Very well researched, this is the story of how NYC came to be the Fashion capital of the world when Paris was shut down in WWII by the Nazis, and the (mostly) women who made that happen. Empresses of Seventh Avenue tells the story of the designers, magazine fashion editors, the NYC manufacturing district and more, who stepped up and made American fashion and ready to wear great, during a time when most women looked only to Paris for women's wear designs. A tad academic at times, but very informative and interesting, it also contains an abbreviated but fascinating history of fashion. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the e-arc. A solid 4 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion by Nancy MacDonnell. This book is a captivating and meticulously researched exploration of a pivotal era in fashion history. This book takes readers on a vibrant journey through the streets of New York City during World War II, a time when American fashion indeed came into its own.

The author expertly weaves together the stories of the pioneering women who shaped the industry, painting a vivid picture of the challenges and triumphs they faced. The narrative is rich with historical detail, bringing to life the creativity and resilience that defined the birth of American fashion.
This book's ability to blend fashion with broader social and cultural histories makes it exceptional. The impact of the war on the industry, the rise of New York as a global fashion capital, and the evolution of American style are all explored with depth and nuance.

Whether you're a fashion enthusiast, a history buff, or enjoy a well-told story, Empresses of Seventh Avenue is a must-read. It's not just a book about fashion; it's a tribute to the visionary women who transformed an industry and left an indelible mark on American culture.

Being from and having lived in New York for most of my life, I was always curious about how the city became a "fashion capital". This book tells you the why, the when, and especially who made this happen. These women were remarkable! I learned so much and have already spread the word to everyone I know to read this book!

Such an interesting book. I have been reading a lot about this time period since I learned about Truman Capote’s Swans and this book just helped me understand so much more about how fashion and culture are connected.

This was a very interesting history of the rise of the American fashion industry and the gradual shift in expectations away from the "French Legend" and toward a more, dare I say democratic, idea of what it means to be fashionable. I liked the way it was organized, focusing each chapter on a woman (or two) whose particular role shifted focus to America and American design and detailing their life and rise, as well as their impact on the industry. I did find there to be some repetition by doing so though, with overlapping mentions and descriptions that sometimes felt redundant. Still, it was an engaging story that was well told in a voice that was accessible and interesting to follow.

Empresses of Seventh Avenue, by Nancy MacDonnell, is a deeply researched and intimately told history of the American fashion industry. Eleanor Lambert is a personal inspiration to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about her and so many other fashion icons who are sadly in danger of being forgotten. Bravo to MacDonnell for highlighting their tremendous achievements and sharing them with a new generation.

When Paris was taken over by the Nazis in WWII, that famous capital of high fashion began a decline that was filled by American couturiers who had previously relied on the French to lead the way in fashion, no longer only copying their styles and looking to Paris for their inspiration, Starting September 1940, American designers began to shine on their own and by 1945 American fashion began to rival that of France, and New York started to challenge Paris as the capital of high fashion

This amazing historical novel on the growth and emergence of American fashion shows the rise of "democratic" principles in the fashion world - American designers began creating couture for all types of women. Sportswear, ready-to-wear clothes, and mix and match outfits became the new styles for America and signaled a new era of fashion. The first American designers of note are the "empresses of Seventh Avenue."

This book tells the story of how the Americans could move forward without Paris, for once disregarding the French Legend as the one and only source of haute couture.

An important book for fashion lovers and for those interested in this aspect of American history, the book details the lives and stories of little remembered designers and couturiers in America who were important to American fashion. A fascinating book that is well worth reading.

How often in reading a classic novel do I come across a woman who travels to Paris for her seasonal wardrobe or her wedding trousseau? When did that no longer become a thing?

It turns out WWII changed fashion history, for when the Nazis took over France and Paris, French fashion was cut off from the world. Without the dictates of the leaders of fashion, America was suddenly on its own, and this allowed the development of an American style that was refreshing, easy to wear, and suited for the active lives of working women.

I was fascinated by Empresses of Seventh Avenue.

Nancy MacDonell begins with how France became the fashion leader of the world. Louis XIV inherited a sad, run down Paris but he imagined a grander France. He wanted to be a mercantile capital, selling luxury to the world. Not only did Louis like wearing fine clothes, he wanted to see them and established a court fashion dress code.

Fashion dolls were created to circulate the new designs. Fashion illustrations and fashion magazines aided in promoting Paris designs.

The end of the monarchy did not end Paris’s influence. During the Second Empire, Paris was transformed into the city we know today. Charles Worth set up his fashion house in Paris and he dressed the empress. Worth believed in his own creative genius and he was the first to use designer labels.

Meanwhile, in America, the Civil War created a millionaire class and the new department stores displayed the latest Paris fashions. Or, actually, knock offs of the Paris designs.

Edward Bok of the Ladies Home Journal promoted American Fashion and his middle class readers responded. American women wanted clothes that reflected good old American values.

MacDonell follows all the movers and shakers who created American fashion.

Elizabeth Hawes, who started out surreptitiously copying the designs she saw on the Paris runway, returned to America and promoted American designers and forward thinking designs. Comfortable, flattering, stylish clothes were her forte. Ready to wear clothes had been poorly made, but Hawes knew that American women needed reliable “Fords” that felt like “Lincolns.”

Claire McCardell revolutionised fashion with a belted caftan called the Nada dress. She took the dirndl skirt from folkwear to street wear. She used sturdy fabrics and innovative construction methods. McCardell loved sportswear and simplicity, and escrued pure ornament. She created the first separates collection that was so innovative it “confounded department store buyers.” And her pop-over dress was such a hit, the dress went from being worn for housework to street wear. She designed the leotard and sexy bathing suits and promoted flat Capezio shoes.

Department stores and ready to wear flourished together. Marjorie Griswold started at Macy’s and moved Lord & Taylor. She had a nose for fashion. Dorothy Shaver was VP of Advertising at Lord & Taylor; she designed the store logo, instituted the first specialty departments, and promoted American designers. Her advertising campaign “the American Look” promoted a image of American womanhood as “healthy, scrubbed-clean charm.”

The Americans had to set an organized show schedule open to the press. The problem was, the designer’s didn’t have intellectual property rights and their work was open for copying. The creation of the New York Dress Institute, with its own label and ad campaign initially flopped until Eleanor Lambert took over. Her publicity raised American fashion to the level of art, making designers stars.

Fashion reportage by Lois Long and Virginia Pope held American designers to high standards. Long wrote that wearability must be wedded to a point of view.

Fashion editor Diana Vreeland and photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe were image-makers who catapulted teenager Lauren Bacall’s career with an iconic Harper’s Bazaar cover. Together, they created the fashion shoot.

After the war, Americans discovered Paris fashions were ugly and absurd, thought to make the Nazi women look ridiculous. Paris needed to save haute couture. They organized a traveling show of fashion dolls.

Dior’s New Look was a complete reversal with corsets and full, long skirts, an ultra feminine look that was the opposite of American sportswear’s easy, stylish, clothes. In 1973, Paris haute couture and American ready-to-wear competed in a fashion show at Versailles, with the Americans trouncing the French. Haute couture was over. American designers became fashion leaders.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I started college majoring in Fashion Design so this book was very appealing to me. It gives a detailed history of American fashion (and some French fashion beginnings), but it is written in a very appealing way that makes it fun to read while you are learning. When the Germans took over Paris in WWII, Americans could no longer wait to see what Paris designers were showing before copying the designs to sell in America. Now American designers had to come out with their own ready to wear designs. The women of New York fashion stepped up to the plate to design in a new modern way to fit our new lifestyles. If you have any interest in fashion or want to know what life was like before New York was a fashion capital, then pick up this book!

Fascinating read. I'm not a big fashion person but the historical aspect of how world events gave opportunities to the American fashion industry was something I had never even considered before. I love when someone brings to light an unusual implication of history that had not been obvious to me. A few pictures would have been a nice add.

This very interesting book introduces the reader to the development of fashion in the United States through the lives of many of the leaders in this effort. They helped the United States to develop their own fashion houses and leaders in an effort to not totally depend on Paris. WWII helped this movement to take root when fashions were not available to import from Paris. This book is well written and enjoyable to read.

Fashion is huge and it’s always, always around, regardless of where you are.

Many are familiar with Dior’s New Look or his name, if little else. Or Richard Avedon.

But…
Elizabeth Hawes?
Zelda Wynn Valdes?
Ann Lowe?
Claire McCardell?

Marjorie Griswold?
Dorothy Shaver?
Lois Long?
Virginia Pope?
Eleanor Lambert?
Diane Vreeland?
Louise Dahl-Wolfe?
Carmel Snow?

With the exception of Diane Vreeland, these are names I was introduced to for the first time in the first chapter. Have you heard of these fashion creating women or the women who helped these fashions succeed?

Nancy McDonnell, a fashion historian, has obviously put time into researching and bringing these women and their accomplishments into the light of the twenty-first century.

Though I would have also liked to read more about WOC in fashion, I enjoyed this, spent a lot of time googling, and learned quite a bit.

Recommended for anyone interested in fashion and history,



Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC

(2.75 rounded up) thank you netgalley and st martins press for the eArc.

this was very informative! learned a lot about the women (editors primarily) of the time period who shaped fashion. i hate to say it, but the book would be improved with some pictures or illustrations. for example, when reading about the fashion battle of versailles it would’ve been cool. unfortunately i was not super engaged by this history due to the amount of jumping around that happened. i think the author excelled when focusing on the narrative of one woman at a time. i did fall asleep a few times while reading but they may just be a me problem.

This is a must read. I loved reading about the hidden history of the women who began the American style during a time when trends from Paris were cut off. I think these women were inspiring and anyone with a remote interest in the fashion industry would love this book, which is why I rated it five stars. It was well-written and engaging from beginning to end.

I loved every page of Empresses of Seventh Avenue and its recreation of the singular role of a cadre of formidable and fascinating women in establishing American women’s fashion—from designers Elizabeth Hawes and Claire McCardell (Separates! Denim! Ballet flats!); to fashion press pioneers Edna Woolman Chase, Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Virginia Pope, and Lois Long (credited as the inventor of fashion criticism); to the first fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert (inventor of Fashion Week); to influential department store buyer Marjorie Griswold and legendary Lord & Taylor President and master marketer Dorothy Shaver (“the most important woman in American retailing”). With the exception of Vreeland, author Nancy MacDonnell is resurrecting and reconstructing the largely forgotten accomplishments and legacies of these women. They are real characters, and you need to meet them. Their stories are at the center of the larger story of the creation of an American fashion “look” and industry that swiftly filled the void created when Paris fell to Nazi occupation during World War II. Until then, Paris had a stranglehold on women’s fashion, no matter how impractical its products, and Seventh Avenue in NYC was largely a copying and counterfeiting operation, creating cheap knock offs to Paris originals. MacDonnell masterfully and entertainingly synthesizes an enormous amount of detail and activity in her gallop from the role of Louis XIV (and his hall of mirrors) in establishing France as the world’s fashion capital to the creation of authentically American looks and enterprises (including the perhaps unexpected cameos by Fiorello LaGuardia). Highly recommend.