Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

From the venue:

Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue
In Conversation with Holly Firfer, Local Atlanta Media Personality
Author Talk, Q & A, and Book Signing
Community Partner: Hadassah Greater Atlanta

New York Times Bestseller! * A USA Today Bestseller!

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Satow is the award-winning author of The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel, a New York Times Editors’ Pick and NPR Favorite Book of the Year. A regular contributor to the New York Times, Satow’s work has also appeared on National Public Radio, Bloomberg Businessweek, Travel + Leisure, and elsewhere. A graduate of Columbia College, she has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs. She lives in New York City with her husband, two children, and their trouble-maker dog, Chai.