Happy Birthday Claire McCardell, My Miss America

Yes, it's Claire's Birthday today. Claire was born in 1905 and would have been 106 had she still been with us today. Claire passed away from cancer at the young age of 53, far too young for such a talented visionary.

Happy Birthday my dear Claire, you have my heart every time I look at your stunning work. All of her effortless ease and innovations in styling still remain top of class today.

1948 Claire McCardell Swimsuit

You can see quite a few of our blog posts on Claire McCardell here on our blog and our friend Lizzie has written a lovely bio (with images) on her website Fuzzylizzie. I also recently come across another post on CharlotteMoss' blog where she has a full copy of the article on Claire that ran in Time magazine from May 2, 1955. Suggestion, go get a refreshment to sip while you take time to read it.

She also mentions:

"Charlotte will attend a private birthday party hosted by Dr. Valerie Steele in the archive at the Museum at F.I.T. on Monday, May 23rd to celebrate Claire McCardell’s birthday. Guests will have the special opportunity to view 5 examples of the designer’s work that are part of the museum’s permanent collection.

*Charlotte will be taking photographs at the event. Stay tuned for Monday night…"

YIKES! You can bet I'll be looking forward to that!

In the meantime, raise your glass to one of my all time favorite hero's Claire McCardell.