Her name is Roslyn Jaffe and she founded the company Dressbarn.

She's truly a trailblazer for female entrepreneurs. She just celebrated her 90th birthday and the parent company she owns is an umbrella brand for big labels like Ann Taylor and Loft.

Mrs. J, as she likes to be called, told me about the early days of her career right here in New York City.

"I came into the city after college, and had an apartment with two other girls, one bedroom, three cots in the same bedroom. At that time women could be working in stores, teachers. There were limits to even what a college graduate could do. So I came to New York and got a job in Gimbels... And met my husband, who was at Macy's on the training program," recalls Jaffe.

 

Annika Pergament: You said it was so difficult for women aside from those limited careers to go out and break out on their own and do something spectacular. So what gave you the courage to take that leap and found your own company?

Mrs. J: At that point, we had three children and they were 3, 5 and 7. I was raising the children, but things were changing in the retail field… And it was like a big revolution in retailing. Women were coming into the workplace and they needed clothes to wear. With all this new stuff going on, it was like why don’t we do something?"

Roslyn is still keeping busy. She just started fielding nominees for her annual awards program, where she gives money to charities that promote female business and social leaders.

Jaffe also helped ring in Women's History Month in a special way.

She was invited to the Nasdaq on Tuesday for the opening bell.