page_title: Claire McCardell
section_title: 1930s and 1940s
hierarchical_section_title: Claire McCardell / 1930s and 1940s
caption_attribution_description: English: Sunburn-brown jersey beachware designed by Claire McCardell, 1948 Identifier: ladieshomejourna65janwyet (find matches) Title: The Ladies' home journal Year: 1889 (1880s) Authors: Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers), 1882-1945 Subjects: Women's periodicals Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive Publisher: Philadelphia&#160;: (s.n.) Contributing Library: Internet Archive Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: ' Text Appearing After Image: BEAUTY AND DISTINCTION OF CUSTOM CAR STYLING Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer of ready-to-wear clothing in the twentieth century. She is credited with the creation of American sportswear.
context_section_description: Late in 1930, McCardell began working as an assistant designer for Robert Turk. Soon afterward, Turk moved to a larger company, Townley Frocks, and brought McCardell with him.  In 1932, Turk drowned and Claire was asked to finish his fall line.
  The 27-year-old chief designer soon traveled to Paris for inspiration, as did most American designers. Not interested in copying European high fashion, McCardell searched for inspiration in art and street fashion. During the 1930s, began to show innovations such as sashes, spaghetti string ties, and the use of menswear details that would become part of her design signature. In 1938, she modernized the dirndl. She also pioneered matching separates.
  In 1938, Claire McCardell introduced the Monastic Dress, a bias-cut tentlike dress. It had no seamed waist and hung loosely, but with a versatile belt it could be adapted to hug a woman's curves gracefully.  Best & Co. exclusively sold the dress for $29.95 and it sold out in a day. The "Monastic Dress" was widely copied and the cost of trying to stop knock-offs drove Townley Frocks out of business.
  After the closure of Townley Frocks, Hattie Carnegie hired McCardell to work for her famed dressmaking firm, but her designs were not successful with Carnegie's clients, who were in search of more elaborate merchandise. While working for Hattie Carnegie, McCardell met Diana Vreeland (then at Harper's Bazaar). She would become McCardell's lifelong friend and champion. In 1940, just before leaving Carnegie, McCardell attended her last Parisian fashion show, preferring from then on to avoid any French influence on her clothing.
  Townley Frocks reopened in 1940 under new management and McCardell returned to the brand. The company's labels then read, "Claire McCardell Clothes by Townley", making her one of the first American designers to have name recognition.
  World War II cut American designers off from European inspiration and limited the availability of some materials.  McCardell flourished under these restrictions. Although many designers considered them too basic, McCardell already worked with fabrics  such as denim, calico, and wool jersey that were easily available during the war. She popularized the ballet flat when, responding to the shortage of leather, McCardell commissioned Capezio to produce a range of ballet flats to match her designs. When the government announced a surplus of weather balloon cotton materials in 1944, McCardell quickly bought them up, using them to design clothes that patriotic American women wore with pride.
  In 1941, McCardell produced a line of separates that made nine outfits from five pieces. The pieces included a taffeta skirt, a jersey top, and a jersey jacket. That same year, she showed her first "Kitchen Dinner Dress". Made of cotton, the "Kitchen Dinner Dress" had a full skirt with an attached apron.
  In 1942, McCardell created her famed "Popover Dress". It was a response to a Harper's Bazaar challenge to create something fashionable one could wear to clean the house and then, wear to a cocktail party. The simple grey dress came with a matching potholder that fit into the dress pocket. The "Popover Dress" sold for $6.95  and more than 75,000 were sold in the first season alone.  These dresses became a staple of McCardell collections and over time, she made versions in different lengths and fabrics. The "Popover Dress" received a citation from the American Fashion Critics Association and in 1943, McCardell won a Coty Award.
  Beginning in 1945, McCardell was featured as an "American Look" designer by Lord & Taylor's department store. In 1946, McCardell won the Best Sportswear Designer Award and in 1948 she won the Neiman-Marcus Award.
caption: Beachwear designed by McCardell circa 1948
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