ZONE YA-VOLUME 652

Lady Capitalist: e Fabric of American Freedom

Here’s what they won’t tell you in most classrooms: America is the greatest engine of opportunity for women the world has ever seen. And one of the most surprising places to see this truth? Women’s fashion. From colonial practicality to haute couture runways, American women haven’t just followed fashion trends. They create them, profit from them, and use them to tell the story of expanding freedom.

Women fought for suffrage and entered the workforce in greater numbers; fashion changed with them. Corsets loosened. The flapper dress of the 1920s wasn’t just a style. It was a statement of mobility and independence. Women could finally move freely, work, dance, and socialize with far fewer restrictions. Dorothy Shaver became president of Lord & Taylor in 1945, the first woman to lead a major American department store. Geraldine Stutz, who ran Henri Bendel, belongs on that list too. Together, they shared one thing in common. These women did not inherit their positions through family connections. They earned

them through vision, business acumen, and an understanding that American women deserved American fashion excellence. That theme runs through PragerU’s own library, too. In a Real Talk conversation with CEO Marissa Streit, Kim Kiyosaki, co-founder of The Rich Dad Company, dispels the myth of the “glass ceiling” for women in business. Scan here to watch. Edith Head won eight Academy Awards—more than any other woman in history. Over her five-decade career, she designed costumes for more than 1,000 films, and dressed every major Hollywood star from Grace Kelly

Opportunity, not oppression, built American fashion. That pattern holds outside fashion too. When young women are told America is inherently hostile to them, they are hearing a story that does not match the historical record. The real account is one of doors opened, one after another, by women who refused to accept that the country was closed to them. It is a story of triumph, and the next generation deserves to hear it that way. Read more of Liz Lange’s essay on American fashion in PragerU’s limited edition collectible magazine, America 250th. Donate $50 and we’ll send you a copy. PragerU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, provides free content to help students of all ages think and live better, grounded in Judeo-Christian values. Edith Head won eight Academy Awards and designed cos- tumes for more than 1,000 lms including alterations to Givenchy’s iconic little black dress in Breakfast at Tiany’s.

1927 magazine illustration by Paul Stahr featuring Betsy Ross sewing the rst American ag (photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Movie Star Joan Crawford wearing a apper dress (Photo by Bettmann/ Getty Images)

Colonial American women’s clothing was practical, handmade, and modest. But even then, the seeds of American ingenuity were there. Self-reliance—that enduring American trait— was literally stitched into everyday life. The early twentieth century brought visible change.

to Audrey Hepburn.

Today, a woman with vision can launch a fashion label from her home while raising children. Sara Blakely invented Spanx with $5,000 in savings and became the youngest self-made female billionaire in America.

Scan the QR Code to watch video

Scan the QR Code, to receive the magazine with $50 donation Or go to prageru.com/magazines

36A VOL. 652 YA

Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator