Cookie Johnson

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Cookie says she eventually had a realization that changed the course of her career. "I said: 'You know what, it's not me. It's the industry.'" So Cookie decided to take matters into her own hands. "I said: 'That's it. I'm going to create a hot jean for us girls with curves so we can look just as good as that little skinny girl out there.'" 

Cookie launched her very own line of jeans, CJ by Cookie Johnson, in early 2009. One of the secrets to the jeans' success, Cookie says, is stretch. "My partner, Michael Glasser, is an expert at fabrics, and he searched all over and found these wonderful fabrics from Europe that had great stretch to them but were so comfortable at the same time," she says. "We put a silk waistband inside the waist so they will be nice and comfortable. There's a lot of different aspects to this jean that go to comfort."