The American Look: Fashion, Sportswear and the Image of Women in 1930s and 1940s New York

By the 1940s the New York fashion industry had come into its own. Sportswear, which had evolved from its origins to include simple casual wear for travel, leisure, town and country, was at the centre of this shift.

Drawing on an array of sources, this book examines how New York sportswear evolved during the 1930s and 1940s to become the definitive American style. It reveals how designers such as Claire McCardell, Clare Potter and Tina Leser created a fashion identity for New York that was a...