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The Story of
Prix de Paris
The Prix de Paris, one of the most
highly prized awards for college girls
in the United States, pays dividends to
its sponsors "Vogue Magazine, by snar-
ing first-rate talent for its staff. Since
the first Prix de Paris 11 years ago, 147
winners have won with a racing start,
fashion and writing careers. Of course
since the war they have not also won
a trip to Paris, but this shall soon be
continued. The Prix began on 1935
when the powers of the Conde Nast
Publications were sitting in conference,
discussing a strictly domestic problem:
How to find and use the best brain
about to emerge from college. Some-
one suggested, "Why not have a con-
test for college seniors, give them a
series of quizzes to see what they can
do, and send the first-prize winner to
work in Vogue's Paris Office?" ''Maybe
can it the Prix de Paris." And so their
first contest was put forward.
Now, eleven. years later, the Prix de
Pars is given and taken very seriously
More than eight thousand girls have
entered the Prix-from 525 colleges in
the 48 states, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
Young women in Chile and Turkey
have taken the Prix, just to see how
they would do. Some of Vogue's im-
portant staff members are Prix alum-
ni, and Vogue has helped hundreds
of other Prix contestants to find good
jobs in the fields of fashion, writing,
decorating, merchandising, advertising.
When the contest has been shaved
down to a dozen or fifteen finalists
Vogue brings them to New York. For
girls in the deep south and the far west,
the trip is a prize in itself. At dinner
or luncheon, the Vogue staff looks at
the Prix girls, the Prix girls look at
Vogue. At first the party is tied up in
tight little knots, later all the threads
weave smoothly together. The judges
meet again, compare first-hand impress-
ions. Then the four or five possibili-
ties for first prize come to the Vogue
offices on the l8th floor of the Chrysler
Building. They sit on the sidewalk
terrace, shakily smoke cigarettes,
answer questions about their instincts
and tastes.
Prix papers have always been judged
on the basis of "imagination, a flair for
fashion, and writing ability." In recent
years, the emphasis has been more and
more on skill in writing and thinking.
less and less on an established know-
ledge of fashion. A girl's "flair for
fashion" may be just strong enough to
get her dressed in the morning--and
she still may be invaluable to a great
fashion magazine. When a girl comes
in to be interviewed, Vogue thinks it's
nice if she's wearing a handsome suit,
but even more necessary that her mind
should be well gotten-up.
The contest consists of a series of out
quizzes to be answered by all entrants
and a 1000-word article which those
contestants who pass the four quizzes
are eligible to submit. Having looked
through several quizzes on has a deep
respect for the girls who have won,
without a doubt they must be geniuses.
The questions appear to be grippling
For instance one question was: "Define
the word 'smart' and suggest a substit-
tute for use in fashion writing other
than the word 'chic'."
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