When Women Ran Fifth Avenue Quotes

“Fashion says, ‘Me Too,’ while style says ‘Only Me.”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“Over time many [department stores] had to unshackle themselves from the very things that had once endeared them to their customers: they were forced to trade in their trained staff for harried, part time employees; swap carefully curated merchandise for cheaper selections; and forgo the elaborate window displays and cultural events that they were known for. (page 164)”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“While Hortense was taking over at Bonwit Teller, a determined, steely-eyed Dorothy Shaver was rising through the ranks at Lord & Taylor.”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“This was in 1916, when Hortense had been in the city for barely a month, living with her husband and infant son in a cramped apartment in Brooklyn, filled with cheap vinyl furniture and a roommate to help them cover the rent. Floyd was working as a junior clerk at a white-shoe law firm in Manhattan. His paycheck was small, but the position had career potential and was a step forward for the ambitious young couple.”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“Hortense could never forget the first dress she bought in New York City. It was the ugliest outfit she ever wore, black chiffon, costing $10, purchased in a bargain basement of a department store that was worlds away from the grandeur of Bonwit Teller and Fifth Avenue.”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“Its founder’s famous mottoes included “Give the lady what she wants”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“This attitude toward women was not only troubling; it was in absolute contrast to Geraldine’s own viewpoint. At Bendel, fashion was not about seducing men; it was a tool for women to find the best expression of themselves.”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“Covered in Stephen Burrows inside-out chicness or resplendent in Chloé blouses tucked into skinny jeans tucked into $400 boots, she has never underestimated the power of a beautiful thing. She knows, without her yoga instructor’s telling her, that size 4 is the size that’s right for her. The Bendel is subtle and a little shy—she hides her Penelope Tree eyebrows under oversized sunglasses; her swinging straight hair under turbans and berets; her freshly manicured toenails beneath oversized clogs as she looks for the simple throw-on at $275. The Bendel does not eat during the day, except for an occasional asparagus. She prefers her store’s boutiques with their maximum of chic and minimum of stock. The Bendel woman is methodical and thinks ahead, and if she has stayed past the sensible 3:30, thank God for Buster, who will get her a taxi.”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

“Quoting Edgar Lee Masters, the poet who wrote about small-town America, she said, “The branches of a tree spread no wider than its roots. And how shall the soul of man be larger than the life he has lived?”
― Julie Satow, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion