Julie Satow

Award-winning Journalist & Author

When Woman Ran Fifth Avenue | Julie Satow - 3D Bookshot

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

GLAMOUR and POWER at the DAWN of AMERICAN FASHION

A glittering, glamorous portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza.

Critical Praise

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Ms. Satow’s carefully researched book is compulsively readable: I found myself dashing through it like a novel. She portrays the women with verve; we get a glimpse into their lives, as well as a sense of what it was like at each of these retail meccas.

The Wall Street Journal

The latest example of great shopping writing . . . Satow could have focused on the stores alone, with their array of delightful bygone details. But by following Odlum, Shaver, and Stutz, she posits that women, in shaping retail, invented the American fashion industry. . . the worlds they built were largely forgotten, until Satow revived their legacies.

The Washington Post

A fascinating excavation of the midcentury woman . . . whose designs and ideas reinvented American department stores and consumer fashion.

The Chicago Tribune

Julie Satow dives deep into a forgotten era to unveil the gilded world of modern American department stores. With a historian’s precision and a storyteller’s charm, she brings to life three formidable women who not only shaped an industry but also defied societal expectations. Satow’s narrative unfolds with revelations so striking they’ll make readers gasp. We are reminded of the tenacity and vision of women at the forefront of commerce and culture. It is history at its most captivating, replete with glamour, rivalry, and ambition.”

— Laurie Gwen Shapiro —

Author of The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary to Antarctica

Masterful. . . An essential read for anyone who loves New York history and the stories of complicated, brilliant women, Satow’s book is enthralling from start to finish. She brings the glorious department stores of the past to vivid life while offering compassionate, nuanced portraits of those who ran the show.

— Fiona Davis —

New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular

American history at its best.

— Laurence Leamer —

New York Times bestselling author of Capote’s Women

In When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, Julie Satow shows how a trio of forthright female retailers transformed New York’s grand old department stores into dynamic, modern emporiums, and, in turn, vitalized America’s burgeoning fashion industry. A delightful spin through 20th-century Manhattan, and a fitting tribute to these formidable and long-overlooked business leaders.

— Dana Thomas —

Author of the New York Times bestseller, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

“By taking us inside the gilded department store revolving doors in When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, Julie Satow transports us to an era filled with designers, artists, and celebrities. In this fascinating and glamorous trip back in time, we are introduced to the women behind the scenes who made it all happen — changing the way we shop, dress, and pursue careers.”

— Kate Storey —

Author of the New York Times bestseller, White House by the Sea

“Satow traces the arc of the American woman over the twentieth century as she worked to break down barriers, open up new avenues of work and self-realization and, yes, dress the American public in style. Satow illuminates how it took glamour, grit, and girl power to bring about America’s new era of fashion and commerce.”

— Allison Pataki —

New York Times bestselling author of Finding Margaret Fuller

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When Woman Ran Fifth Avenue | Julie Satow - 3D Bookshot

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

by JULIE SATOW