When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

Written by Julie Satow

Narrated by Karen Murray

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A glittering portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Vogue, Smithsonian, New York Post, and Financial Times

"Ms. Satow’s carefully researched book is compulsively readable: I found myself dashing through it like a novel. She portrays the women with verve; we get a glimpse into their lives, as well as a sense of what it was like at each of these retail meccas." —The Wall Street Journal

"Compelling and colorful" —The Washington Post

The twentieth century American department store: a palace of consumption where every wish could be met under one roof – afternoon tea, a stroll through the latest fashions, a wedding (or funeral) planned. It was a place where women, shopper and shopgirl alike, could stake out a newfound independence. Whether in New York or Chicago or on Main Street, USA, men owned the buildings, but inside, women ruled.

In this hothouse atmosphere, three women rose to the top. In the 1930s, Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller came to her husband's department store as a housewife tasked with attracting more shoppers like herself, and wound up running the company. Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor championed American designers during World War II--before which US fashions were almost exclusively Parisian copies--becoming the first businesswoman to earn a $1 million salary. And in the 1960s Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel re-invented the look of the modern department store. With a preternatural sense for trends, she inspired a devoted following of ultra-chic shoppers as well as decades of copycats.

In When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, journalist Julie Satow draws back the curtain on three visionaries who took great risks, forging new paths for the women who followed in their footsteps. This stylish account, rich with personal drama and trade secrets, captures the department store in all its glitz, decadence, and fun, and showcases the women who made that beautifully curated world go round.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9780593865385

Julie Satow

Julie Satow is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion” and “The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel.” A regular contributor to the New York Times, her work has also appeared on National Public Radio, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Reviews for When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

[kalliegrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Incredibly detailed and striking portrait of the birth of department stores, fashion houses, and the women at the head. This follows three women through their careers from the 1920ish and onward in fashion retail, and covers everything from biographic information to store layouts and fashion catalogs. I found it fascinating how much simpler it was to be a small business owner then, those really were the days of walk in and ask for a job. The women seemed to largely take for granted or even resent their place in the workforce though, and didn't exactly embody "feminism" even of their time.

[zomgpwnbbq · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well written and informative but unquestioning. Ultimately, a vapid topic, shopping and commercialism.