April 21--Schwartz's Intimate Apparel changed with the times during its century in business, starting as Schwartz's Corset Shop on Division Street in Chicago and moving to various North Shore locations before finally landing five years ago in Highland Park.
From corsets to the advent of pantyhose in the 1960s, which forced the shop to get creative in finding buyers for its lace and lingerie (including a lucrative deal with Playboy), the family-owned business, founded in 1915 and now on its third generation of Schwartzes, was always about putting customers first.
Florence Schwartz, 89, died April 11, in her Northbrook home, following a bout with pneumonia.
Schwartz met her future husband, Milton, when he waited on her as a customer. She joined his family's business and the couple launched the store's Positive Care division more than 50 years ago. At that time, the topic of breast cancer was often taboo and products to help women who experienced breast asymmetry due to surgery or radiation treatment were scarce. She would often assist customers in the fitting room with custom-sized foam-form brassieres and breast prostheses.
"She had what we called her 'Florence-isms' -- little pearls of wisdom she'd share with us," said her daughter, Syndi Salat, who now oversees the Positive Care division. "One of my favorites was, 'Never meet fire with fire,' where she'd talk about customers coming into our store after having breast surgery and feeling angry, frustrated or depressed, and that we should never take it personally.
"She'd tell us our job is to appreciate what they've gone through and realize that what they need is patience and understanding and the type of guidance that can help them feel good about themselves again."
"The mission from day one was to give old-fashioned service and treat others as you would like to be treated," Schwartz told the Tribune in 2011. "It's a family affair."
Born Florence K. Kaplan on the West Side, Schwartz grew up on the West Side, where her father owned and operated a delicatessen. She graduated in 1944 from Von Steuben Senior High School.
"She got her work ethic from her father, who made a good living for his family even during hard times," Salat said.
Schwartz and her husband worked side by side for years, starting even before they were married in 1948. He died in October.
"My mother couldn't have asked for a better partner," said her son Ben Schwartz, who now runs the family business, during an interview with Milwaukee public radio station WUWM-FM 89.7 shortly after his father's death. "It was a fairy tale."
During the early 1970s, Schwartz began placing orders with Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Ruthton Corp., an early pioneer in the manufacturing of breast prostheses, called Nearly Me.
Handler had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970, and after undergoing a modified radical mastectomy was unable to find a suitable breast prosthesis, so she began making her own and shopping them around the country to retailers.
"Back then our shop was one of the few, if not the only, store in the Chicago area to carry her products and my mother learned so much from Ruth," Salat said. "To have someone as knowledgeable as my mother helping out in the fitting room made all the difference to so many women."
In more recent years, and up until a few weeks ago, Schwartz was still on the job assisting in the back office.
"She'd come in every day and help keep my files straight," Salat said. "It's like she'd always tell me, 'If you want to eat, you work!'"
Other survivors include a son, Steven, and seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services were held.
Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
