When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion

In 1957, Maxey Jarman, the man who convinced Geraldine Stutz to leave Glamour and work for I. Miller, commissioned her to take on the presidency of Henri Bendel, a small, failing department store in midtown. Her assessment of competing stores led her to embrace Bendel’s small size and transform it into an exclusive shopping space. She redesigned the interior of the store as an artificial piazza, with departments housed in individual shops, rather than being displayed in a single open space. This “street of shops” featured an ornate cosmetic salon, a children’s store, and a collection of handmade art from across the globe. Although her male competitors dismissed the idea, reviewers and consumers praised the unique and personal atmosphere. While updating some aspects of the store, Geraldine also sought to honor its storied history. The store’s doorman James Jarret Jr., known familiarly as Buster, had been at Bendel since nearly its inception. Geraldine immortalized the doorman with an enormously popular doll made in his likeness.

Geraldine also helped Henri Bendel to clarify the type of customer the store wished to target. Her ideal customers were wealthy, stylish women who wanted to be avant-garde without being extreme.