Kansas City's first ladies' ready-to-wear clothing store was Harzfeld's, initially located at 1108-1110 Main, across the street from the store pictured on the post card. The site is occupied today by the City Center Square. The store, originally called the Parisian Cloak Company, was opened in 1891 by Sigmund Harzfeld, who came here from Chicago to establish his business after a careful survey of other cities. The first customers came largely out of curiosity, for ready-made clothing for women were unheard of here. Women of the day made their own clothes at home or had them made by a seamstress who came in for several days or weeks to sew everything needed for the season - dresses, shirtwaists, skirts, nightgowns, petticoats, chemise and even the children's clothes and underwear. More than 350 dressmakers were listed in the Kansas City directory the year Harzfeld came to town. Harzfeld's evaluation of Kansas City was evidently correct, for his business expanded rapidly. A larger building was needed. The store pictured on the old post card was at Main and Petticoat Lane. It was opened in 1913. Bessie Woolf, a former saleslady at both stores and still a resident of Kansas City, remembers helping carry cloaks across Main Street from the old store to the new one. Sigmund Harzfeld died in 1944. The Harzfeld family continued ownership until the mid-1970s, with Lester Siegel and Lester Siegel Jr. managing the stores. The present Harzfeld store downtown and the outlying stores are owned by Allied Stores Corporation, which also owns Brooks Brothers, among others. Kansas City Times, December 11, 1981.
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