Podcast Summary:

New Books Network
Episode Title: Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, "Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free" (Simon & Schuster, 2025)
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson
Date: September 5, 2025

Overview

In this engaging episode, Dr. Miranda Melcher interviews journalist and author Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson about her new book, Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free. The conversation explores the life, legacy, and revolutionary impact of American fashion designer Claire McCardell. Dickinson details McCardell’s early influences, inventive spirit, the challenges she faced breaking into the industry, and her lasting impact on contemporary fashion and women’s lives. The episode also delves into the reasons McCardell's legacy faded from public memory and the ongoing relevance of her work in discussions about fashion, feminism, and design.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson & Claire McCardell

• [02:25] Elizabeth introduces herself as a Maryland-based journalist and her motivation for writing the book:
  • Inspired after seeing a McCardell exhibition in the late 1990s, Dickinson was struck by the timelessness of McCardell’s designs and surprised by how little-known McCardell has become, despite her influence on modern wardrobes.

"I couldn't believe how timeless [her clothes] were. And I didn't realize that much of what hangs in my closet today is thanks to the design ingenuity of McCardell."
— Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [02:25]

2. Early Life & Influences

• [03:45] McCardell’s childhood in Frederick, Maryland, as the youngest and only girl among three brothers—nicknamed “Kick” for her assertiveness.
  • Early exposure to arts and fashion through her mother, but also a love for practicality and activity, noticing gendered differences in clothing.
  • Early frustration: Brothers’ clothing were practical (pants, pockets) while girls’ clothing was restrictive, sparking a lifelong question: “Why couldn't a woman’s clothes be both beautiful and practical?”

3. Education & Dreaming a New Role

• [06:04] As a teenager, McCardell pushed to attend Parsons School of Design when “fashion designer” was not an established profession in America.
  • American fashion copied Paris designs; designers’ names weren’t on labels.
  • Year in Paris, learning haute couture construction and the practice of “sketching” Parisian designs for American manufacturing.

4. Early Career Obstacles & Breakthroughs

• [07:48–10:56]
  • Back in New York, McCardell works various jobs in the Garment District, learning the industry from the ground up—including modeling and factory floor work.
  • Pushes for practical features—like pockets—often in secret, battling her male bosses’ assumptions about what women wanted.
  • Eventually joins Townley Frocks, gradually earning a reputation as a thoughtful, forward-thinking designer among department store buyers.

“She kind of cleverly and diligently chipped away at prevailing dress codes and prevailing business practices... She was constantly pushing back against these norms.”
— Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [09:20]

5. Revolutionizing Women’s Fashion

• [10:56–14:08]
  • Rejects restrictive corsetry and structured undergarments, prioritizing comfort, adaptability, and clothes that fit women’s bodies.
  • Innovations:
    • Mix-and-match separates (birth of the capsule wardrobe)
    • Strategic placement of zippers & buttons for ease (“You may live alone and like it, but if you wrench out your arm trying to zip up a back zipper, you’re not going to like it very much.” [Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson paraphrasing McCardell, 11:45])
    • Washable, practical fabrics and functional features like pockets
  • Met initial resistance from buyers; took nearly a decade for mix-and-match separates to catch on.

6. Sportswear and Practicality

• [14:27–16:11]
  • Redefined “sportswear” for women, envisioning versatile, public-appropriate clothing for an active life.
  • Innovated women's swimwear and playsuits, discarding old restrictions (like wool swim stockings), designing for real movement and practicality.

7. World War II and the American Fashion Breakthrough

• [16:34–20:30]
  • War cuts America off from Parisian fashion; U.S. industry must innovate.
  • McCardell excels amid fabric rationing—substitutes materials, partners with ballet shoe designers to invent ballet flats, uses denim and rays for wrap dresses, and popularizes hooded sweaters (“the hoodie”).
  • Finally achieves her aim: her name on the label, becoming the first ready-to-wear designer (of any gender) in America to do so.

"She became the first designer, male or female, in the ready-to-wear industry to have their name on their own clothes."
— Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [20:30]

8. Name, Identity, and Feminist Autonomy

• [21:17–22:30]
  • McCardell marries late (age ~40), keeps her name professionally—an extremely forward-thinking decision for the era, sending a signal about the importance of personal identity for career women.

9. Navigating Rationing & Postwar Competition

• [22:58–25:05]
  • Flourished under wartime constraints—creative use of unconventional materials.
  • Advocated for lasting personal style over frantic trend-following, empowering women to build thoughtful wardrobes.

"Fashion is fickle, and I always love this idea of someone whose job it is...empowering women to have a relationship where they don’t have to just buy new products all the time."
— Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [23:32]

• Remained a celebrity postwar, featured in major media.
• Pitted against the rise of Christian Dior’s “New Look,” which returned to restrictive corsetry and old ideals.

"Dior said he wanted to, quote, save women from nature. But McCardell always wanted to set women free."
— Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [26:01]

10. Explicit Feminist Intent

• [27:06–28:21]
  • McCardell’s advocacy for women’s comfort and agency was overt, not simply inferred in retrospect.
  • Famously responded to whether women should “suffer for fashion”:

“Absolutely not. The goal of fashion is to create a way for a woman to live her true life.”
— Claire McCardell, as cited by Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [27:22]

11. Why Did Her Name Fade?

• [28:39–33:00]
  • Died young (age 52, in 1958) at the height of fame; unlike Dior, had no clear succession plan or brand continuation.
  • Her designs became so ubiquitous they became invisible—mix-and-match, leggings, ballet flats, hoodies, etc.—all staples now disassociated from her name.
  • The “erasure” is typical of women’s contributions to history, especially pre-second-wave feminism.
  • Notably, Betty Friedan, who profiled McCardell, went on to write The Feminine Mystique.

12. Research Surprises & Personal Touches

• [33:24–35:32]
  • Dickinson shares the joy of discovering colorful details from McCardell’s personal life and archives.
  • McCardell treasured letters from everyday women, both praise and grievances, signaling deep empathy and attention to her wearers’ experiences.

"It would have really bothered her that someone didn’t have the best experience wearing her clothes. And I think that tells you a lot about who she was..."
— Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [34:56]

13. Looking Forward

• [35:52–36:39]
  • Dickinson teases her next project, again at the intersection of design, women’s lives, and independence.

Memorable Quotes

• “Why couldn’t a woman’s clothes be both beautiful and practical?”
  — Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson summarizing McCardell’s lifelong question [04:30]

• “She was building the bridge as she was walking across it.”
  — Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson on McCardell’s career path [28:45]

• “My goal with this book wasn’t just to sew her name back on the label... [but] to remind readers... that these clothes we take for granted today began with a very important and revolutionary meaning.”
  — Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson [30:45]

Noteworthy Segments with Timestamps

• [03:45] — Childhood and family influences, “Kick” nickname.
• [07:48] — Early career in NY and struggles as a woman designer.
• [10:56] — Innovations: Comfort, practicality, and mix-and-match separates.
• [14:27] — Redefining women’s sportswear and swimwear.
• [16:34] — Impact of WWII, inventing ballet flats, the rise of American fashion.
• [20:30] — The landmark achievement: McCardell’s name on the label.
• [21:17] — Marriage, name, and feminist considerations.
• [25:05] — Competing with Dior’s “New Look,” advocacy for comfort and real lives.
• [27:22] — McCardell’s explicit feminist stance.
• [28:39] — Death, the lack of brand continuation, and reasons for her historical obscurity.
• [33:24] — Surprising finds: McCardell’s archives and connection with her customers.

Episode Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is warm, reverent, and illuminating, combining historical detail with a timely reflection on women’s contributions and erasure in design and culture. Dickinson and Melcher’s accessible, thoughtful dialogue ensures that even listeners with little fashion knowledge come away with a deep appreciation for Claire McCardell’s legacy and the broader issues of recognition in women’s history.