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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustratioDS and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and in^roper aligmnent can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI 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. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlq>s. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photogr^hs mchided in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Beil & Howell Inlormation Company 300 North 2eeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml48106-1346 USA 313,'761-4700 800,'521-0600 PROMOTING AMERICAN FASHION 1940 THROUGH 1945: FROM UNDERSTUDY TO STAR DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Sandra Stansbery Buckland, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1995 Dissertation Committee; Approved by Gwendolyn S. O'Neal Marsha Dickson ^❖Tser Patricia Cunningham College of Human Ecology Mathew Herban Charles Kleibacker UMI Number; 9639196 Copyright 1996 by Buckland, Sandra Stansbery All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9639196 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48103 Copyright by Sandra Stansbery Buckland 1996 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Gwendolyn S. O'Neal for serving as adviser and my committee members, Dr. Marsha Dickson, Dr. Patricia Cunningham, Dr. Mathew Herban, and Mr. Charles Kleibacker, for their valuable insights. I would also like to thank Dr. Virginia Gunn for her continued interest and encouragement. Thanks must also go to the late Dr. Lucy R. Sibley for giving me the opportunity and for serving as my adviser. My sincere appreciation goes to the following organizations for providing research funding: The International Textile and Apparel Association, the Dorothy D. Scott Fellowship, the Lois Dickey and Esther Meacham Research Fund, and the College of Human Ecology. My gratitude goes to the following for allowing me to use their archives: The Fashion Group International, Inc., Tobe Fashion Reports, The New York Times, and the Gladys Marcus Library at the Fashion Institute of Technology. This work could never have been done without the love and support of my family and friends. To name them all would be to leave someone off the list. They believed in me when I doubted and prayed when I lacked strength. ii VITA B o r n ............................... Canton, Ohio 1990 ............................. B.A., Clothing, Textiles, & Interior Design University of Akron Akron, Ohio 1990-1992 . Graduate Associate, University of Akron Akron, Ohio 1992 ............................. M.A., Human Ecology University of Akron Akron, Ohio 1992-1993 ........................ Teaching Associate The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1993-1994 .... Research Associate The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1994-1995 .... Dorothy D. Scott Fellow The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1995-1996 ........................ Teaching Associate The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Human Ecology Specialization - Textiles and Clothing Minor Field: History of Art 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................... ü VITA .......................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................ VÜ CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE .................... 1 II. TWO GROWING INDUSTRIES ...................... 5 Need For The Research .................... 23 Limitations .................... ..... 24 Research Question ........................ 25 III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................. 29 IV. METHODOLOGY .................................. 46 Research Plan ............................. 48 G l o s s a r y ...................... 55 V. ASSUMING THE FASHION MANTLE OF PARIS : JANUARY 1940 THROUGH DECEMBER 1941 . 58 Introduction ............................. 58 Paris Says . The American Industry Before Summer 194 0 .................... 63 The Manufacturers and Promotions . 70 Retailers and Promotions ............. 77 Forced Into Flowering ............. 86 Industry Fears ............. ..... 94 IV When Fashion Became News: The 1940 New York Openings ........... 102 Advertising Changes ......... 110 Continued Loyalty to Paris ........... 115 Industry Promotions .... ......... 118 VI. A DIFFERENT ROAD . FOR THE DURATION: JANUARY 1942 THROUGH DECEMBER 1944 . 137 Introduction ............................. 137 New Roles For The Fashion Industry . 139 Changes in The T i m e s ................. 149 The New York Dress Institute ..... 153 The New York Fashion C e n t e r .........157 L-85 . Providing Design Leadership . 162 Retailers' Promotions in the War Effort . 175 Promotional Innovations: Fashion Shows and Forecasts ........................ 198 American Fashion Critics Award .... 199 Press Weeks ................. 202 Fashion Forecasts ......... ..... 203 Fashions of The T i m e s ............... 208 VII. PROMOTING AMERICAN FASHIONS UNDER THE PROSPECT OF PARIS' LIBERATION: JANUARY 1944 THROUGH DECEMBER 1945 ............................. 225 Introduction ............................. 225 Anticipating Paris' Liberation ......... 227 Increased Retail Promotions ..... 234 Industry and City Promotions ..... 244 After Paris' Liberation ................. 251 American or Parisian Designs? .... 258 V Paris' Struggle to Rebuild ............ 269 After the W a r .......... .................. 274 VIII. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .................. 288 WORKS..... CITED ............................... 308 VI LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES PAGE 1. The New York Times. 14 April 1940 ...... 65 2. The New York Times. 10 March 1940 ............ 66 3. The New York Times. 28 January 1940 .......... 79 4. The New York Times. 10 March 1940 ............ 82 5. The New York Times, 5 May 1940 84 6. The New York Times. 5 September 194 0 .... 107 7. The New York Times. 8 September 1940 .... 112 8. The New York Times, 15 September 1940 .... 114 9. The New York Times, 20 January 1942 .......... 155 10. The New York Times, 26 April 1942 ............ 169 11. The New York Times, 31 May 1942 .............. 171 12. The New York Times, 22 March 1942 ............ 189 13. The New York Times. 5 July 1942 .............. 190 14. The New York Times, 30 March 1942 ............ 192 15. The New York Times, 6 September 1942 .... 194 16. The New York Times. 6 September 1942 .... 196 17. The New York Times, 13 September 1942 .... 205 18. The New York Times. 12 September 1943 .... 207 19. The New York Times. 21 October 1943 ..... 213 20. The New York Times. 24 January 1944 .......... 228 vii 21. The New York Times. 7 March 1945 237 22. The New York Times. 7 May 1944 240 23. The New York Times. 14 May 1944 .............. 241 24. The New York Times. 6 August 1944 ............ 243 25. The New York Times. 25 October 1944 ......... 257 26. The New York Times. 14 January 1945 .......... 265 27. The New York Times. 18 February 1945 .... 275 Vlll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE From the time that Louis XIV and his minister Colbert set about to solve seventeenth-century France's trade deficit by establishing the country as a fashion leader, Paris reigned as the indisputable queen of the fashion world. Walter Vecchio and Robert Riley noted that; For over three hundred years Americans have relied upon Europe for their fashionable luxuries. The inventories of our early sailing ships listed damasks and velvets from Italy; woolens and calicoes and fine leathers from England; perfumes, embroideries, sheet linens from Paris; laces made in the North countries. Our eighteenth-century dressmakers imported dolls dressed in the latest French fashions as models for their clients/* Despite the United States' declaration of independence from European rule, the American fashion industry before World War II persisted in following Paris's stylistic dictates. The fashion press from the United States and around the world eagerly attended couture's seasonal presentations and reported the latest developments in women's apparel to an eager readership. Couture dictated, and the public followed. Several costume historians likened Paris's followers to a flock of birds. According to Vecchio and Riley; Twice a year, as though impelled by some migratory urge, the buyers, merchants, designers, manufacturers, publicists, and journalists of the United States flock like birds to the couture salons of Europe. There they hope they will learn what the women of American will be wearing next season - or, rather, what

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