New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Satow Reads from Latest Book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue at Yacht Club Luncheon Presented by Judy Zeder of Jills Zeder Group
+2 New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Satow Reads from Latest Book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue at Yacht Club Luncheon Presented by Judy Zeder of Jills Zeder Group
New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Satow Reads from Latest Book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue at Yacht Club Luncheon Presented by Judy Zeder of Jills Zeder Group
New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Satow Reads from Latest Book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue at Yacht Club Luncheon Presented by Judy Zeder of Jills Zeder Group
New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Satow Reads from Latest Book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue at Yacht Club Luncheon Presented by Judy Zeder of Jills Zeder Group
New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Satow Reads from Latest Book When Women Ran Fifth Avenue at Yacht Club Luncheon Presented by Judy Zeder of Jills Zeder Group
The inspirational tale of the golden age of luxury department stores and the trailblazing women who ran them was recounted on Friday, Nov. 22, when New York Times bestselling author Julie Satow read from her latest book, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, at an exclusive luncheon held at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, presented by one of the country’s most successful realtors, Judy Zeder of The Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker.
Over a delicious luncheon held in one of the oldest yacht clubs in the country, an audience of more than 60 accomplished and perfectly coiffed women was treated to the inspiring and glittering portrait of glamour and power at the dawn of American fashion, the golden age of American department stores, and of three visionary women who led them. Guests received signed copies of the book by the celebrated author, whose credits also include The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel, highlighted by NPR as a Favorite Book of the Year.
Satow spoke of the twentieth-century American department store as a literal 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, shoppers and shopgirls alike, could stake out a newfound independence. Whether in New York, 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 U.S. 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 reinvented 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.
Satow, a journalist who formerly covered real estate for The New York Times, drew back the curtain on these visionaries who took great risks and forged new paths for the women who followed in their footsteps, all the while painting the picture of the department store in all its glitz, decadence, and fun.
One of the most successful businesswomen in Florida, Judy Zeder, the philanthropist and high-powered realtor, part of The Jills Zeder Group of Coldwell Banker Realty, the number one team in the nation as ranked by The Wall Street Journal, invited the author as part of her FORCE series, of women who are forces in business, community, philanthropy, and education.
“It was a privilege to have Julie recount her story of these remarkable women, who excelled at a time when few women dreamed of rising to the top ladder of the corporate elite. As a realtor, I drew many parallels from the way that retail opened the door to women in the 30s and 40s to the way a career in real estate paved the way for women to become financially successful and independent beginning in the 1950s. Today, women dominate the sale of single-family homes; they have created financial confidence, wealth, independence, and forged names for themselves while creating a better life for their families and communities. These barrier-breaking women are an inspiration to all generations,” said Zeder.
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue has received national acclaim with The Wall Street Journal opining: “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 event was graciously cohosted by Coral Gables Trust and Managing Director John Harris.
