When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller A Cosmopolitan Best Nonfiction Book of 2024 ‘Compulsively readable: I found myself dashing through it like a novel’ The Wall Street Journal ‘Riveting’ Financial Times The New York Times bestselling story of the golden age of luxury department stores, and the trailblazing women who ran them. The twentieth century department store: a wonderland of consumption where every wish could be met under one roof. Dropping off the baby at nursery; an afternoon tea; a stroll through the latest fashions. A wedding (or funeral) could be planned. A Bengal Tiger cub could be purchased. Inside these towering price-tag palaces, anything was possible. They were beacons of modernity, and within this atmosphere of glamour and luxury, women dominated. Men may have owned the buildings, but inside women ruled. Among the rising prices and growing opulence, three women climbed to the top: Hortense Odlum, Dorothy Shaver, and Geraldine Stutz. Julie Satow draws back the curtain on these three visionaries who took great risks, forging new paths for the women who followed in their footsteps. This stylish account, rich with personal drama and trade secrets, captures the department store in all its glitz, decadence and fun, and showcases the women who made that beautifully curated world go round. ‘If you liked Mad Men then you’ll love When Women Ran Fifth Avenue’ #1 New York Times bestselling author Kate Andersen Brower, author The Residence and First Women