Businessweek
The Designer Who Taught American Women How to Dress
A new biography of Claire McCardell tells the story of her pioneering quest to make women’s clothing comfortable, stylish and modern.
A coat, skirt and blouse designed by Claire McCardell, as seen in Vogue in 1952.
Photographer: Roger Prigent/Condé Nast/Getty Images
In Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free , Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson describes how McCardell invented the idea of separates, rejecting the pomp of European couture and creating a cost-conscious and utilitarian form of dress that’s nonetheless enduringly stylish—and distinctly American.
“Men are free of the clothes problem—why shouldn’t I follow their example?”