Cora Outling, 32, pattern maker
By the age of four, Cora Outling was a fashion designer. She made overalls for her dollies using a stapler – since it would take a few more years before she got her own sewing machine.
Today, the 32-year-old is a pattern maker at VF Corp., the Greensboro-based apparel and footwear powerhouse that owns Wrangler, The North Face, 7 For All Mankind and others. The UNC Greensboro grad creates patterns for VF’s workwear brands – sometimes making overalls much more complex than the kind she made for her dolls.
It takes a lot of creativity.
“You can design anything, but it may not be possible or cost effective,” she explains. “So I have to make it possible… or steer it in the direction to make it possible.”
She loves her job.
“I get to experience it all. I can make things and be a part of the process from the beginning.”
She takes her passion for fashion home from the office. Her basement is equipped with a sewing machine and cutting table, so she can design clothing for her two kids.
“Most people would think I couldn’t get a fashion forward job in Greensboro, but [Greensboro] has everything for me and my family.”
