What Shall I Wear?

First published in 1956, What Shall I Wear is revolutionary fashion designer Claire McCardell’s collection of fashion wisdom and philosophy and a vivacious guide to looking effortlessly stylishClaire McCardell, the revolutionary fashion designer credited with originating “The American Look,” designed for the emerging active lifestyle of women in the 1940s and ’50s. She was the originator of mix-and-match separates, open-backed sundresses, and feminine denim fashion; she started the trend for ballet flats as a wartime leather-rationing measure. Spaghetti straps, brass hooks and eyes as fasteners, rivets, menswear details and fabrics—they were all started by McCardell. Her Monastic and Pop-over dresses achieved cult status, and her fashions were taken up by working women, the suburban set, and high society alike.

First published in 1956, What Shall I Wear provides a glimpse into the sources of McCardell’s inspiration—travel, sports, the American leisure lifestyle, and her own closet—and how she transformed them into fashion while still approaching design from her chosen vantage point of usefulness. A retro treat for designers and anyone who loves fashion, both vintage and contemporary, the book is teeming with charming illustrations and still-solid advice for finding your own best look, creatively shopping on a budget, and building a real wardrobe that is chic and distinctive. What Shall I Wear is a tribute to the American spirit in fashion.

About the Author

Claire McCardell (1905-1958) pioneered a style of clothing both casual and chic. In 1990 Life magazine named her one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century, and in 1955, when she was on the cover of Time magazine, she was only the third fashion designer to achieve that honor. She attended Parsons School of Design in New York and studied in Paris, learning to construct clothing by taking apart Vionnet samples. As head designer of Townley Frocks, she was one of the first American designers to have name recognition, as the company began to sell its fashions branded as "Claire McCardell Clothes by Townley." She was the recipient of two Coty Awards and won the first American Sportswear Designs Award from Sports Illustrated magazine. Her work is in museums across the country and has been the subject of retrospectives at the Smithsonian and the Fashion Institute of Technology.