it was a big deal. >> claire mccardell led the way for many american designers. kors, norma kamali. they all have this american style. >> claire mccardell stopped going to the european shows. she said i'm not going anymore, because my creativity has to be original. she never went back to europe. she was making stuff in america for americans. >> you see this independence and america carving out its own unique identity. >> sportswear became the defining style of the united states. - [narrator] this is the moisturizer for rough, dry skin discovered by hard working farmers who shared it with family who recommended it to friends. udderly smooth, the moisturizer for rough, dry skin with no greasy after feel. hard working moisture-rich udderly smooth. zack. poor uncle edward. [ somber music playing ] he's passed away six times this year. [ cheering ] [ upbeat music starts ] let's go! let's go! let's go! and we don't even have an uncle edward. and yet somehow, i think this is what he would have wanted. [ cheering and screaming ] the volkswagen atlas. more room means more

and really, you have to credit that to one american designer, claire mccardell. like -- it was literally sportswear. like cotton jerseys and things that were reserved for something that was a lot more leisurely made into everyday clothes. and people were scandalized and shocked because it wasn't what they were seeing overseas. but the fact that women could put this on, look incredibly great and stylish and feel comfortable at the same time. >> and yet i think of american style in the '50s as more conservative or proper and preppy. but then comes the '60s and '70s, and it seems like everything changes. what were some of the cultural forces at play then? >> i think definitely you saw the world of "i love lucy" in the '50s, really morph into like the hipsters and the hippies and woodstock. but really '60s was about a really great economic time. and i think you've all heard this before. the hemline index. as the economy goes up, so do skirt lengths. and i think that's when you saw the emergence of mini skirts. because it was a very sort of fruitful, economic times at