Finley, Ruth, 1920-2018 (14 January 1920-25 August 2018)
Person
Dates
- Existence: 14 January 1920-25 August 2018
Biography
Ruth Finley was born January 14, 1920, in Massachusetts to a Russian immigrant father and New York born mother. She attended Simmons College in Boston and received a Bachelor's of Science in Journalism and Nutrition. During her college education, she interned as a food journalist at the New York Herald Tribune and for Eleanor Lambert's Red Cross Fashion Show in Press Week. Two years after graduating, in 1941, she and a friend founded the Fashion Calendar. From the 1940s to the present, she played many roles in the New York fashion industry, including director of New York Fashion Council, member of Roundtable of Fashion Executives, and board member for philanthropic organizations, including City Meals on Wheels. Finley passed away in 2018.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Ruth Finley collection, 1941-2016
Collection
Identifier: SC.362
Scope and Contents
This collection contains materials related to Ruth Finley. The majority of the collection consists of published versions of the periodicals Fashion Calendar and the Fashion International from 1947-2014. The collection also includes published and draft copies of Fashion Calendar, Fashion International, Home Furnishing Calendar, Fashion Trade Calendar, and New York Fashion Council. It also includes business-related materials in the form of advertising, membership, and subscription information...
Dates:
1941-2016
Found in:
Special Collections and FIT Archive
Ruth Finley interview, 2015 June 11, 2015 June 11 and August 6
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.10.3
Scope and Contents
Ruth Finley sat down with Phyliss Dillon and JoAnne Olian on August 6, 2015 to discuss her career and family life. Finley shares that when she was first starting out, she would call companies herself to explain her project, collating the information in a file box. The 1950s, Finley recalls, was an important period for New York fashion as individual designers were beginning to emerge; this shift is reflected in Finley’s calendar from the period. Finley reveals that New York became the first...
Dates:
2015 June 11 and August 6