NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A glittering portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza . A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Vogue , Smithsonian, New York Post, and Financial Times "Ms. Satow’s carefully researched book is compulsively readable: I found myself dashing through it like a novel. She portrays the women with verve; we get a glimpse into their lives, as well as a sense of what it was like at each of these retail meccas." — The Wall Street Journal "Compelling and colorful" — The Washington Post The twentieth century American department store: a palace of consumption where every wish could be met under one roof – afternoon tea, a stroll through the latest fashions, a wedding (or funeral) planned. It was a place where women, shopper and shopgirl alike, could stake out a newfound independence. Whether in New York or Chicago or on Main Street, USA, men owned the buildings, but inside, women ruled. In this hothouse atmosphere, three women rose to the top. In the 1930s, Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller came to her husband's department store as a housewife tasked with attracting more shoppers like herself, and wound up running the company. Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor championed American designers during World War II--before which US fashions were almost exclusively Parisian copies--becoming the first businesswoman to earn a $1 million salary. And in the 1960s Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel re-invented the look of the modern department store. With a preternatural sense for trends, she inspired a devoted following of ultra-chic shoppers as well as decades of copycats. In When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, journalist Julie Satow draws back the curtain on 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. A New York Times bestseller An Amazon, Vogue, New York Post, Smithsonian and Financial Times Best Book of 2024 A Cosmopolitan Best Nonfiction Book of 2024 A Town & Country Must-Read for Summer 2024 "A treat for anyone like me who yearns to time travel back to some of those palaces of consumption at the height of their grandeur. But even more revelatory are the stories Satow excavates of the women who presided over three of the greatest and now-vanished New York department stores" --Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air "The latest example of great shopping writing . . . Satow could have focused on the stores alone, with their array of delightful bygone details. But by following Odlum, Shaver, and Stutz, she posits that women, in shaping retail, invented the American fashion industry. . . the worlds they built were largely forgotten, until Satow revived their legacies." -- The Washington Post "Ms. Satow’s carefully researched book is compulsively readable: I found myself dashing through it like a novel. She portrays the women with verve; we get a glimpse into their lives, as well as a sense of what it was like at each of these retail meccas." -- The Wall Street Journal "Julie Satow celebrates the savvy leaders who made Bonwit, Bendel’s and Lord & Taylor into retail meccas of their moment. . . Clever . . . [Odlum, Shaver, and Stutz] are a force” -- The New York Times "Compelling and colorful" — The Washington Post “A fascinating excavation of the midcentury woman . . . whose designs and ideas reinvented American department stores and consumer fashion.” -- The Chicago Tribune “My historical read of the year” --Rachel Syme, The New Yorker "Incisive" -- The New York Post "Julie Satow . . . sheds a spotlight on the three women who changed the shopping landscape in the country . . . Amid the floors of chiffon and other luxuries is drama with Salvador Dali, spying, and divorce. Need we say more?" -- Town & Country "A nuanced exploration of the politics of gender in an industry where women--often the objects of inspiration--were overshadowed by the men who owned the stores they worked in. . . A riveting saga." -- Financial Times “Masterful. . . An essential read for anyone who loves New York history and the stories of complicated, brilliant women, Satow’s book is enthralling from start to finish. She brings the glorious department stores of the past to vivid life while offering compassionate, nuanced portraits of those who ran the show.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular “Deliciously detailed and impeccably researched, a gripping and glamorous examination of the women who were the life force of what remains a beating heart of American culture: the department store. An exuberant read! I truly loved this book.” —Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic