Charm: “The Magazine for Women Who Work”

Charm magazine started in the 1940s, but it came into its own in 1950, when it relaunched as “The Magazine for Women Who Work,” and hired Cipe Pineles as art director. Pineles is a legendary designer who earlier art directed Seventeen and Glamour. Charm was the first magazine for working women, and the covers featured a sharp, stylish take on the working woman’s lifestyle. Charm is woefully underarchived, although Conde Nast has some nice examples in its print collection, featuring covers from 1944-59.

Pineles moved on to other magazines and projects in the late 1950s. Here are 14 Charm covers from 1950-55 that feature her brilliant art direction.

(Above): Charm, April 1952