Claire's Life of Honors, Mostly Forgotten
Weekend Reads v. 14.2.2026
If you’re a woman, many of the items in your closet reflect the genius of a woman named Claire McCarell. That dress with deep pockets that you love so much? Claire’s invention. The soft hoodie you reach for every weekend? Claire’s alternative to hats. The ballet flats that go with everything. Yup, Claire strikes again. The side zipper that means you never have to twist and contort to get into a dress – well you get the point.
If one woman was responsible for so many of the staples we have in our wardrobes today, how come so few people have heard of her?
Thankfully, designers and biographers have recently put a spotlight back on Claire. Not too long ago, I linked to a new biography about the famed yet forgotten designer Claire McCarrell. I’m grateful my friend Kathy not only saw my reference but gifted me the book for Christmas. I just finished the book, and I’m astounded that I never knew about this creative giant to whom I owe a debt of gratitude, for I dearly love pockets, hoodies, and ballet flats.
Designers like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tory Burch, and Tommy Hilfiger all pledge allegiances to Claire’s innovative and practical approach to fashion. They point to the fact that many of her designs still look fresh even after 70+ years have passed since they were first introduced.
“She really invented sportswear, which is the country’s major contribution to fashion. She realized that and did that in the 1940’s,” said Calvin Klein.
How can people so easily forget about a person who contributed so much to modern life?
Claire’s biography sings the sad truth that life is full and vibrant until one day it isn’t. The biography sticks a collection of glossy black and white photos into the middle of the book. Photos show glimpses of her very full life: a weekend at her small country house, laughing with family and friends under the expansive shade of an old tree; posing alongside fellow award recipients in DC; and hard at work in her studio.
A few weeks before she was diagnosed with a terminal disease, she sat down for an interview and told the writer, “Probably forty years from now I’ll be sitting in a wheelchair designing a dress for a great-great-grandmother to look as young as she feels.” She wouldn’t get those forty years because she would pass away about a year after giving that interview.
That’s how it is with life. When we are young, we take it for granted and spend it foolishly. As we age, we grow frustrated with the ways time will not bend to our will. And then comes the realization that life is precious, and we become greedy for more of it. More time to accomplish this or that. More days with him or her. More hours to get back on track.
Claire didn’t create a succession plan for her label, hence its shuttering in the Spring of 1959. She likely thought she would get to that another day.
At the risk of being controversial and causing great division, I must make a confession to you. I have never gotten the hoopla around Emily Brontë. And I have certainly never clicked with the moody drama that is “Wuthering Heights.” I am firmly on Team Jane Austen while simultaneously holding a fondness for the magnificent work that is “Jane Eyre” by Emily’s sister, Charlotte. This being said, I am still undecided on whether I will see the new film adaptation of “Wuthering Heights,” but I would most certainly sign up for a trip to spend time with the book’s most imposing character: the Yorkshire moors.
Red and blue look good on everyone.
What book would you live in?
The era of American monoculture is coming to an end.
“All nations are held together by culture, but the U.S. is unique for the power of its pop culture. Our music, television shows and movies are a multitrillion-dollar business and the first way that billions of people around the world get to know us.
…It was the birth of the monoculture—a word that captures the historically unique power of American entertainment in the 20th century. An estimated 200 million tickets were sold for “Gone With the Wind,” which came out in 1939, when the population of the U.S. was 130 million. The “Amos ’n’ Andy” radio show was so popular that movie theaters scheduled around it and piped the audio in on their speakers. In 1983, more than 100 million people watched the finale of “M*A*S*H.”
Americans could count on the fact that their neighbors, their co-workers, or the stranger they sat next to on a plane knew the same pop culture as them and quite possibly had an interesting opinion about it. We talked about the stuff we had watched and listened to at work, on dates and at family reunions. The monoculture was a unifying force when politics, race, and geographic and generational divides kept threatening to tear us apart. You don’t need me to tell you that the monoculture is dying a rapid death. Outside of major sporting events, we’re all watching and listening to different things, fed to us by algorithms designed to divide us into uniquely satisfied consumers.” (Source)
On a related note, a quiz to test your American culture / pop culture knowledge.
What happens when in-person socializing is replaced by tech:
“People don’t process the information as thoroughly when it comes in via technology, as opposed to getting it in person. They don’t think about it as much. Of course, these are broad averages, and some email messages can prompt high arousal, serious thinking, and more. Still, in general there is less thinking.” (Source)
The surprising one role Gen Z women still want men to play.
Since 2006, South Korea has spent $200 billion on programs to reward parenthood. It hasn’t worked. (h/t Rob Henderson)
“Sorry I was so glum. I’m in a cursed mood and can’t bear the human face.” Virginia Woolf
Something scrumptious and briney for dinner on a cold February night.
Floret has loads of helpful online workshops and resources if you’re thinking about planting a garden.
Kinda love this poster that advises you to “toss your phone into the sea.” It’s available in English, French, and Italian. (Of course I would never advise one to throw their phone into the sea because that would be dreadful for the fish!)
Lessons from four winters in Sweden.
Ah! What an incredible poem!!
Hope you feel especially loved today even if you aren’t into red hearts and chocolates and all that.
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