When Nikki Hardin started skirt! in 1994, there wasn’t anything around quite like it, especially not for women. Her mission was to have a publication that spoke to all sides of a woman’s personality, what she describes as part feminista, part fashionista . If skirt! had an ideal reader, her name would be “Martha Steinem” because most of skirt!’s readers are kickass liberals who also like to shop and cook and don’t think wearing lipstick means you don’t have a brain.  Morris Media Network acquired skirt! in 2004, Nikki Hardin leads the brand out of Charleston overseeing its expansion to 5 print markets and 32 digital markets.