Virginia Inman
 

Pamela Miller "was troubled watching executive women look like bag ladies" as they walked to Wall Street carrying their dress shoes in plastic bags. She started P.A.M. Designs Inc., in Brooklyn, N.Y., which designs, manufactures, and sells "briefcase saddle bags" -- water-resistant bags that fit over the handle of a briefcase and drape down the sides. The bags can hold newspapers, umbrellas, or a fresh shirt, as well as dress shoes. Miller first sold to such retailers as Macy's but now focuses on the corporate promotion market, too, since the bags can be silk-screened with a corporate logo and "these people don't buy a dozen or two dozen, they say 5,000."