Hattie Carnegie
(1889 - 1956)
Hattie Carnegie, was born Henrietta Kanengeiser in Vienna in 1889. At a young age, Carnegie started her career as a milliner. In 1909 she opened her first shop and called it Carnegie Ladies Hatter, located on East Tenth Street in New York. Hattie Carnegie never learned to sew, but had exceptional
talent for choosing or refining the designs of others. In 1914 she changed the name of her business to Hattie Carnegie, Inc. In 1928, she relocated, to which would become her most famous dress shop on East Forty-Ninth Street.
Carnegie's belief in simplicity of design was in tune with the fashion of the 1930s. She insisted that her designs be elegant, sophisticated and timeless. One of her best remembered suits, which she introduced in the early 1950s, featured a straight skirt topped by a jacket fitted at the waist and flared over the hips. The use of beautiful fabrics and excellent workmanship were her hallmarks.
As her business grew, Carnegie added a modestly priced, ready-to-wear line of clothing that proved to be the most lucrative of her enterprises. She allowed only one department store in a city to carry her new line, breaking from her usual practice of selling her clothes at her own shop. She also added accessories, perfumes, chiffon handkerchiefs, silk hose, and a line of cosmetics to her collections.
By the 1940s Hattie Carnegie was well established as one of America's top designers.Her outstanding work was recognized by two awards: the Neiman-Marcus Award in 1939 and the Coty American Fashion Critics' Award for "consistent contribution to American elegance" in 1948. She also spent years teaching talented young designers such as James Galanos, Norman Norell, Claire McCardell, Paula Trigére, Pauline De Rothschild, and Jean Louis, among others.
Hattie Carnegie died in New York City on February 22, 1956.
