Clare Potter: The Designer Behind Eleanor Roosevelt’s American Style

Clare Potter helped define American sportswear decades before casual elegance became a global fashion ideal. In the 1930s and 1940s, while Paris couture still dominated international fashion, Potter was developing something distinctly American: sophisticated clothing designed for movement, work, travel, leisure, and modern life. Her clients included Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the most visible women in America. Potter designed for the First Lady during a fascinating period in American fashion history, including the era of the historic 1939 Royal Visit. But Clare Potter’s importance extends far beyond dressing Roosevelt. Her career reveals how American designers gradually developed a fashion identity independent of Paris — one built around practicality, separates, sportswear, ready-to-wear, and a new understanding of casual elegance. In this fashion history documentary, we explore Clare Potter’s career at Lord & Taylor, her connection to Eleanor Roosevelt, her role in the rise of American sportswear, and designs ranging from tailored daywear and evening sweaters to swimwear and relaxed resort clothing. We also look at how the Great Depression, changing lifestyles, and the growing independence of American women transformed the wardrobe of the 1930s and 1940s. Clare Potter is rarely remembered alongside the most famous names of twentieth-century fashion. Yet the idea at the center of her work — that elegance could be comfortable, functional, and designed for real life — became