Sag Harbor - Among the social and fashionable set in The Hamptons is one lady who has undertaken a very clever way to assist women in their pursuit of running, expanding, owning and financing their own businesses.

Hearst is well known for her fashion sense.

Barbara Hearst is a woman with a head for business, an artist's eye for color and design, and a heart for giving back. Combining all of this she founded B. Hearst Design - but here's what makes her company different from many ladies of a certain socio-economic level and their charitable endeavors - her business is in the business of giving money to women in business - and Hearst does mean business.

Dividing her time between both Sag Harbor and her home in Charleston, SC, Hearst sat down recently to reveal what she hopes to accomplish with her new undertaking - an undertaking that will eventually benefit women all over the country who have needs, hopes and desires to act on their ideas and maintain businesses in a particularly difficult economy.

As she explains, "It started with Executive Director, Jennet Robinson Altermanat, of the Center for Women in Charleston, where I spend the winters, who asked for my help in setting up a micro-loan program for women. When I asked her what constitutes a micro-loan, she replied 'Well, it could be $500 to $20,000, and I said I think I could help set up something like that."

Hearst continues "A few months later I was standing in my closet, which, I admit, is substantial, and I was looking for a dress to wear that was mid-way between Oscar de la Renta and a GAP tee-shirt, I couldn't find anything so I went on line and looked around the web and still couldn't find what I wanted - so I decided to design it myself."

Hearst designed the company logo as well.

"You must understand," Hearst elaborates "There was nothing I could find for anyone over 5'2" or over 22. Since I have collected fabrics for many years from all over the world during my travels to India, Africa, Europe, etc. at first I thought, well I'll hire a seamstress to use these fabrics to make a few great shirts for me. Since I have a background in design, art, and was a photo stylist for many years, I knew I had the product, and maybe the Center had women who might want to do this to receive a micro-loan."

"That was the initial concept but then the problems of quality control, manufacturing, etc. came to light, and as I thought about it, I realized this was simply not a sustainable model. So from that idea I contacted Mayor Bloomberg's Office for Economic Development and found a tailor, pattern maker, and someone who knew how the back rooms of Seventh Avenue and the Garment District worked. We were still going to make dresses out of the fabrics, but it just became more and more complicated, and more and more expensive to make the dresses, and I wanted to appeal to much more of a mass market, so the concept of a shirt was born. It's my design, and I worked with my pattern maker and tailor to create the shirt, such as the collar and the sleeve length, the fit, the color - but I had no experience with marketing or selling such a product. I wanted the whole business model to be similar to Newman's Own, and the wonderful accomplishments that business model has achieved."

The shirts are made in the U.S. in a factory whose primary client is Disney, and Hearst is hands on in the production, assuring that "I would not exploit women on one end in order to help women on the other end. Right now I'm looking for a professional distribution representative because that's what I need as I've spent a great deal of time meeting with retailers directly."

B. Hearst Design wants women to know that "Looking great never felt so good." (bhearst.com)

She also created a website to sell the shirts, which are 100 percent cotton, custom dyed in more than a dozen colors, come in sizes XS to XXL - same price for all sizes, are machine washable, and retail for $68. They are fitted and V-necked, with slight shoulder pads, and an ever-so-slight collar with three-quarter-length sleeves that curve on the outer elbow and cut in on the other side, or long sleeve, and can go from one season to the next and be worn for formal or informal occasions.

According to Hearst, "These are rich colors and unless you have the complexion of a three-year-old most women don't look good in pastels, but in richer, brighter colors because basically there are two kinds of complexions - cool and warm - I have tried to make sure in color selections that they flatter each skin type."

Even the shopping bags are a vibrant color.

The shirts are currently available in The Hamptons at Tutto Bene in Bridgehampton, as well as local shops in Charleston, and can be purchased at www.bhearst.com. "It's a fully functioning e-commerce site" that Hearst developed to sell the shirts directly to the consumer. She hopes to add dresses (to the knee as an extension of the shirt) as well. An important emblem to Hearst that is on the shirts is the Venus symbol for women, tripled to show women helping women.

Hearst also made a special point of explaining that "Saks is planning a promotion, and also gave the Foundation a generous contribution. There are no profits now even though we have made grants, and right now we have no full time employees - except me!"

Since the impetus for this undertaking was to raise money for micro-loans for women, Hearst further explained "I have always made grants or donations to various charities, and in particular to the Center for Women, so as a result of this I established the Good4Women Foundation, which is comprised of a board of five women, including myself."

Hearst stressed that "Good4Women is a 501(c)(3) organization with a Board, and B. Hearst is for profit, and supposed to make money from the sale of the shirts. The after tax profit from the sale of the shirts goes to the Foundation, and "Since the Board is not versed enough in the applications for the micro-loans, and I don't want to deal directly with the micro-loans, I want to give grants to organizations who's business is doing that - such as the Center in Charleston." The Board reviews and awards "Organizations that have proven expertise in effectively helping women, therefore, once the Foundation makes the grant these organizations will know how to distribute the money to reach the most women, so any woman who is applying for a grant is not doing so directly to the Foundation, but to whatever organization the Foundation has made the grants to."

One of the shirts that can be purchased in more than a dozen colors.

Also, Hearst commented that "The women don't just receive the money, they also receive legal, accounting, and marketing support as well."

The various organizations that funnel the money do not need to report to the Board as to who has received the money, "Because once the grant is made it's their money," according to Hearst. "However, because I am working closely with the Center for Women in Charleston I have met the first two loan recipients - one is a woman who does pre-packaged birthday parties who could only do parties for small groups, however, with a micro-loan she was able to purchase a trailer so she could take on parties for 30 or more children, or do two parties at the same time, and the other started her own commercial cleaning business, and with a micro-loan she has been able to upgrade her computer software to increase her clientele."

Hearst concluded "This shirt is a mass product for under $100 and if we can make this a substantial company than we will really be able to help not only the Charleston Center for Women, which has a long and nationally recognized track record of helping women, but other organizations whose business it is to help women. I wanted to turn the initial request into an income generating opportunity that would benefit many women."

Hearst's advice to all women considering starting a new business is to "Become involved and once you come up with an idea be very hands on." Commenting on her own undertaking she revealed "If it's going to be a success I have to be hands on. In a year from now I'm sure I'll still have to be as hands on with it as much as I am now if it's going to be a successful company. I have to learn what a bar code is, how it works, how your company uses it. I have no background in the garment district, but I have worked in fabrics and fibers and have a strong background in color. I used to work for a fibers company when I first came to New York, so now I'm exploring my love of color in a new medium and I'm bringing to it my background as a painter, colorist, designer. I have found that it all comes together, all your life experiences go into it."

"Style that gives back" is the company motto for B. Hearst Design.

"My vision is to see it become a lifestyle line - not so much just this year's hot new trend. I'd like to have the shirt be in every woman's closet. I'm also ensvisioning table linens - I have all these ideas - I hope women will feel this garment is fun, not a lot of money and it can spark up your closet or decor - eventually I'd like to introduce patterns into the line as well."

I feel that empowering women who have already hired other women, even with the small amounts that have been distributed already, is also doing some good along the way, and I hope that there are many women's organizations around the country that can take this money and do some terrific things with it, because if you help women - you help everybody - including men, children and society."

For more information go to www.bhearst.com.