Geraldine Stutz (August 5, 1924 – April 8, 2005) was an American retail groundbreaker. She was appointed president of

Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...

in 1957, serving for 29 years until stepping down in 1986.

Biography

She was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Her parents were Anthony H. and Estelle Tully Stutz. She had a younger sister. Stutz married British painter David Gibbs. They divorced in 1977. At first, she aspired to be an actress. She studied drama at Mundelein College before changing her mind: Although still attached to a theater-related career, she began an interest in journalism. She moved to New York and became a fashion editor for movie magazines. In 1947, she was recruited as an associate fashion editor for Glamour magazine, where she wrote about shoes. Her name first became really known when she was Vice President of I. Miller Shoes in the 1950s where she helped launch

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

. From there she was selected to head an ailing Henri Bendel and was given three years to make it profitable. By 1964, Henry Bendel had experienced a 10 percent increase in sales, the largest increase in its history. By 1967, it had doubled its sale. In 1967, with financing from an international consortium, Stutz purchased Bendel from Genesco for 8 million dollars, becoming its managing partner and 30 percent owner. Stutz was named one of the best dressed women in the Fashion Industry in 1959, 1963, 1964. In 1965, she was elected to the Fashion Industry Hall of Fame. She retired to and died in her home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Stutz was once asked: "What is the difference between mere fashion and true style?" Her answer was: "Fashion says 'Me too', and style says 'Only me'." She thought her best talent was as a finder and nourisher of talents, "I help people to perform more bravely than they think they can."

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

describes her as having "transformed Henri Bendel from a carriage trade retailer in decline into a chic emporium of designer brands in the 1960s." and facilitated the rise of Stephen Burrows,

Perry Ellis Perry Edwin Ellis (March 3, 1940 – May 30, 1986) was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s. Ellis' influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point" because he int ...

Jean Muir Jean Elizabeth Muir ( ; 17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer. Early life and career Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father ...

, Sonia Rykiel, Carlos Falchi,

Mary McFadden Mary McFaddenCharlotte Curtis, "Mary McFadden Married to Philip Harari at St. Bartholomew's; Former Dior Aide is Wed to Director in De Beers Group", The New York Times, 26 September 1964 (born October 1, 1938) is an American art collector, editor ...

, Holly Harp and Ralph Lauren among others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stutz, Geraldine 1924 births 2005 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American women in business 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women