Hattie Carnegie

Hattie  Carnegie

Hattie  Carnegie

Legend has it that as the Kanengeiser family set sail from Europe for the promised land of America, their young daughter asked the name of the richest man in the country.


Adopting industrialist Andrew Carnegie's name for herself, Hattie Carnegie went on to build a fashion empire and achieve spectacular commercial success.

Hattie  Carnegie

Born Henrietta Kanengeiser in Vienna, Austria, in 1886, Hattie Carnegie emigrated to the United States with her family at the turn of the century. Initially, she worked as a milliner's assistant at Macy's department store in New York City, but in 1913, she opened the first of a series of dress and millinery shops with Rose Booth, who made the dresses while Carnegie designed the hats.


Hattie  Carnegie

Hattie  Carnegie

The success of this enterprise led to her establishing Hattie Carnegie Inc. in 1918, and she started making jewelry to accessorize the company's outfits.

Carnegie was an innovative designer, eschewing the trend for copying fine jewelry in favor of creating her own—very expensive— designs. Early ideas were based on clips and pins in vermeil silver or base metal.


 She produced big, retro, abstract designs and enamel figurals in the form of animals and human faces, all commanding high prices today.

Hattie  Carnegie

I lattie Carnegie Originals, her ready-to-wear line, was launched in 1928. By the 1930s, she was established as a top name in the fashion world.



 She was known for her palazzo pajamas and simple black dresses, which she accessorized with feminine designs, producing small quantities of jewels that are rare today. Joan Crawford was a big

fan, buying many of her pieccs, as were other Hollywood goddesses, including Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Fontaine, and Norma Shearer.

Hattie  Carnegie

She commisioned other designers, such as Norman Norell, Pauline Trigere, and Claire McCardel, to create her pieces.



 They incorporated many forms: floral and fruit motifs were used, alongside Oriental figures and stylized animal pins.

Hattie  Carnegie

 But Carnegie is perhaps best known for "trembling" necklaces: the designs featured butterflies and flowers on springs that vibrated as the w earer moved. Materials included poured glass, faux pearls, plastic stones and beads, and rhinestones, with enameled, gold- or silver-plated bodies. The look was "frankly fake" and boldly chic.




Hattie  Carnegie

Mass production of Carnegie jewelry by the late 1950s had mixed results, and some rather unexciting gilt flower pins and abstract paste- designs were made.



 However, there were some flashes of brilliance: in the 1900s, the "Antelope" pin, inspired by primitive art, used bright plastic to emulate jade, coral, turquoise, and lapis, oft'st t with shimmering pastes.

Hattie  Carnegie

 The dramatic resign was stylish and bol j. Not as va uable but still collected are roe elephants, fish, butter'ii.:s, and birds made in this style. Other desirable pieces include c r< u> horses, clowns, and butterfly pins, as well as chandelier earrings

In 1956, following Carnegie's death, the company was sold to Larry Joseph, then in 1976 it was bought by the Chromology \i orican Corp. Marks include "HC" or "HAC" in a diamond ship.., or "Carnegie" or "Hattie Carnegie."