Readers of The Sunday Times knew that the fashion journalist Ernestine Carter could spot a winner from a mile away, whether at a Paris couturier or a boutique on London’s King’s Road. Apocryphally, whatever she praised on Sunday was sold out by Monday lunchtime. In her entertaining and informative autobiography, Carter recalls her illustrious career as Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar during the 50s, describing her attendance at haute couture shows throughout Europe, including the exhilaration of seeing Dior’s ‘New Look’ for the first time. Her insightful commentary on designers and fashion continued into the 60s as women’s editor, and later associate editor at The Sunday Times, where she backed a rising generation of British designers including Mary Quant and Jean Muir.

First published in 1974, this book is part of the V&A Fashion Perspectives Series. Selected by V&A publishing in consultation with our world-leading fashion curators, the Fashion Perspectives series offers an access all areas pass to the glamorous world of fashion. Models, magazine editors and the designers themselves take readers behind the scenes at the likes of Balenciaga, Balmain, Chanel, Dior, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue in the golden age of couture.

© 2020 V&A Publishing (Ebook): 9781838510060

Release date

Ebook: 15 May 2020