Before converting a set of handkerchiefs into a bra and panties that began a 40-year career for her and her best friend, Gale Epstein dabbled in many varieties of D.I.Y.

“I had a lot of stuff from her,” said Lida Orzeck, 70, Ms. Epstein’s business partner and longtime friend. It was a cold afternoon in March, and she was seated next to Ms. Epstein, 71, at a long white table at the Park Avenue headquarters of Hanky Panky, the underwear company the two women founded in 1977. “You were getting jeans from vintage shops, then you sewed up the bottoms or something and made them into pocketbooks.”

“That was my denim period, yes,” said Ms. Epstein, a Parsons School of Design graduate. “I had a suede period too. That was your first wedding dress. That was pre-Hanky Panky, so that was suede and appliqué. The second was during Hanky Panky, so it was hand-embroidered silk scarves that we were using in our line.”

“My wedding dresses are only two out of, what, 10?” Ms. Orzeck said. “Gale also has a lot of sisters and other friends.”