Every fashionista knows that most of the big design houses are started, funded and run by men. There are some gutsy women who start their own lines,

The gutsy woman recently succumbed to cancer after a 10+ year, on-off fight against the disease. She was 78 years old.

It's hard to believe but it has been 31 years since she started her own line in 1976 after leaving her post as Chief Designer of Junior Dresses for Jonathan Logan. Four years later in 1980, she became the first female to win the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year in fashion design.

By 1986, Liz Claiborne was in the Fortune 500 and changing the way American thought about women's career attire by adding more flattering (instead of straight and manly) silhouettes and splashes of color that were unheard of in the days of drab grey, black and navy-only female career wear.

Though the Liz Claiborne, Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand Jeans lines are the most famous of the LC umbrella, other brands in the company, which reached $5 billion in sales last year, include: Axcess, Bora Bora, C & C California, City Unltd, Crazy Horse, Curve, Dana Buchman, Elisabeth, Ellen Tracy, Emma James, Enyce, First Issue, Intuitions, J.H. Collectibles, Kate Spade, Kenzie, Kenziegirl, Laundry by Shelli Segal, Mac & Jac, Mambo, Marvella, Monet, Monet 2, Narciso Rodriguez, Prana, Realities, Sigrid Olsen, Soul, Spark, Stamp 10, Tapemeasure, Tint, Trifari, Villager, and Yzza.

That is one gutsy broad to go from a simple, almost anonymous dress designer to all of that. We salute you, Liz Claiborne! Heaven just got a lot more stylish with your presence.