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Sally Milgrim

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Sally Milgrim
Milgrim in the 1920s
Born(1898-04-21)April 21, 1898
New York, USA
DiedJune 16, 1994(1994-06-16) (aged 96)
OccupationDressmaker
Spouse
Charles Milgrim
(m. 1914)
ChildrenFranklin, Richard, Paul

Sally Milgrim (née Knobel; April 21, 1898 – June 16, 1994) was an American businesswoman and fashion designer. She notably designed the dress Eleanor Roosevelt wore to her husband's first inaugural ball.

Early life and education

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Milgrim was born as Sally Knobel on April 21, 1898, to immigrant parents Philip and Tillie Knobel.[1] She was married to Charles Milgrim in 1914, who co-operated a family suit business on the Lower East Side of New York City.[2]

Career

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1940 advertisement featuring a dress by Milgrim

At her husband's business, Milgrim began displaying her own dress designs to appeal to the female consumers.[1] By 1922, her dress designs were sold across twenty-nine states[3] and she was recruited to design clothes for Broadway productions.[1] Milgrim eventually opened her own store on 57th Street near Fifth Avenue in 1927.[4] Due to her popularity, Milgrim was forced to move into a larger space on Fifty-Seventh Street to sell her designs. Her building was designed by architect L. H. Friedland and the interior by the Paris Studio of New York.[3]

In 1933, Milgrim was asked to design a dress for Eleanor Roosevelt to wear to her husband's first inaugural ball.[5] The light blue dress[5] would later go on display at the Smithsonian Institution.[6] Milgrim also designed dresses for Marilyn Miller, Ethel Merman, Pearl White, Louise Brooks[7] and Mary Pickford.[4] In March 1936, Milgrim was honored by the New York League of Business and Professional Women for her achievements.[8]

In 1941, Milgrim unveiled a new collection called "Arabesque," as it was inspired by their modest fashion. The clothes in this collection emphasized women's "tent-pole Silhouette," which means she combined many styles into one.[9] She also created a "ready to wear" clothing line labelled "Salymil."[10] Vogue described this label as "fresh young clothes."[11]

Later life and legacy

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Milgrim retired from the fashion industry in 1960, and eventually died on June 16, 1994.[4] A collection of her hats is in an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Delbert Unruh; Ione C. Unruh (November 6, 2018). Forgotten Designers Costume Designers of American Broadway Revues and Musicals From 1900-1930. Page Publishing Inc. pp. 404–409. ISBN 9781640827585. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Vafakos, Jennifer (June 23, 2021). "Sally Milgrim". The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Shin, Jooyoung (December 11, 2018). "Sally Milgrim: A Pioneer of American Fashion, 1920–1935". The Journal of the Costume Society of America. 44 (2): 83–104. doi:10.1080/03612112.2018.1497845. S2CID 187229802.
  4. ^ a b c "Sally Milgrim, 103, A Clothes Designer". The New York Times. June 16, 1994. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Neuman, Johanna (September 29, 2014). "From Ghetto to Glamour". momentmag.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Smithsonian's "First Ladies" collection". cbsnews.com. January 15, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "Louise Brooks Evening Gown - a Sally Milgrim Design". Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "Noted Women". Berkeley Daily Gazette. California. March 17, 1936. p. 14.Free access icon
  9. ^ Young, Marguerite (September 9, 1941). "Harlem Skirt, Tent Pole Silhouette and 9-inch Length for Semi-Formal, New Style Trend". Athens Messenger. Ohio.Free access icon
  10. ^ Walford, Jonathan (October 10, 2012). 1950s American Fashion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 9780747812807. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  11. ^ Daniel Delis Hill (2007). As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising. Texas Tech University Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780896726161. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "Miss Sally Milgrim". metmuseum.org. Retrieved November 13, 2019.