Sally Milgrim

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]

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, and Mary Pickford.[4] In March 1936, Milgrim was honored by the New York League of Business and Professional Women for her achievements.[7]

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.[8] She also created a "ready to wear" clothing line labelled "Salymil."[9] Vogue described this label as "fresh young clothes."[10]

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.[11]