Wednesday is the final dog day of summer. We’re now moving into the time of year when the September fashion magazines hit the newsstands and brick-and-mortar retail stores begin to sell the new fall clothes. I should be writing about the fall 2017 trends (like velvet, statement sleeves, and red accents), but instead, I’m writing about an American fashion designer named Hattie. Hattie Who? Let me introduce you to Hattie Carnegie.

Hattie is among the many American fashion designers who put New York on the map, helping the city develop a reputation rivaling Paris as a fashion capital. She was born Henrietta Kanengeiger on March 15, 1880 (she died February 22, 1956) in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Her family emigrated to the Lower East Side in Manhattan when Hattie was a young girl. In 1902, when Hattie was 13, her father died, and she had to take a job as a messenger at Macy’s to help to help support her family of six siblings. When she was 15, Hattie began modeling and trimming hats at a millinery manufacturer.
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