Belle Armstrong Whitney

Belle Armstrong Whitney (September 27, 1861 – August 1922), who also used the pen name Dinah Sturgis,[1] was an American writer and "fashion expert",[2] based in Paris.

Belle Armstrong Whitney, from a 1918 publication.

Early life

Belle Armstrong was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Thomas Ainsley Armstrong and Sarah Sophia Armstrong.[3]

Career

Whitney lectured[4] and wrote books on fashion, including Suggestions to Dressmakers, and What to Wear: A Book for Women (1916). She discussed the fashion industry's responses to wartime conditions in France during World War I,[5] and to the changing role of women in the 1910s, declaring that "Women now wish to take a more important place in the scheme of modern life, yet they cling to many of their shackles of dress."[6] She especially admired the designs of Mariano Fortuny, for their combination of practicality and artistry.[7] She held a fashion show in New York in 1915, which was considered somewhat risqué; "men in the audience not with their wives" were asked to leave quietly if they wished, before the lingerie portion.[8]

As a director of the Whitney-Richards Galleries in New York, Whitney collected, exhibited and spoke on French poster art during World War I.[9] Whitney was also Foreign Secretary of the Surgical War Dressings committee of the American Red Cross,[9] and lectured in the United States to raise funds for French war relief.[10] She was recognized by the French government for her service, as a Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honour.[11]

Personal life

Belle Armstrong married Charles Alvano Whitney, a medical doctor, in 1885. They had a son, Lloyd Whitney, born in 1888. Belle Armstrong Whitney was a widow[12] when she died at Meudon in 1922, aged 61 years, from heart disease.[11][13]

References
  1. Barbara Babcock, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz (Stanford University Press 2011): 195. ISBN 9780804743587
  2. "The Women's Apparel Unit of the Women's Overseas Hospitals, U. S. A." The Woman Citizen (August 24, 1918): 251.
  3. John William Leonard, Woman's Who's Who of America (American Commonwealth Company 1914): 878.
  4. "Men Dictate What Women Shall Wear" New York Times (February 4, 1909): 5.
  5. "The Season of Silk and Ribbons" The American Silk Journal (October 1915): 47-48.
  6. Belle Armstrong Whitney, What to Wear: A Book for Women (Good Health Publishing Company 1916): 12.
  7. Patricia A. Cunningham, Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health, and Art (Kent State University Press 2003): 215. ISBN 9780873387422
  8. "Men Didn't Flinch at Fashion Show" New York Times (September 28, 1915): 9.
  9. Frank Leroy Blanchard, "War Posters Aflame with the Fighting Spirit of the French People" Printer's Ink (April 4, 1918): 65-71.
  10. "Woman Speaker Will Appear Here in June" The Times (April 24, 1918): 10. via Newspapers.com
  11. "Tribute to Belle Whitney" New York Times (August 25, 1922): 9.
  12. "Belle A. Whitney Dead" The Morning News (August 22, 1922): 4. via Newspapers.com
  13. "Mrs. Belle A. Whitney Dies from Heart Disease at Her Paris Home" Boston Evening Globe (August 21, 1922): 3.
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