New York fashion : Legends of NYC...Ohrbach's

Once upon a time in NYC there was a vibrant shopping area known as 34th Street. It wasn’t as you know it today, and it wasn’t only chain stores and mass appeal merchandise.

The store’s name was Ohrbach’s and it opened in 1954 between 5th and 6th Avenues where Macy’s and Gimbel’s ruled. The upstart retailer from 14 th Street had decided that they would bring high fashion to a more diverse audience by way of copying “French Couture originals” and sells them 2 months after the couture shows at drastically reduced prices in their “Oval Room.” Here, the ladies could make appointments and steer clear of the so called masses in the rest of the store yet be dressed in the newest, the latest, the greatest, at a fraction of the price of the original. The store was permitted to buy the patterns and reproduce them in a sort of licensing agreement with the fashion house.

As a point of retail history, Ohrbach’s was the first to introduce inventory reports which were generated by the actual sales and allowed them to turn their inventory 18 times. STAGGERING IN TODAY’S RETAIL WORLD!!!

Even though their average price was $10 at the time (1950’s) they were capable of tens of millions in sales and that’s without 2000 doors.

Hopefully someone will recall when Ohrbach’s worked their magic and remember the days when one could spend $20 and be thrilled with the quality and quantity of their purchase.