Anne Fogarty

Anne Fogarty
Anne Fogarty wearing one of her own dresses, on the front cover of the first edition of her book Wife Dressing (1959)
Born	(1919-02-02)February 2, 1919 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died	January 15, 1980(1980-01-15) (aged 60) New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Allegheny College, Carnegie Institute of Technology, East Hartman School of Design
Occupation	Fashion designer
Awards	1952 Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, 1951 special Coty Award, 1957 Cotton Fashion Award, others

Anne Fogarty (1919–1980) was an American fashion designer, active 1940–80, who was noted for her understated, ladylike designs that were accessible to American women on a limited income. She published a style manual in 1959, Wife Dressing: The Fine Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife, which emphasized femininity, neatness, and always being suitably dressed as desirable qualities. It was republished in Britain in 2011.

Anne Fogarty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Robert and Marion Whitney. As the youngest of four children, she was passed her sisters' outgrown and cast-off clothes, which she remodeled to suit herself. She graduated from high school and entered Allegheny College in 1936. The following year, she transferred to the Carnegie Institute of Technology to study drama, as she wanted to be an actress. In 1939, after her sister Poppy moved to New York City, Anne decided to follow. While looking for acting work, she became a model for Harvey Berin, a Seventh Avenue-based womenswear manufacturer. Berin recognized Anne's talent after seeing her responses to the clothes that his designers made using her as a model, and offered to subsidize her training to be a fashion designer. Anne went to the East Hartman School of Design, although she paid her own way.

After Harvey Berin, Anne worked as a model and designer for the Sheila Lynn company. In 1940, she married the artist Thomas E. Fogarty. Although the marriage eventually ended in divorce, Anne retained his surname professionally. She modeled and worked as a stylist and publicist, including styling Rolls-Royce advertisements, until, in 1948, she secured a design job for Youth Guild, a new company that specialized in teenage fashion.

While at Youth Guild, Fogarty developed one of her signature looks, the tight-bodied dress with a very full skirt worn over a stiffened nylon petticoat, influenced by Dior's New Look. As Fogarty was a junior size 7, with her small 22-inch waist and modeling experience, she was able to wear and show her own designs to advantage. Some of her dresses were featured in a double-page spread in Harper's Bazaar. In 1950, Fogarty was offered a design job at Margot Dresses, a company specializing in junior fashion. She worked there for seven years, designing not just dresses, but accessories, lingerie and outerwear. In 1957, Fogarty moved to Saks Fifth Avenue, where she was one of the main designers. She launched her own firm, Anne Fogarty Inc., in 1962, and in the mid-1960s, launched several spin-off labels including A.F. Boutique, Collector's Items by Anne Fogarty, and Clothes Circuit. She retired in 1974 and closed her business. Despite this, she worked up until her death as a free-lance designer, with her last collection created for Shariella Fashions in 1980.