Claire mccardell monastic dress
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Claire McCardell
Frederick-born Claire McCardell, the "creator of women's sportswear", "the gal who defied Dior", is widely recognized as the woman who pioneered casual, comfortable American sportswear for women.
Ms. McCardell always knew that she wanted to be a fashion designer. As a child she cut her mother's fashion magazines into paper dolls, creating silhouettes of femininity and function. At sixteen, she entered Hood College in Frederick because her parents insisted that she was too young to go to New York City to study. Later, she transferred to Parsons School of Design in New York, from which she graduated in 1928. She started her career as a fashion designer painting rose buds on windowshades. Despite this inauspicious start, Ms. McCardell became the first designer to use zippers, popularize leotards, wear tweed evening coats and put spaghetti straps on evening gowns.
In an October 1955 article by Betty Friedan for Town Jour
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Claire McCardell's name is well-established as one of the most important American designers of the 20th Century. She was educated at Parsons School of Design, where she spent her second year studying and working in Paris. While in Paris, McCardell was exposed to the work of the best French designers of the period.
It's interesting that McCardell, who is considered by many to be the quintessential American designer, was fascinated and influenced by the work of Vionnet. This influence can be seen in McCardell's work throughout her career, especially in her use of the bias cut, and in closings that wrap or tie.
After finishing her schooling, McCardell struggled to find her place in the fashion world. Her big chance came in 1929, when she was hired by designer Robert Turk. In 1931, she went to Townley Frocks as an assistant to Turk when his firm merged with Townley and he was given the job of head designer. When he died in an accident, McCardell was given the job of finishing the fall 1932 line. The designs were a moderate success, and McCardell was
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Claire McCardell
American fashion designer (1905–1958)
Claire McCardell (May 24, 1905 – March 22, 1958) was an American fashion designer of ready-to-wear clothing in the twentieth century. She is credited with the creation of American sportswear.[1]
Early life
McCardell was the eldest of four children born to Eleanor and Adrian McCardell in Frederick, Maryland. Adrian was a Maryland state senator and president of the Frederick County National Bank.[2] As a child, McCardell earned the nickname "Kick" for her ability to keep the boys from pushing her around.[3]
Fascinated by fashion from a young age, McCardell wanted to move to New York City to study fashion design at age 16. Unwilling to send a teenager so far away, McCardell's father convinced her to enroll in the home economics program at Hood College instead. After two years of study in Maryland, McCardell moved to New York and enrolled in Parsons (then known as the New York School of Fine and Applied Art). In 1927, McCardell went to Paris, continuing her studies at the Parsons br
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