In a time when there were few designers that might be considered household names, Hattie Carnegie was well known. Not bad for a woman who didn’t know how to sew. She could make hats, but not dresses. That was left to an early partner in the business at first. Later, workers were hired to create the clothes Hattie designed.

Until 1928, all Hattie Carnegie dresses were made to order, but that year, she started her first ready-to-wear line, hiring Hoosier Norman Norell to design it. Though Norell went on to produce his own fashions, he conceded: “I learned everything I knew from her.” (Hattie Carnegie)

This Fall 1944 suit, advertised via L.S. Ayres appears almost timeless and wouldn’t be in any way out of place for someone to wear this fall.