Pope was born in Chicago, the daughter of Francis Pope and Betty Hamilton Pope. As a girl she lived in Europe with her widowed mother, and learned to speak French, German, and Italian.[1]
Career
Pope worked for the Red Cross in France during World War I, and spent some time as a resident at Hull House. She appeared on stage as a dancer with Yvette Guilbert as a young woman. She began writing about cultural events in New York City, using her language skills to interview visiting German singers, or to learn about Christmas traditions from Italy.[1]
Pope began writing for The New York Times in 1925, and was the paper's first fashion editor, holding that title from 1933 to 1955.[2] She was a founding member of Fashion Group International, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Arden, Edith Head, Helena Rubinstein, and other notables; the organization was intended to promote the work of American designers during the Great Depression.[3] She launched the annual Fashions of the Times showcase in 1942.[4]
Pope was elected president of the New York Newspaperwomen's Club in 1944 and 1945,[5][6][7] and attended the annual Met Gala.[1] In 1948, she received an award from the Educational Foundation of the Apparel Industry, for her "outstanding contributions to the fashion industry".[8] In 1951, she was elected president of Fashion Group, Inc.[9] In 1953 Pope covered the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[10]
After she retired from The New York Times, Pope was fashion editor of Parade magazine, beginning in 1956.[11][12] Later in life she taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology,[1] where a scholarship was named for her in 1959.[13] In 1967 she appeared on a panel about "Handicapped Homemakers" at the annual meeting of the President's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped, speaking to the need to consider disability in clothing and fabric design.[14]
Pope attended the Metropolitan Opera weekly, often with students in tow. She owned hundreds of hats, and once confessed, "I'm a drunkard for hats; I cannot bear to throw one away." She died in 1978, at her home in New York City, at the age of 92.[1]