From Dalkey, County Dublin, to dominating as editor-in-chief of the American edition of Harper's Bazaar from 1934 to 1958, Carmel Snow's amazing rise is the stuff of fairytales. Editor's Note: Women's History Month highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Women's History Month has been celebrated annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987.
IrishCentral marks Women's History Month by celebrating wonderful Irish women past and present. Before there was Diana Vreeland or Anna Wintour , the fashion industry was ruled by an Irish woman from Dublin. Carmel Snow possessed an eagle eye, transforming Harper’s Bazaar, a tired and dowdy magazine, into a dynamic, game-changing publication.
During her career, she made household names of Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Lauren Bacall, Cecil Beaton, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Carmel was born in Dalkey, County Dublin. Her father Peter White had established a career exporting Irish crafts before he died when Carmel was just five years old.
Her mother was a prominent dressmaker who was driven by a strong work ethic. Soon after her husband’s death, she moved the family to Chicago in search of a better life and opportunities. When Carmel was a teenager, the family moved to New York where her mother took up the helm at the exclusive T.
M. & J.M.
Fox store. Carmel once stated it was here that her “apprenticeship as an editor had begun”. Carmel Snow studying the layou.
