andrea Doyle is Convene's senior writer. The Leading by Example series is sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission. Visit its Web site at www.CanadaMeetings.com.