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Norman Norell, 1900-1972 - Dean of American Fashion

Norman Norell Side OneNorman Norell Side Two

Location: Along 8th St. between Cherry St. and Maple Ave., Noblesville (Hamilton County), Indiana 46060

Installed 2021 Indiana Historical Bureau, Hamilton County Historical Society, Levinson Family, Rebar Development, Nickel Plate Arts, and City of Noblesville

ID#: 29.2021.1

Learn more about Norman Norrell, the Dean of American Fashion, at IHB's Indiana History Blog.

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Side One

Norman Norell, 1900-1972

Fashion designer Norman (Levinson) Norell was born near here. The Levinsons settled in Noblesville in 1857 and opened a men’s clothing store. They relocated to Indianapolis in 1907, where theater productions inspired Norell to study art and fashion illustration in New York. He designed for stage and screen then entered the field of wholesale women’s clothing in 1924.

Side Two

Dean of American Fashion

Norell founded the Traina-Norell (1941) and Norell (1960) fashion houses. He introduced new designs, including the chemise dress, under WWII restrictions and emerged an American fashion industry leader. He applied couture techniques to wholesale clothing. His designs were worn by icons Jackie Kennedy, Judy Garland, and Marilyn Monroe. He is buried in Crownland Cemetery.

Annotated Text

Side One

Norman Norell, 1900-1972[1]

Fashion designer Norman (Levinson) Norell was born on this block.[2] The Levinsons settled in Noblesville in 1857 and opened a men’s clothing store.[3] They moved to Indianapolis in 1907, where theater productions inspired Norell to study art and fashion illustration in New York.[4] He designed for stage and screen then entered the field of wholesale women’s clothing in 1924.[5]

Side Two

Dean of American Fashion[6]

Norell founded the Traina-Norell (1941) and Norell (1960) fashion houses.[7] He introduced new designs, including the chemise dress, under WWII restrictions and emerged an American fashion industry leader.[8] He applied couture techniques to wholesale clothing.[9] His designs were worn by icons Jackie Kennedy, Judy Garland, and Marilyn Monroe.[10] He is buried in Crownland Cemetery.[11]


[1] “Not Named Levinson,” 1900 United States Census, Noblesville Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, Enumerations District 90, page 7, Line 34, June 6, 1900, AncestryLibrary.com; “Norman D. Levinson,” 1910 United States Census, Center Township, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, Enumerations District 126, page 9, Line 16, April 26, 1910, AncestryLibrary.com; Bernadine Morris, “Norman Norell, Designer, Dies; Made 7th Ave. the Rival of Paris, New York Times, October 26, 1972, 1.

[2] “Not Named Levinson,” 1900 United States Census, Noblesville Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, Enumerations District 90, page 7, Line 34, June 6, 1900, AncestryLibrary.com; Sanborn Map Company, Noblesville, Hamilton County, August 1905, page 3, Fire Insurance Maps Online; Sanborn Map Company, Noblesville, Hamilton County, April 1898, page 3, Fire Insurance Maps Online.

[3] “N.D. Levinson & Co.,” [Noblesville] Hoosier Patriot, May 6, 1858, 3, Newspapers.com; “Levinson, N.D.,” Hamilton County City Directory, provided by applicant; “Clothing,” [Noblesville] Hamilton Ledger, September 2, 1881, 2, provided by applicant; “Mr. N.D. Levinson Died at the Home of His Daughter in Indianapolis,” [Noblesville] Hamilton Ledger, June 20, 1899, 1, Newspapers.com.

[4] “Will Locate in Indianapolis,” Hamilton County Ledger, May 29, 1906, 8, Newspapers.com; “Harry Levinson,” Hamilton County Ledger, June 8, 1906, Newspapers.com; “Harry Levinson,” Hamilton County Times, September 6, 1906, 2, Newspapers.com; “Harry Levinson,” Hamilton County Ledger, October 18, 1907, 1, Newspapers.com; “Norman Levinson,” Pratt Institute Yearbook, 1922, 159, accessed Ancestry.com, submitted by applicant; Phyllis Lee Levin, “Honored Designer Fashions Clothes of Fabulous Fabrics,” New York Times, October 5, 1956, 39, New York Times Archives; Carrie Donovan, Norman Norell: Fashion Is His Life, New York Times, June 28, 1961, 42, New York Times Archives; Beryl Williams, Fashion is our Business, Beryl Williams Epstein, 96-97.

[5] Phyllis Lee Levin, “Honored Designer Fashions Clothes of Fabulous Fabrics,” New York Times, October 5, 1956, 39, New York Times Archives; Carrie Donovan, Norman Norell: Fashion Is His Life, New York Times, June 28, 1961, 42, New York Times Archives; Marylin Bender, “Designer Brings Back Flappers and Flounces,” New York Times,  July 19, 1965, 20, New York Times Archives; Bernadine Morris, New York Times Archives; “The Man Who Made the ‘Rag Business’ Respectable: A Talk With Norman Norell,” The New York Times, October 15, 1972, 88, accessed New York Times Archives.

[6] “’Dean of American Fashion:’ Norell Throws a Few Surprises into ‘Traditional’ Fall Showing,” Arizona Star, July 11, 1968, 27, Newspapers.com; “Fashion in the U.S. – a 30 Minute Look,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 2, 1968, 20, Newspapers.com; “Dean of the American Fashion Designers Dies,” Kane [Pennsylvania] Republican, October 26, 1972, 1, Newspapers.com; “The Timeless World of Norman Norell,” Tampa Tribune, April 2, 1981, 49, Newspapers.com.

[7] Carrie Donovan, Norman Norell: Fashion Is His Life, New York Times, June 28, 1961, 42, New York Times Archives; Bernadine Morris, “Parsons Honors Celebrated Dropout, New York Times, April 30, 1965, 39, New York Times Archives; Bernadine Morris, “The Man Who Made the ‘Rag Business’ Respectable: A Talk With Norman Norell,” The New York Times, October 15, 1972, 88, accessed New York Times Archives.

[8] Frances Mclaughlin, “The Chemise Dress: Success Story,” Vogue, November 15, 1950, Vogue Archive; Phyllis Lee Levin, “Honored Designer Fashions Clothes of Fabulous Fabrics,” New York Times, October 5, 1956, 39, New York Times Archives; Bernadine Morris, “Parsons Honors Celebrated Dropout, New York Times, April 30, 1965, 39, New York Times Archives; “Norman Norell: Social Security for the Affluent,” New York Times, February 21, 1967, 51, New York Times Archives; Bernadine Morris, “The Man Who Made the ‘Rag Business’ Respectable: A Talk with Norman Norell,” The New York Times, October 15, 1972, 88, accessed New York Times Archives, Bernadine Morris, “Norman Norell, Designer, Dies; Made 7th Ave. the Rival of Paris,” New York Times, 1, New York Times Archives.

[9] Frances Mclaughlin-Gill, “The Allure of Neatness – Illustrated by Clothes from Norman Norell,” Vogue, May 1961, 132-135, Vogue Archives; Bernadine Morris, “Parsons Honors Celebrated Dropout, New York Times, April 30, 1965, 39, New York Times Archives; “Norman Norell: Social Security for the Affluent,” New York Times, February 21, 1967, 51, New York Times Archives; Bernadine Morris, “Norman Norell, Designer, Dies; Made 7th Ave. the Rival of Paris, New York Times, October 26, 1972, 1, New York Times Archives.

[10] “Courtiers Hail Jackie,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, November 14, 1960,11 Newspapers.com; “Fashion is Part of New Judy Garland,” [Lancaster] Sunday News, February 18, 1962, 18, Newspapers.com;  “Lot 53 – A Sequined Evening Dress,” The Marilyn Monroe Collection.

Learn more about Marilyn Monroe’s relationship with Norell in the book Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy, by Elizabeth Winder.

[11] “Crownland Burials Listed,” Noblesville Ledger, February 8, 1972, p. 8, newspapers.com.

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