 Fashion model  Designer  Knitwear designer  Children’s line designer  Swimwear designer  Partner & Vice President of Townley  Mademoiselle Merit Award, 1943  Coty American Fashion Critics Award, 1944 & 1958  Neiman Marcus Award, 1948  Women’s National Press Club Award, 1950  Parson’s Medal for Distinguished Achievement Award, 1956

 Authored the book: What Shall I Wear? The What, Where, When, and How Much of Fashion  Founder of American ready-to-wear fashion  Named in Life Magazine’s 100 Most Important Americans of the 20 th Century, 1990  Maryland’s Women's’ Hall of Fame

 Casual, yet sophisticated & elegant  Functional  Practical  Comfortable  Feminine  Simple  Inexpensive  Clean cuts › Accentuated the female form  Use of nontraditional fabrics › Wool and cotton swimsuits  Monastic › Dartless › Waistless › Bias-cut › Tent-style  Popover › Wrap-around › Unstructured › Utilitarian › Denim  Diaper Swimsuit

Popover Dress

 Double top-stitching  Brass hardware  Decorative hooks  Metal rivets  Large patch pockets  Empire waists  Leotards  Hoods  Pedal pushers  Dirndl skirts  Fitted bodices  Fitted swimsuits  Full circle skirts  Dresses in: › Manmade fibers › Wool fleece › Denim  Surprising color combinations  Adjustable components › Drawstrings  Necklines  Waists › Spaghetti ties  Mix & match separates

 Intuition  Women’s needs › Ready-to-wear › Travel  Madeleine Vionnet  NOT: › French fashion

Picture from Vogue Magazine, 1945

 Doo Ri Chung  Donna Karan  Anna Sui  Isaac Mizrahi  Cynthia Rowley  Calvin Klein  Elizabeth McKay  Norma Kamali Doo Ri Chung dress

 Seaman, Margo. McCARDELL, Claire. Fashion Encyclopedia, Web. 17 Mar ›  Penn, Irving. “Twelve Beauties.” Vogue, Web. 17 Mar ›  Glamour Splash. Claire McCardell Fashion Timeline and Innovations. Glamour Splash, 4 Feb Web. 17 Mar ›  Glamour Splash. Claire McCardell Sportswear. Glamour Splash, 4 Feb Web. 17 Mar ›  Staley Wise. The Collection, Genevieve Naylor. Staley Wise Gallery, Web. 17 Mar ›  Jen Fitch Style. American High Style: Fashioning a Collection at the Brooklyn Museum. Jen Fitch Style Word Press, 16 June Web. 17 Mar › at-the-brooklyn-museum/ at-the-brooklyn-museum/  Debutant Clothing. Tracey Ulman to Wear Claire McCardell to CFDA. Debutant Clothing, 8 June Web. 17 Mar ›  Colete Patterns. Claire McCardell – The American Look. Colete Patterns. 2 Mar Web. 20 Mar › Websites

 Lee, Sarah Tomerlin. American Fashion: The Life and Lines of Adrian, Mainbocher, McCardell, Norell, Trigere. New York,  Stegemeyer, Anne. Who's Who in Fashion, Third Edition. New York,1996.  Milbank, Caroline Rennolds. Couture: The Great Designers. New York, Books