Helen Lee Caldwell (1909 – March 13, 1991) was an American fashion designer of children's clothes. She founded her own label, Designs by Helen Lee Inc., in 1955.

Biography

She was born in Knoxville,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in 1909. She studied at

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

before moving to New York City and studying at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

and at the

Traphagen School of Fashion Traphagen School of Fashion was an art and design school in operation from 1923 to 1991, and was located at 1680 Broadway in New York City. The school was founded and directed by Ethel Traphagen Leigh (1883–1963) with a focus on the foundational ...

(class of 1926, Costume Design). She worked as a fashion designer for Youngland Inc., Sears, Roebuck & Company,

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...

, Alyssa and her own company, Designs by Helen Lee Inc., creating clothes for boys and girls. She won the main fashion prizes: in 1953 she won the

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awa ...

for her “''significant influences in the development of good taste and charm in children’s fashion''” and she received the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1958. She was also the winner of the Etherl Traphagen Award in 1970. She created many patterns for McCall's. She retired in the late 1970s. She died on March 13, 1991 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Helen 1991 deaths American fashion designers American women fashion designers Traphagen School of Fashion alumni Children's clothing designers 1909 births