Edna Woolman Chase and Conde Nast

1877-1957/1873-1942 Editor of Vogue/Publisher of Vogue

Attracting the Gold Tips.

Born in New York to parents whose social standing exceeded their accomplishments, the fastidious young Conde Nast attracted the notice of a wealthy aunt who put him through Georgetown University. As advertising manager for his friend Robert Collier's weekly Collier's, Nast pioneered several business strategies. He believed that advertisers would pay premium rates for the most affluent readership. He explained his approach with a metaphor of 2 million needles, only 150,000 of which had gold tips. Rather than searching through the pile, he proposed it would be more efficient to devise a magnet for gold. Just so with elite society publications, he concluded. In 1909 he purchased the small society gazette called Vogue, whose ad manager was already attempting to turn it into a fashion magazine and shopping guide in...