Claire McCardell
(1906-1958)
Claire McCardell was born in Frederick, Maryland, in 1905, where she attended Hood College. She also studied fashion design at the Parsons School of Design in New York City in 1928. Her first jobs were as a fit model for B. Altman and company, and as a salesperson
and design assistant with Emmet Joyce; an exclusive, made-to-order salon on Fifth Avenue. McCardell worked for Sol Pollack (a knitwear manufacturer). In 1929, McCardell was working as a design assistant to Robert Turk, an independent designer and dressmaker, who later in the 1930s went to work for Townley Frocks as chief designer, and convinced her to follow him. In 1932, Turk died in an accident and McCardell was promoted to Chief designer at Townley.
McCardell eventually became a partner and head designer for Townley. She pioneered the concept known as the “American Look.” She was one of the most influential women’s sportswear designers of the twentieth century. McCardell’s first commercial hit came in 1938 with the “Monastic” dress, an unfitted, waist-less shift, cut on the bias, that hung straight from the waist and was belted in any way the wearer chose. It became so popular that it was copied by competitors and remained in her line in updated versions for almost twenty years. McCardell was also successful in the creation of “capsule dressing,” a five easy pieces innovation, which became the foundation of today’s mix-and-match separates concept. In 1942, her blue denim “Popover” dress was made specifically for at-home domestic work or gardening and even included an attached oven mitt.
Claire McCardell achieved international fame during her lifetime, appearing on the cover of Time magazine; and in 1957 she authored a book on her fashion philosophy, What Shall I Wear? McCardell was diagnosed with cancer in 1958, at the height of her success and died that same year.
