How Ruby and I got to the Dorm

I met Anna when I moved to NY the first time over 25 years ago. I had left my job as a dept store buyer in Cleveland, Ohio and propositioned one of my vendors with promises of improving his line and get more department store business as a “merchandiser”.  He knew I was good, but he also seemed to have the “hots” for me.  I’m not sure which factor pushed him to make the decision to give me a shot.  I was just extremely grateful that he did! (More on that subject in another chapter!)

So I left Ohio for the big city to seek my fortune and see “if I could make it there” so I’d know I could “make it anywhere”. Anna was one of the first vendors I met.  She sold Italian prints and was a former Sears buyer so we spoke the same language of retail.  Anna was bright and enthusiastic and so calm that NOTHING EVER threw her off her game!  I loved her immediately. To this day she is one of the few friends I have who not only has never pissed me off, but has never even become mildly annoying, no matter how much time we spent together! 

So after I got married and left NY for LA, Anna and I stayed in touch but whether we spoke monthly or annually, it was as if no time a passed at all. (Later, if I have a glass of wine, I’ll tell you about the time that Anna and my new husband and I went to the nude beach on Fire Island.)

Naturally when I knew I was coming to NY for a job interview, after many years in LA , then Dallas, Anna was the first person I called. It was such perfect timing that  she thought she had sold her condo, and had her roommate move out, only to find out that there were technical issues involving the zoning of her unit that prevented the sale from materializing. SO SHE HAD A ROOM AVAILABLE FOR ME!  At least if I had to commute from Dallas to NY to work, I had a perfect place to stay and perfect friend to stay with!

 NY life begins.

I actually got the job! My almost dream job! I had always wanted to have my own apparel business. While this was not my OWN (as in “owner”) it was the next best thing. They wanted someone to create a new business and wanted someone who would “take the business and run with it”. Minimal interference or supervision. Just up my alley!

The even better part is I was able to recruit my dear friend and former work associate Ruby. We had worked together over 15 years before in another industry. She was 50 something and out of work like I had been.  Sadly, we had both discovered the ugly truth that women over 50, no matter how accomplished or talented were considered unfit for the fashion business.  (Everyone knows your taste goes in the toilet after 50, and even with a lifetime of analyzing trends and being in the business long enough to have more concrete information in your “gut” than 12 little Parsons graduates who have no actual business experience).  So sad that they don’t realize that one bad line can cost you more in damage to your credibility than any mistake you could make. Experience dramatically increases your hit ratio. Ruby and I had been batting  300+ for awhile now, but nobody wanted to even interview us to find out what a real pro actually knows!

But I knew what a goldmine of talent and experience she was, so I decided to do exactly what the “good-ol-boys” do and start out by hiring a friend.  Ruby would have to be in NY almost as much as I did so that’s how she and I got to the Dorm.


--Meredith