Draft:Louise Barnes Gallagher

Introduction
Louise Barnes Gallagher (1892-1972) was a New York fashion designer prominent in the 1920-40s and the winner of the first Neiman Marcus Fashion Awards.

Early Life
Gallagher was born in 1892 in New York City and was raised there. As a young girl, she began sewing clothing for herself and her dolls. She was widowed young when her husband was killed in action in World War I. Now a young widow, she entered the fashion industry by beginning to model for a wholesale dress house in New York called Bonwit Teller in order to earn a living.

Simultaneously, while not modeling, she continued to practice dressmaking, and she took night classes in draping and sculpture. Soon, as modeling began to bore Gallagher and she became more interested in dressmaking, she spent more time learning about construction techniques in the workrooms of the dress house she modeled for.

Eventually, Gallagher would move from modeling to designing, rising through the ranks to become a designer for a New York City suit and coat manufacturer.

Paris and Rise to Prominence
Louise Barnes Gallagher went to Paris in 1916. In Paris, Gallagher worked as a stylist at an atelier. She sent the fabrics and design ideas from her Paris atelier to Bonwit Teller (the dress house she had worked at in New York). In 1919, when she returned to America, a prominent New York suit and coat manufacturer hired her and placed her in charge of five workrooms.

In this, she became the wholesale industry’s first female suit designer. The job came with its challenges, including the fact that her direct employees were all men, most of whom were not used to, comfortable with, or cooperative with having a female boss.

Prominence in the fashion industry in the 1920-30s
Gallagher opened her own fashion house in 1924, and was successfully running this business by herself by the mid-1920s. Over the next twenty-five years, with her business, Gallagher strictly specialized in and  produced coats, dresses, and suits for the afternoon and day.

She was especially known for her use Gallagher Mesh, a fine, “sheer knitted wool mesh fabric” that she patented. Gallagher Mesh that was woven, yet felt like and looked like fine knit.

Another signature characteristic of her work was the usage of several buttons on her designs and garments.

The clothes she created with these characteristics were sold in high-end, exclusive American stores like Neiman Marcus for expensive prices. Often, the price of her dresses ran in the thousands of dollars.

Later Life, Career, and Impact
As her career developed, during WWII when the couture houses in Paris closed, Gallagher became considered one of the world’s most significant designers. In 1938, Gallagher became the winner of the very first Neiman Marcus Fashion Awards, being named by Stanley Marcus as one of the top American designers of the time.

Gallagher was considered such a prominent figure in the fashion industry that she served as a witness in one of the hearings before the Special Committee to Investigate Executive Agencies before the 79th Congress in 1945.

Books
Louise Barnes Gallagher also was an author, writing childrens’ and young adults’ books about careers in fashion. These books included Mary Bray, Fashion Designer, Frills and Thrills, and Buttons and Beaux.

She based Mary Bray, Fashion Designer on her own life and experiences. In Mary Bray, Fashion Designer, Mary’s husband has gone missing in action during a war. In order to distract herself from her issues, Mary returns to working as a designer until her husband is able to return home.

The book contains insight into the 1940s clothing manufacturing industry and the specific workings of fashion houses on Seventh Avenue, including design tables and trunk shows at a department store in Dallas that parallels Neiman Marcus.

End of Career and Legacy
In 1949, Louise Gallagher retired, and she passed her fashion house to her employee Jerry Gibbs. After she retired, Gallagher continued to oversee the collections in her company for a short time. The name of her company was changed to Gallagher Mesh, and it continued for a few years afterwards.

In the 1950s, she began to design patterns, coats, and suits for American Designer Patterns. During this time, she also began to write the aforementioned books, aimed at young girls interested in careers in the fashion industry.

After 1952, however, mentions of Gallagher Mesh, Gallagher’s company and patent, disappeared. Gallagher died in 1972 at the age of 80.