Charm, once a fashion magazine, was transformed into a pioneering magazine for working women under the leadership of editor Helen Valentine in the 1950s. Valentine recognized the growing number of women entering the workforce after World War II and provided them with a platform through Charm that reflected their needs and interests.

Following the success of Seventeen, Valentine was invited in 1950 by publishers Street and Smith, for whom she had worked at Mademoiselle, to bring about a turnaround at Charm. Charm had started nine years earlier as a fashion magazine for women working between leaving school and getting married; over the years, it had lost its readership. Valentine's idea, based on social statistics, was that while women had temporarily entered the workforce during World War II, the post-war period had produced a new, permanent class of working women, the majority of whom were married and thus represented a dual consumption potential.

Valentine believed that her audience - an interest group, not an age group - needed a magazine to help them integrate their work into their lives. Charm's cover bore the subtitle "The Magazine for Women Who Work." The clothing was intended for women who worked, so they were shown in the context of work - in the office, in the city, commuting, shopping on their lunch break - as practical responses to everyday problems.

Cipe Pineles, who followed Valentine to Charm, played a crucial role as the magazine's art director. Her design philosophy emphasized the attractiveness of reality over the glamour. Pineles' innovative use of fine artists as illustrators added a unique visual element to the magazine. She focused on making the prosaic attractive and used modern art and conceptual approaches to enhance the magazine's appeal. Pineles often used her own illustrations, furniture, and home as props and settings for photographs, giving her work a personal touch.

One of Charm's most successful initiatives was the series "She works in [city name]," which highlighted the contributions of working women in various cities across the United States. These week-long celebrations, organized by promotions director Estelle Ellis, involved local businesses, chambers of commerce, and women's groups and showcased how much women contributed to the economic life of their cities.

Charm's content was diverse and inclusive, featuring articles on work, money, education, career opportunities, and men's reactions to working wives and colleagues. It also offered household advice for time- and energy-strapped readers and presented fashion for work and leisure. The magazine acknowledged the double burden of working women long before this concept was widely discussed.

Through the efforts of Valentine, Pineles, and Ellis, Charm offered a new narrative for working women, portraying them as intelligent, capable, and essential contributors to society. The magazine not only provided practical solutions but also inspired and empowered its readers, making it a groundbreaking publication in the history of women's media. (dg)