Sophie Gimbel (1898 – November 28, 1981) was an American

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

er for Salon Moderne of

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...

. She was a leading designer for nearly 40 years and an innovator of the "New Look" that gained popularity after World War II.

Early life

Born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Sophie was the daughter of Caroline (née Kiam) and Felix Haas. Her father was a tobacco merchant who died when she was four and her mother remarried a year later to John Alexander McLeay, whence the family moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. As a young girl, Sophie cut her designing teeth making clothing for her dolls. She attended

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of the ...

for a time before marrying at age 19 to Jay Harry Rossbach and moving to Philadelphia. They had one son, Jay Harry Rossbach Jr. While she was raising her son, she was employed as a part-time stage costume designer. The couple divorced after nine years in 1926.

Fashion career

Sophie was hired as a stylist for Saks by Adam Long Gimbel, grandson of

Adam Gimbel Adam Gimbel (1817–1896) was the founder of the Gimbel Brothers Company. Biography Gimbel was born to a Jewish family in Bavaria in 1817 where he worked in the local baron's vineyard.Gimbels Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the compa ...

. In 1929, she was asked to take over the Salon Moderne of the

Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store is a department store in Midtown Manhattan, New York City on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. The original 10-story structure at 611 Fifth Avenue has served as the flagship store of Saks Fifth Ave ...

. In her role as lead fashion designer, she often traveled to Paris to purchase clothes from designers. She married Gimbel in 1931. Salon Moderne was not particularly successful or prestigious prior to her arrival. Gimbel designed costumes for

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows to generate interest and bring in new business. She created many

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing ...

fashions and is credited with introducing

culottes Culottes are an item of clothing worn on the lower half of the body. The term can refer to either split skirts, historical men's breeches, or women's under-pants; this is an example of fashion-industry words taken from designs across history, l ...

(divided skirts) to the American market. Gowns designed by Gimbel were known for their simplicity, elegance, and use of expensive fabrics. She designed elegant

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

dresses and gowns for an exclusive clientele. Gimbel designed a red coat and dress for

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 when ...

to wear at Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 inauguration. Gimbel was a contemporary and competitor of

Hattie Carnegie Hattie Carnegie (March 15, 1886 – February 22, 1956) was a fashion entrepreneur based in New York City from the 1920s to the 1950s. She was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, as Henrietta Kanengeiser. By her early 20s, she had taken the su ...

, whose boutique was close to Saks Fifth Avenue. Gimbel took a conservative approach to fashion, decrying vanishing hem lines and exposed flesh. In a newspaper guest column, she wrote "I believe there should be a law against short shorts. " Though she wasn't a trendsetter, her designs had a widespread appeal for their use of simple lines and subdued elegance. Gimbel was featured on the cover of

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

on September 29, 1947. She was not the first fashion designer to appear there, having been preceded by

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background. She created the house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she managed from the 1930s to the 1950s. ...

in 1934, but she was the first American designer to grace the cover. The Couture Group of the New York Dress Institute named Gimbel among the best-dressed fashion personalities of 1959.Fashion Experts Name '59's 'Best-Dressed'
''The Deseret News. '' 8 January 1960.

Personal life

Gimbel died of a heart attack at Mount Sinai Hospital at the age of 83 on November 28, 1981. Her son, Jay Harry Rossbach Jr., was an executive at Saks Fifth Avenue for over thirty years. Gimbel enjoyed playing golf and skiing. She collected china dogs and raised rhododendrons and tulips. Along with her husband, she is the namesake of the Adam and Sophie Gimbel Art and Design Library in New York.

References

External links

* Mitchell, Jacqueline
Saks Has A Golden Year: Fifty Years Of Sophie's Fashion Celebrated.
''Palm Beach Daily News. '' 28 November 1976.

Early life

Fashion career

Personal life

References

External links

Further reading