Dallas Fashion Project

Items

• Nan Alexander -22- Sportswear modeling
  Change outfits, informal modeling throughout store and on floor, assisting with sales, interacted with Stanley Marcus
• Nan Alexander -21- Layout of downtown Neiman-Marcus
  First floor cosmetics and accessories and men's and snack shop; mezzanine was juniors; second floor couture, coats, millinery with silver key section, public restrooms; third floor sports shop, boutique for unusual international goods, Gidding's photography; fourth floor was "galleria" dresses, coats, and suits for young/career price point and gift gallery with silver, china, and crystal; fifth floor bridal, lingerie, and children's; sixth floor Zodiac Room restaurant, receiving area, restrooms, beauty salon, alterations, "Little Dipper" employees' cafeteria, and offices
• Nan Alexander -20- Neiman-Marcus accessibility
  For "galleria" clothing at downtown Neiman-Marcus buying had to hit many price points, people came from Mexico and Oklahoma and all over, could get everything for going to college or for wedding (wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, china, etc., sales staff assisted customers across departments and helped put together outfits
• Nan Alexander -19- Pants and dress codes
  Pants acceptable starting in late 1970s, rules on "proper things to wear"
• Nan Alexander -18- Neiman-Marcus culture
  "Customer meant everything to the company," good grammar necessary, no smoking and perfume near merchandise, modeled Estee Lauder (perhaps) makeup
• Nan Alexander -17- Neiman-Marcus history and catalogues
  Archives with Neiman's materials and catalogues with her children's photographs, billboard bridal model once
• Nan Alexander -16- Fortnight products
  Place setting of blue Japanese china from Fortnight, gourmet department brought in rare food
• Nan Alexander -15 - Fortnights at Neiman-Marcus
  Store as "ambassador" for each country with food and music, space transformed, "big social event," materials designed and made for Neiman-Marcus from each country, store "transformed" by display department
• Nan Alexander - 14 - Stanley Marcus and dress code
  Stanley Marcus knew everyone at downtown Neiman-Marcus, dress code of black dress with heels and name tag, Stanley Marcus having her hair cut by Vidal Sassoon for "Twiggy" look, informal and runway modeling
• Nan Alexander -13 - Training program
  Formal classes, people from around the country, didn't socialize as much because older and had children
• Nan Alexander -12- Neiman-Marcus as family
  Don't want to let down colleagues or company or customers, kept accountable by Stanley Marcus, inspection department in receiving area on Haskell that checked for quality
• Nan Alexander -11- Modeling to training program
  IBM key punch for inventory and sales, taught wide range of topics during executive training program, less experienced with "open to buy," learned a lot moving from model to executive path
• Nan Alexander -10- Training program
  Executive training program stepping stone to other companies, Neiman-Marcus bought by another company and employees went to other stores, worked with Myra Epstein who went to Kansas City department store, training for young merchants
• Nan Alexander -9- Pantsuits
  Dress codes did not allow women to wear pants in 1950s, relaxing dress codes in the 1960s but still considerations of what was "proper," First Ladies modeling proper attire, selling pantsuit in dress department but okay because from good manufacturer, sold in three-piece travel outfit with skirt and blouse and pants, set selling records
• Nan Alexander -8- Neiman-Marcus status
  Buyer at Galleria in Neiman-Marcus, status of Neiman-Marcus, pantsuit hot item in the 1960s
• Nan Alexander -7- Modeling teen clothing
  Neiman-Marcus modeling at Preston Center, focus on teen clothing and sizes for young people, not aware of designers but excited about Neiman-Marcus store label
• Nan Alexander -6- Learning to model
  Athlete as teenager, learned to handle self in different ways, looked at materials at the library (but not movies or fashion magazines)
• Nan Alexander -5- Neiman-Marcus "teen board"
  Neiman-Marcus modeling at Preston Center at sixteen, worked on Saturdays for a few hours, informal modeling, "Teen board" started in the 1950s
• Nan Alexander -4- Changes in Dallas fashion scene over time
  Howard Wolf business closed, most institutions have since changed, Fair Park changed since 1960s
• Nan Alexander -3- Career overview
  Mother creating clothing with Vogue Patterns and standing for fittings with her, Neiman-Marcus's "Junior Program" at Preston Center store, unpaid model on the weekends in 1950s, fashion sense at Highland Park High School, modelled in Shreveport for a few department stores, got married and had children, moved back to Dallas in 1960s, worked for Howard Wolf and designer Marge Cain as sample model and "girl Friday," 1963 started working for Neiman-Marcus as sportswear model on third floor of downtown store, Stanley Marcus approached about joining executive training program, started buying job for "young career girls" clothing, modeled for Kim Dawson at the Dallas Apparel Mart (where fashion collection housed)
• Nan Alexander -2- Biographical information
  Biographical information
• Nan Alexander -1- Introduction to interview
  Introduction to interview
• Naomie Rudelson -30- "Growing people"
  Most important contributions was "growing people" (alongside growing business and growing profits)
• Naomie Rudelson -28- Mentoring, May Company in LA
  UNT students working in design and not retail, mentoring within junior executive training program, May Company in LA with similar program
• Naomie Rudelson -27- UNT Marketing and Design curriculum
  Working with Ed Mattil at the University of North Texas to create Marketing and Design curriculum