I am not a fashionista, but I enjoyed this book immensely. The history of fashion has been swayed by so many factors, and women like Claire McCardell have been so impactful in my own life without my knowledge, and this would be the same for any woman in the US. This book further reminded me that what we tolerate is equal to something being acceptable. I wish this book had pictures in it, where there were descriptions of clothing, magazine covers, etc. I spent a fair amount of time looking these up on the internet. I'm assuming the actual release will include those, while this was an ARC, but if not, I hope the publisher will consider adding those visual aids.

Claire McCardell seems to be in the midst of a renaissance, and for good reason. She had an outsized influence on fashion, American and at large. She invented or popularized a number of foundational styles, including ballet flats, wrap dresses, leggings, and women's clothes with pockets. Where would I be without McCardell!

This book is a well written, straightforward biography of the designer, focusing on her family life, growing up and later in marriage, and her professional life, centered around New York and Paris. We're fortunate to have so much material left behind - letters, interviews, illustrations - to give reasonable insight into her thought process, particularly her evolution from middling student to her own greatest advocate. The book is a little light on insight into her relationships, but that seems like a feature of McCardell rather than a bug of the book.

This isn't the longest or deepest biography I've ever read, but it's digestible and doesn't get bogged down in minutiae, and that's its own kind of virtue. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

A fantastic bio of a post-WWII designer I'd not heard of before, but one who changed fashion by making women's clothing with pockets, reachable zippers, and easy to wear silhouettes created for freedom of movement. Many of the items women wear today -- ballet slippers, leggings, denim, and mix-and-match pieces -- can be credited to her influence. Highly recommended!

Fascinating! I loved reading this - it is compelling, well-paced, and informative. I was somewhat familiar with McCardell’s designs before reading this and it was delightful to read about all of her ideas and perseverance in a male-dominated industry (and disheartening to realize how little may have changed in a century - though at least women in the U.S. are no longer arrested for daring to wear pants!).

I hope this brings much more attention to her work and contributions to the fashion industry.

Highly recommended, especially to readers interested in fashion, history, women’s rights, and innovation.

Thank you very much to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.