"It Is a Profession That Is New, Unlimited and Rich!": the Promotion of the American Fashion Designer in the 1930S Sheryl Ann Farnan Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2005 "It is a profession that is new, unlimited and rich!": the promotion of the American fashion designer in the 1930s Sheryl Ann Farnan Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the American Studies Commons, Art and Design Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Farnan, Sheryl Ann, ""It is a profession that is new, unlimited and rich!": the promotion of the American fashion designer in the 1930s " (2005). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 1235. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1235 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI "It is a profession that is new, unlimited and rich!" The promotion of the American fashion designer in the 1930s by Sheryl Ann Faman A dissertation submitted to the graduate Acuity in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Textiles and Clothing Program of Study Committee: Jane Farrell Beck, Major Professor Jean Parsons, Major Professor Ann Marie Fiore AmyBix Leland Poague Tanya Zanish-Belcher Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2005 Copyright © Sheryl Ann Faman, 2005. AH rights reserved. UMI Number: 3172213 Copyright 2005 by Farnan, Sheryl Ann All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3172213 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation of Sheryl Ann Faman has met the dissertation requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Co-n jor Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. b-maior Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. For t%ie Major Pr r iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES v ABSTRACT vii CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND METHODS 1 CHAPTER TWO. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11 Women and Wage-Earning 11 The American Apparel Industry 15 The California Market 24 Film and Literary Scholarship 26 Film Criticism and Scholarship 26 Literary Criticism and Scholarship 30 "Fashion Designer" as a New Professional Title 31 The Fashion Designer in Popular Culture 32 Career Literature for Fashion Design 32 The Fashion Designer in the Popular Press 32 The Fashion Designer in Career Fiction 34 The Fashion Designer in Motion Pictures 3 5 CHAPTER THREE. CAREER LITERATURE: NON-FICTION AND FICTION 39 Non-Fiction Career Literature 40 The Work of the Designer 40 The Retail Designer 42 The Wholesale Designer 46 The Hollywood Designer 53 Other Opportunities in Fashion Design 54 Education, Training, Qualifications and Demand 57 The Pay, the Travel and the Perks 64 Career Fiction 71 "Twenty Four Hours a Day" 77 "Frills and Thrills: The Career of a Young Fashion Designer" 84 CHAPTER FOUR. THE AMERICAN FASHION DESIGNER IN THE MAGAZINE 94 America Meets Her Designers. Promoting the American Fashion Designer 95 American 105 Feminine 107 Original 109 Practical 112 Managerial 112 iv Wealthy 115 Demystifying the French Mystique 116 The American Fashion Designer as Educator on Proper Dress and Good Taste 122 Education and Training 123 1940 - A Turning Point in the Promotion of the American Designer 127 CHAPTER FIVE. THE FASHION DESIGNER AND THE AMERICAN MOVIE 133 How Does a Designer Look and Act? Appearance and Manner Depicted in Film 136 How Does a Designer Work? Design Work Process Depicted in Film 151 The Customer and the Selling Process: Piracy, Propaganda and Gender 159 Paris in Hollywood. New York in California. 170 CHAPTER SIX. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 178 APPENDIX I: FASHION DESIGN SALARIES REPORTED INI930s CAREER LITERATURE - COMPARISON 186 APPENDIX II: FILMOGRAPHY 188 APPENDIX III: AMERICAN DESIGNERS PROMOTED THE 1930s 189 BIBLIOGRAPHY 190 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 202 V LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A sketch of an Elizabeth Hawes design. 96 Figure 2: Examples of various work processes - Clare Potter, Natalie Renke and Grace Arcuri 100 Figure 3: Clare Potter. 100 Figure 4: Elizabeth Hawes. 100 Figure 5: Lisbeth Von Kraus. 100 Figure 6: Dorene Abrade. 101 Figure 7: Margot DeBruyn Kopps. 101 Figure 8: Helen Cookman. 101 Figure 9: Muriel King. 102 Figure 10: Muriel King. 102 Figure 11: Adele Smithline (Simpson). 102 Figure 12: Clare Potter. 103 Figure 13: Helen Cookman. 103 Figure 14: Elizabeth Hawes. 103 Figure 15: Muriel King. 104 Figure 16: Germaine Monteil. 104 Figure 17: Nettie Rosenstein. 104 Figure 18: Bette Davis and William Powell review sketches in Fashions of 1934. 152 Figure 19: Roland Young and Kay Francis review sketches in Street of Women. 152 vi ABSTRACT This study examines the American fashion designer portrayed through diverse publicity generated in various popular culture formats during the Depression era, 1930-1940. Through career literature, Sction, feature Sim, and promotion in magazine articles, the American woman came to know the creators of her fashions. Themes of wholesale design, retail design, income and perquisites, education and training emerged. Other themes such as client relations, selling, work process, and attitudes toward the French mystique were also discussed. A picture developed of a profession with unlimited opportunity which allowed women to rise to executive leadership, utilize creativity and artistic talent, earn a lucrative salary, and enjoy travel and lavish social opportunities. Over G&y designers were profiled in career literature and magazine interviews during an era that has been widely regarded as one where designers worked in complete anonymity. American designers of the 1930s were promoted as feminine, chic, sophisticated, wealthy, and original on one hand. On the other hand they were regular people, practical, managerial, and American. Promotion with this combination of traits and qualities made them superstars. American designers were not dressmakers in the employ of wealthy patrons. They were the new leaders of style and good taste, yet approachable to the estimated 45 million American women who purchased garments manufactured by the American apparel industry. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND METHODS By the end of the twentieth century, the role of the fashion designer was elevated to international celebrity status and became the quintessential icon for the apparel industry. One writer described fashion designers as an integral part of "the international personality circus,"^ with the American contingent well represented in this spectacle. Fashion designers have become part of the entertainment landscape. Isaac Mizrahi has been billed as a "fashionable designer/entertainer," has been a guest on popular talk shows, and hosts his own show "The Isaac Mizrahi Show" on Oxvcen TV/ Other designers enjoy runway coverage on the stvle.anetwork television network, and Bravo TV has recently launched a new series, "Project Runway," billed as "the first ever reality series focusing on fashion designers."^ Fashion and its creation is entertainment in this current era. However, a century ago, the profession of fashion designer barely existed in the United States. I became curious about how, as a profession, fashion design progressed. This is not to say that designing was not happening in America a hundred years ago and that design skills were not being developed and utilized. Indeed they were. Paris was the recognized seat of style and great design and, as such, created its own spectacle with fashion. But a host of American apparel creators - dressmakers, costume designers, tailors, ladies tailors - each were engaged not only in the construction of garments, but also in design and embellishment as well French designers could not always accurately accommodate the tastes and lifestyles of American women. Fashionable American women relied upon their ' Colin McDowell, The Designer Scam. (London: Random House, 1994), 39. ^ Oh! Oxygen TV, "The Isaac Mizrahi Show," http://www.oxygen.com/isaac/about.8spx (Retrieved January 23, 2005). ^ Bravo TV, "Project Runway," httpV/www.bravotv.com/Prqject Runway/ (Retrieved 23 January 2005). 2 dressmakers to know what was aw cowronf &om France, and to also be able to interpret and manipulate those styles for the needs of American women. But at what point did this profession of fashion design become spectacle, entertainment, a contribution to American popular culture? One locus for change was Women's roles in the workplace which