Serena Dunn Lesley (née Kamper; formerly Sinclair; March 29, 1926 – January 6, 2016) was an American journalist who was the longest serving fashion editor at the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. Writing under the name Serena Sinclair, Lesley covered travel and fashion at ''The Telegraph'' from 1960 to 1984. She broadcast on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio and television, and wrote for the ''

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

''. Lesley was known for her reporting about the revolution referred to as youthquake that occurred in fashion beginning in the 1960s and for it received Fashion Writer Of The Year Award in 1970. Her writing also reflected a new view of the consumer with more emphasis on creating a stylish wardrobe while living on a budget.

Early life and education

Serena Dunn Kamper was born in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

to Margaret (Dunn) and Gustav Kamper and lived there during her childhood. Lesley was raised in the

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

faith. She attended

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in Massachusetts and graduated from

Principia College Principia College is a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan with the purpose of "serving the Cause of Christian Science." Morgan wrote in her book, Education at the Principia that, "Alt ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, a private college for Christian Scientists.

Career

Early career

Kamper began her career at the ''

Santa Barbara News-Press The ''Santa Barbara News-Press'' was a broadsheet newspaper based in Santa Barbara, California. It was founded in 1868 as the ''Post'' and merged with the rival ''News'' to form the ''News-Press'' in 1932. On July 21, 2023, it filed for bankrupt ...

'' as a general reporter.

Fashion editor

Lesley was known for her reporting about the revolution referred to as youthquake that occurred in fashion beginning in the 1960s and subsequent change back to more "pulled together" attire. Her writing reflected a new view of the consumer of fashion with more emphasis on the practical aspects of dressing for their changing lifestyles. Her writing about fashion included reflections about the value of the clothes. Influenced by Lesley, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' began selling stylish clothes by mail order for women living on a tight budget.

Awards

Lesley received the Fashion Writer Of The Year Award in 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesley, Serena Sinclair 1926 births 2016 deaths Fashion editors American women journalists Writers from Santa Barbara, California The Christian Science Monitor people The Daily Telegraph people American Christian Scientists BBC people American expatriates in the United Kingdom American women magazine editors 20th-century English businesspeople Principia College alumni