Norell amassed numerous private clients, including Hollywood stars and entertainers, wealthy socialites, and the wives of politicians and industrialists.

His father, a haberdasher, ran a men's clothing store in Noblesville, but Norman later credited his mother with introducing him to fashion.

[2] Because Norman's father advertised his hat shop in theater playbills, the family received free passes to attend the shows.

After a brief and miserable period at the school, Norman withdrew and returned to Indianapolis, but he had no interest in joining the family's clothing business.

[5] In 1919, at the age of nineteen, Norman traveled to New York City to study fashion illustration at Parsons School of Design.

[3] Beginning in 1924 Norell spent three and a half years with Charles Armour, a wholesale dress manufacturer, learning how to make real clothes for women instead of crafting theatrical costumes.

[5] In 1928 Hattie Carnegie, a major name in the U.S. fashion industry at the time, hired Norell as a designer for her custom-order house.

[10][11] When Norell left Carnegie's fashion house in 1941, he was not yet in the financial position to open his own fashion-design business, but he had earned a strong reputation for his designs within the industry.

Norell contributed to the war effort as a volunteer on the weekends in New York's hospitals to help care for wounded soldiers.

[14][17] Although Norell made annual trips to Paris after World War II to purchase fabric and traveled across the United States to show and sell his work, he remained a New York City resident for the rest of his life.

Norell turned down an offer from Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures, to move to Hollywood and create costume designs for the film studio.

[14][15] During the 1950s Norell's biannual shows of his collection at his firm's New York City showroom at 550 Seventh Avenue were lavish, black tie events.

"[20] Norell amassed numerous private clients, including Hollywood stars such as Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, Carol Channing, Dinah Shore, and Lena Horne.

The venture provided him with sufficient funds to buy out his silent partners and become the sole owner of the Norell fashion house.

[22] Known throughout his career for his calm demeanor and easy-going manner, Norell lived a quiet, private life in New York City.

A retrospective show presented by the Parsons School of Design to honor Norell's fifty years in the fashion industry was scheduled to open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on October 16, 1972.

"[29] Fashion critics also praised Norell for his keen eye for detail, accuracy in judging proper proportion, effective use of color, and insistence on high-quality workmanship.

Norell's lavish, avant-garde fashion shows showcased his designs that were tailored for the American woman's active lifestyle.

[30][20] In 1972 the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art remarked that Norell was an "inventive pacesetter,"[16] who was well known for his high quality, tailored fashions.

[9] In the late 1960s, during the height of his popularity, Norell's "mermaid" gowns sold for $3,000 to $4,000, "considered the most expensive dresses in America" at that time.

[29] To make sure that imitations of his design for culottes would be constructed correctly, Norell published the specifications in Women's Wear Daily.

[25] In October 1972 Parsons honored Norell's fifty-year career in the fashion industry with a retrospective show at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[25] Michelle Obama, as First Lady of the United States, wore a vintage Norell dress at a Christmas party in December 2010.