Hattie Carnegie Original Two-Piece Dress
date: label: Date made
content: 1948-1949
name: label: used by
content: Patterson, Mrs. Morehead
label: maker
content: Carnegie, Hattie
label: designer
content: Carnegie, Hattie
notes: label: Description
content: This evening dress, made of yellow-green silk satin, with princess-style seams, has a very full skirt, measuring 409-1/2 inches around the hem edge. The gown's pleated portrait collar and short sleeves were cut all-in-one with the upper bodice panel. A separate self-fabric belt with rhinestone buckle encircles the waist. A "Hattie Carnegie Original" designer's label is sewn on an inside skirt seam.
label: Description
content: Hattie Carnegie, one of a few female entrepreneurs in the early to mid-20th century, was born Henrietta Kanengeiser in Vienna, Austria, in 1886. She came to the United States in 1892. Her first job was as a messenger, sometime milliner, and model in Macy's department store. She decided to change her name and chose the surname of the richest man in the country, Andrew Carnegie, to reflect her ambitions. With determination and an innate sense for style and business, she became a symbol of taste and high fashion to many Americans.
label: Description
content: From the very beginning her wholesale and retail establishments attracted the wealthy. She opened her first shop, "Carnegie&#8212;Ladies' Hatter" in 1909, making and selling custom-made dresses and hats. As her business grew, she established her own wholesale house, which manufactured clothing with her label and sold in select stores. Well-known designers such as Claire McCardell and Norman Norell began their careers designing for her. By 1945, her shop on 49th Street in New York had added more departments, including American and French designs and accessories for "smart" dressing.
label: Description
content: This dress was worn by the donor, Mrs. Morehead Patterson, nee Margaret Tilt, the daughter of Charles A. Tilt of Chicago's Diamond T. Motor Car. She was at one time married to Moorehead Patterson, CEO of the American Foundry Machine Company (AMF), New York City.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: made in
content: United States: New York, New York City
label: used in
content: United States: New York, New York City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. Morehead Patterson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CS.248146.006
label: catalog number
content: 248146.006
label: accession number
content: 248146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: dress, 2-piece
label: Other Terms
content: dress, 2-piece; Entire Body; Main Dress; Female
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silk (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: yellow (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: green (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: measurments from center back to hem: 53 in; 134.62 cm
label: Measurements
content: width of skirt: 409 1/2 in; x 1040.13 cm
label: Measurements
content: width of skirt: 409 1/2 in; x 1040.13 cm