Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion

by Nancy MacDonell

In the tradition of The Barbizon and The Girls of Atomic City, fashion historian and journalist Nancy MacDonell chronicles the untold story of how the Nazi invasion of France gave rise to the American fashion industry.

Calvin Klein. Ralph Lauren. Donna Karan. Halston. Marc Jacobs. Tom Ford. Michael Kors. Tory Burch. Today, American designers are some of the biggest names in fashion, yet before World War II, they almost always worked anonymously. The industry, then centered on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, had always looked overseas for "inspiration"—a polite phrase for what was often blatant copying—because style, as all the world knew, came from Paris.

But when the Nazis invaded France in 1940, the capital of fashion was cut off from the rest of the world. The story of the chaos and tragedy that followed has been told many times—but how it directly affected American fashion is largely unknown.

Defying the naysayers, New York-based designers, retailers, editors, and photographers met the moment, turning out clothes that were perfectly suited to the American way of life: sophisticated, modern, comfortable, and affordable. By the end of the war, "the American Look" had been firmly established as a fresh, easy elegance that combined function with style. But none of it would have happened without the influence and ingenuity of a small group of women who have largely been lost to history.

Empresses of Seventh Avenue will tell the story of how these extraordinary women put American fashion on the world stage and created the template for modern style—and how the nearly $500 billion American fashion industry, the largest in the world, could not have accrued its power and wealth without their farsightedness and determination.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Fashion, Audiobook, Biography, New York, American History

354 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2024

Reviews

[Mai H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this concurrently with THE LITTLE BOOK OF CHANEL, which ended up confusing me a little. That was a choice. My choice. I make a lot of bad choices.

While I love a 2.55, Coco was a horrible woman, and Nazi sympathizer/fucker to boot. It's not giving joy.

So while parts of this praise France, French fashion, and the Parisian woman, we eventually make it back to the US, and how American women pioneered the way for ready-to-wear, a market that is truly endless.

You know the famous names.

👗 Calvin Klein
👗 Donna Karan
👗 Halston
👗 Marc Jacobs
👗 Michael Kors
👗 Ralph Lauren
👗 Tom Ford
👗 Tory Burch

Say what you will about "the American look." Outside of wacky couture, my favorite shows have always been shown at NYFW.

Visiting Paris was underwhelming. Visiting New York is always an overload of the senses. Some of the most beautiful, well-dressed people I have ever seen walk the streets of New York. In fact, the hot, well-dressed French people tend to live in New York. That's the last I'll say on that.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Daniella Mestyanek · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Might have listened on a flight from Paris to New York while hand stitching a garment I invented…❤️

[Mairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I misgenred this book when requested in on BG. I thought it was falling under the Lit Fic or Woman's Fiction genre, but this is Non-Fiction, and I was actually glad to have misunderstood, because I loved this book. As a fashion lover myself, I did not consider I needed much education on the history of fashion. What a mistake. This book proved that, even though I have been purchasing Vogue magazine and InStyle for 30 years, there is a lot I don't know about fashion: how American fashion emerged? How Paris has become the capital of fashion and Haute Couture several centuries ago? Who are the pioneers of sportswear, mass fashion, clothing sizes, the MET Ball? This book is a mine of information I was not familiar with. So much so, I am planning on purchasing a physical copy of Empresses because I am definitely reading it again. I do hope, though, that the hardcopy comes with photos and illustrations of the legendary women, legendary dresses, and historical events discussed in the book. It would be such a plus!

[Star Gater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review Empresses of Seventh Avenue -- World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion by Nancy MacDonell on NetGalley.

Published: 08/27/24

Stars: 3.5

This is a detailed book full of names, places, dates, styles and all things business. I picked this thinking story unfortunately this is the opposite. I would have loved this many (okay many, many) years ago while in college and debating; one source with endless possibilities. A true treasure when you are carrying your own resources.

I could see gifting this to an eclectic nonfiction reader.

[Jerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of the women who helped make the American fashion industry in the early to mid twentieth century.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, and thoroughly researched, history lesson on the rise of New York City as a fashion capital during WWII, and the women who made it happen. Sadly, as described in the Afterword, mavericks and history makers, unless at the peak of their powers, rarely die as legends, rather they fade in obscurity. This books does its best to shine a light on these trailblazing Empresses.

[Katie | niftyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks, Macmillian Audio, for the audiobook!

Fashion history is my passion. I love learning about it, especially when it’s well-researched and presented in an entertaining format. EMPRESSES OF SEVENTH AVENUE by Nancy MacDonell was very interesting. I learned many new things about fashion history as it covered World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion. I really liked the narrator, Gail Shalan, who kept me engaged and didn’t make it seem like I was listening to a textbook.

It was neat to hear about the American side of fashion during the war and have a more in-depth discussion about “the American Look,” whereas this time frame usually focuses on Parisian designers and their couture houses. They are still discussed, but MacDonell lets the reader know what is going on both sides of the world and how American designers significantly influenced fashion.

This is an excellent listen if you like the podcast Dressed: A History of Fashion, Apple TV’s show The New Look, or are a fan of fashion history.

[anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

(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.

[Talie Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este 📕 es divino.
Me encanta leer libros históricos 🤩.

No he leído sobre las modas y feliz porque aprendí demasiado sobre como empiezo aquí y y creció prominentemente entre los recente décadas.
Las mujeres emprendedoras me fascinaron con su tenacidad y visión para contribur sus visiones en esta industria.

Necesito mi copia en mi biblioteca en casita.🩶🫠🌹📕🌹

[Book.ishJulie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am no fashion icon, I grew up with both my mother and grandmother sewing and handcrafting many of my clothing items. Swimsuits, short sets, figure skating dresses, and Halloween costumes were all homemade, and I watched as countless hours went into creating and altering various pieces. It was with this nostalgia that I picked up Empresses Of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, And The Birth Of American Fashion by Nancy MacDonell.

As an outsider, I had no idea there was so much history in the fashion industry, but it dates back to the days of Marie Antoinette and before. It was interesting to discover that fashion options were truly influenced by customers' lives, with styles being creatively adapted in inventive ways and learning that many creators were well ahead of their time.

Admittedly, it was the "World War II" tagline that appealed most to me about this book, and although that point in history marked a pivotal change in fashion, the focus of this narrative was not as based around that time period as I had expected. Instead, this is the mark of America transitioning to creating their own pieces and defining their own style. This era became the foundation for what we know of the fashion industry today.

MacDonell did a remarkable job researching the history of fashion, and although this historical book was told in an altogether non-linear way, this approach makes sense when looking back on the founding style icons. I enjoyed how each chapter ended with a glimpse into what was in the forthcoming chapter and how there was personality within MacDonell's words instead of just presenting the facts in a text-book-like way.

Gail Shalan does a great job narrating this work. Her voice is straightforward and to the point, seamlessly pronouncing the various French words as needed.

This book would make the perfect gift for the fashion lover or hobby seamstress in your life or to have on hand in a home economics classroom!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

[Michelle Beckwith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Convincing American women that designs that originated in their own country were as legitimate as anything that came from Paris would require a sustained campaign.”

From the highly polished opulence of King Louis XIV’s Versailles to the gritty streets of the New York garment district, this meticulously researched book pulls back the curtain on the American fashion industry. In this exposé, the tenacity and creativity of a small group of women is pulled from the wings and onto the catwalk. American fashion filled the vacuum created by the Nazi invasion of France and changed the business forever. Unlike other books written about this time period, this one focuses on the war in terms of specific hurdles presented to designers and retailers and how they overcame them.

Art, design, journalism, finance, politics and marketing all converge, producing a detailed narrative of the drama behind the relationship of Paris couture and USA ready to wear. You will recognize many names, especially some of the titans of the garment world, but here the stars are the unsung heroes; the women behind the monumental shift in the industry. I was particularly fascinated by how the marketing of women’s fashion evolved from pencil sketches to color photography and how incredibly difficult that was.

I would categorize Ms. MacDonell’s new book as niche non fiction and those who are drawn to fashion in general and under appreciated female forces specifically, will appreciate her fine new work.

Narrator Gail Shalan manages to dispatch the information with a calm cadence often not present in other non fiction audiobooks and I definitely enjoyed her performance.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC to review.

I always love books about New York, and combining that with the fashion scene of how WWII helped begat the American fashion industry made this one fascinating and unputdownable read. I listened via audio and flew through it in a couple of sittings, riveted by how American fashion came to the forefront when it was cut off from Paris after the Nazis invaded France in 1940. Back then, fashion was focused on Seventh Avenue rather than Fifth as we know it today, which was equally fascinating to me as well. Designers turned out clothes that matched the American way of life, meaning they were affordable, comfortable, but yet sophisticated and modern. By the end of the war, “the American Look” was not a fad but a “thing”, thanks to a small group of women who defied the odds. I loved this one, loved learning about these women (Diana Vreeland especially) and cannot recommend it enough.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empresses of Seventh Avenue is an engrossing look into the women of the American fashion industry, with a focus on the mid-twentieth century. Honestly, most of these names were new to me, but I’m glad I know their stories now.

With a brief foray into how Paris became the epicenter of fashion and then a turn into how fashion changed for America as Paris fell under Nazi control during the Second World War, this book not only details the trajectory of fashion as things pivoted from specially-tailored haute couture to a more ready-to-wear aesthetic but also presents the stories of fascinating feminist figures in their own right.

Although the book does get into the weeds a bit with all the details, it kept my attention from beginning to end.

This would be good for fans of Natasha Lester’s fiction, especially The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre and The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard, who want to dig even more into the history of the fashion industry.

If you prefer to take your reading on the go, I recommend listening to this one on audio. I was easily able to keep up with Gail Shalan’s measured narration.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from St. Martin’s Press and an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

[The Reading Raccoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empresses of Seventh Avenue is a non-fiction deep dive into the role of the United States in the business of fashion, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century. As the wars in Europe raged, designers, editors, journalists, department store managers, and other tastemakers in the U.S. stepped up and finally gave Paris serious competition.

This is a fascinating read, filled with details about the private and professional lives of women who aren’t famous outside of their field. It’s really interesting to see how far the U.S. has come—from mostly copying French designers to a country that creates and cultivates its own talent. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in fashion as both an art and a business.

🎧 Audiobook Notes: This book is narrated by Gail Shalan, who does an excellent job with the narration, including the pronunciation of French words and names.

Disclaimer: An ALC (advanced listening copy) of Empresses of Seventh Avenue was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Empresses of Seventh Avenue is a well researched nonfiction book. It focuses on some of the women who brought American fashion to the forefront. Prior to World War II most American fashion was copied directly from Paris designs. When the Nazi’s occupied Paris, America was cut off from French designs. This book tells the story of women working in the fashion industry in New York who changed American fashion from knockoffs to original designs. It also tells of how after the war these women continued to fight to keep American fashion and its designers as leaders in the industry. I recommend this book to readers who are interested in fashion history. I received an advanced copy from the publisher

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25. An extremely interesting portrayal of the fashion industry from the times of Louis XIV when he essentially made Paris the “hub” for international fashion and haute couture and then focusing on the WWII and subsequent years when Paris was off limits due to the war.and the ascendancy of the American fashion industry largely steered by women. I was not aware of many of these trailblazing women (e.g., designers, journalists, editors, prescient managers, etc) but they contributed to a vibrant and permanent change in the fashion industry. Very well researched and easily readable. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.

[Kathleen Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating and enjoyable read! Nancy MacDonell is a gifted researcher and writer. Her sentences are as exquisite, elegant and fetching as a haute couture ensemble. I happened to be reading this while the Paris 2024 Olympics were taking place and was glad to be reminded of that city long serving as the premiere petri dish of all things beautiful and fashionable, from Louis XIV to the present. Highly recommended for anyone interested in 20th century cultural history. Fashion matters!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rare nonfiction read for me, and I must confess to skimming through parts. Being a resident of her hometown (where there is a lovely statue of her), I was most interested in Clare McCardell and her vast influence on American fashion. I would have enjoyed a section of photos but solved that want online

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at how the American fashion industry evolved from Nazi Germany there are so many facts so much history. Loved reading about the women who were the founding members the creative artists who started this amazing industry As a lover of nonfiction this was a five star red for me.Thanks#st.martins #netgalley,

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading real histories of women who were successful in their professions. I am not a fashionista and could not name any current couture design brand. So, this book was a stretch for me. I just wasn't interested enough in the topic to commit. I felt the writing was good, but that was not enough to bring this book to life for me.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed exploration of the emergence of America’s fashion industry with an emphasis on the women who made it happen. This was my non-fiction bedtime book so I read it in pieces over time. I loved the history and the amazing women, many with outsized personalities, who excelled in those times.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and informative listen. I really enjoyed the narrator. Thank you Macmillan audio for the gifted copy.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, well written book.

[Alayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the content of this book, but I found that the writing read like a textbook which made it slow to get through

[Emily Tapio · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d. I don’t know how they managed to write such a dull book about subject matter I’m so interested in, but here we are. Read When Women Ran Fifth Avenue instead.

[Regan Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting information to learn and so many women lost to history but it also took so much effort to read

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise but didn’t like the way it was structured, had difficult following at some points and keeping track of who was who and when things were happening. Also took me a long time to read as I wasn’t that inspired to pick it back up after a break.

I still did learn a lot about the history of American fashion and how some much of its rise is due to some really powerful women who aren’t talked about much.

If you have a strong interest in fashion I would recommend!

[Robyn Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

B- Audiobook

[Sophia Sturiale · Rating 3 out of 5]

i overestimated how much i care about fashion history