Summary of Fashion Mogul Says Working Moms Need to Stop Apologizing

Overview of Fashion Mogul Says Working Moms Need to Stop Apologizing

This live The Journal conversation features host Jessica Mendoza interviewing fashion entrepreneur Emma Grede in New York City during Fashion Week. Grede, co-founder of Good American, Skims, and Off Season, shares how she builds successful businesses, why celebrity partnerships only work when there’s real business substance behind them, and why she believes women—especially working mothers—need to stop apologizing for ambition, money, and trade-offs.

Main Takeaways

• Fashion success comes from solving real consumer problems, not just following trends.

  • Grede says she looks for underserved markets and gaps in the industry rather than chasing fashion-week hype.
  • Her businesses succeeded because they addressed overlooked needs, like extended sizing and better-designed fan apparel for women.

• Celebrity partnerships work only when the celebrity is a true business partner.

  • She argues that celebrity status can boost visibility, but it does not replace product quality, operational strength, or long-term customer loyalty.
  • The talent helps accelerate awareness; the business has to deliver the product.

• Timing matters, but so does instinct.

  • Grede says she has an “acute awareness” of what’s happening in the market and tries to move where others are ignoring opportunities.
  • She emphasizes innovation over imitation.

• Women are frequently underserved in both fashion and sports merchandise.

  • Her brand Off Season focuses on women’s fan apparel that feels stylish and wearable, rather than generic oversized merch.
  • She sees women as a major commercial force because they often control household spending.

Money, Power, and Business Philosophy

Talking openly about money

Grede is outspoken about women discussing money more freely and specifically. Her view is that silence around money helps keep women underpaid, under-informed, and less empowered.

• She says men commonly discuss salaries, mortgages, investments, and credit rates openly.
• Women, by contrast, are often socialized to avoid direct money conversations.
• Her goal in writing a book and launching a podcast was to share information rather than gatekeep it.

The reality behind wealth

Grede doesn’t romanticize her success or pretend it happened through “manifesting” alone.

• She stresses that her net worth came from ownership, risk-taking, and trade-offs.
• Her message is that success has a cost, and people should be honest about that cost.
• She pushes back on simplified “girlboss” narratives that make wealth look effortless.

Motherhood and the “Mom Guilt” Conversation

One of the episode’s central themes is Grede’s rejection of the idea that working mothers should feel constant guilt.

• She says she works hard and is proud of it.
• She believes many women have inherited guilt from previous generations and should stop apologizing for being away from their kids when work requires it.
• Grede describes herself as a “max three-hour mom” and says that label was meant to challenge the idea that good parenting requires constant presence.

Her point on parenting

• Being a good mother is not determined by the number of hours spent with children.
• She says her children see her ambition and work ethic, which is part of the example she wants to set.
• She insists that trade-offs are real, but they are not something women should be ashamed of.

Notable Insights

• “What you can do with talent is accelerate visibility. To make a real product work, you need a business partner.”
• “If you avoid conversations around money, the money avoids you.”
• “I’m not in apology mode.”
  Grede uses this attitude to describe both her work life and her approach to motherhood.
• “More women in positions of power would be a pretty good thing in this world.”
  Her larger argument is that women should be more visible, more financially literate, and more candid about the realities of ambition.

Context and Closing

The episode was recorded live in New York City and framed around Fashion Week and the business of fashion. It closes with The Journal’s standard sign-off, along with credits from live-event listeners. The interview is ultimately a candid discussion of fashion, money, entrepreneurship, and rejecting guilt-based expectations placed on women.