{"value"=>"<p>The texts of speeches and transcripts (the latter of speeches and audience remarks) from the period 1931-1995 are arranged chronologically, and document the FGI luncheons and other events held at major hotels throughout Manhattan. Prominent individuals from the fields of fashion, business, economics, publishing and related industries were asked to be guest speakers on timely topics. The transcripts circa 1930s through 1940s supplement the speeches, and are word-for-word remarks from the dais speakers. Matilda J. Perlmutter, a stenotype reporter, made many of the transcripts for these years. The guest speakers spoke about their fields of specialization while also remarking on current events. For example, the transcripts for the luncheons held during World War II include some first-hand accounts of Paris under the control of the Nazis, and record concerns from the American fashion community over the cut-off of raw good imports from Paris, then closed to commerce. Postwar luncheon themes focused on the recovery of the fashion industry and the impact the war had on the economy. From the 1960s to the 1990s there was an explosion of new fashion and related industry interests, for example, in the areas of menswear, new fashion options for women, changes in the industry, and the environment. The custom of the FG keeping of complete transcripts of the luncheons ended by the 1950s. There is a gap in the speeches files for the years 1934 through 1937 and for the year 1942. <em>The Fashion Group Bulletin</em> (newsletter) contains an abstract of the luncheon programs (located in containers 144-152). Consult the separate index at the end of the inventory.</p>"}