Reading Summary:
In Chapter 3 of “Elsie de Wolfe and her Female Clients” by Penny Sparke, we explore the intersectionality between class and gender expectations in the 20th century, constructed by Elsie de Wolfe’s interior decoration. According to Parke, Wolfe helped shape the field into a professional domain where women could assert influence and taste in a socially acceptable way. By challenging the dark and heavy Victorian norms with lighter and more modern styles, Wolfe helped create a new identity for upper-class women. Because of these wealthy women, interior decoration became legitimized as a professional and gendered practice.
Sparke argues that de Wolfe’s success was made possible by the relationship between women and the household, which historically had been seen as a natural extension of femininity. Rather than contesting this association, de Wolfe took advantage of it; she created a legitimate and respectable profession for herself and other women. She framed her decorative work as both practical and moral, helping upper-class women to create homes that reflected their social values.
At the time, interior decoration was not recognized as a solemn profession. Instead, it was considered more of a hobby or an extension of housework. The house was the woman’s, and the man was forever a guest. De Wolfe helped it be recognized as a profession, using her elite social connections and public persona to blend taste with authority. Sparke shows that this process of professionalization was closely tied to class privilege, as de Wolfe’s clients were highly wealthy, white, upper-class women who could afford to turn their homes into reflections of modern taste, refinement, and dreams.
Application:
Historical Case: Interior Decoration is a Female-dominated profession
Figure 1. A print advertisement for a built-in vacuum cleaning system, using a woman as the model and primary user. House Beautiful, January 1922, page 75. “Spencer. Central Cleaning System. ‘Keeps a House Clean.’“
Figure 2. Architects Yvonne Farrel and Shelley McNamara, after winning a Pritzker Prize. House Beautiful, March 03, 2020. “Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.“
Historically, women were only seen in advertisements modeling for products related to cleaning, home goods, or decorating, but only as a pass-time. Meanwhile, men were seen in images working on houses, cars, or other related activities. With the help of de Wolfe and other social evolutions/progressions, women have become more recognized in the design field. Not just as interior decorators, but as architects as well, seen in Figure 2, which celebrates the accomplishment of two female architects winning a Pritzker Prize, a prize known to be historically sexist. However, as we move onto case number two, it is important to know that this field is still associated with the upper-class.
Contemporary Case: Can only the wealthy achieve beauty?
Figure 3. An example of how most of the houses in this magazine are large, luxurious, and “exotic”: that was the standard definition of beauty and ideal. House Beautiful, January 1922, pages 35.
Figure 4. House Beautiful Website screenshot as of April 15, 2025, from their ‘Inspiration’ page. House Beautiful Website, Decoration page.
Of course, beauty is subjective. However, there have been countless debates about the norms of beauty and what it means for something to be beautiful. The design field is no stranger to these arguments. House Beautiful, architects, and other publications have, throughout time, publicized their ideas of attractiveness, ultimately creating a near universal agreement of beauty that can only be achieved if you are wealthy enough.