SMU’s An Eye for Elegance explores the life of Carrie Marcus Neiman from a cultural and historical perspective alongside many of the other women who helped turn Neiman Marcus into Neiman Marcus. The exhibit coincides with the publication A Girl Named Carrie: The Visionary Who created Neiman Marcus and Set the Standard for Fashion by Jerrie Marcus Smith. The exhibition is on display through January 28, 2022, in Fondren Library’s Hillcrest Exhibit Hall.
In 1907, Carrie Marcus Neiman, along with her brother, Herbert Marcus Sr., and her husband A.L. Neiman, co-founded the famed Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas, Texas. However, the narrative of the fashion institution has mostly focused on Carrie’s brother and husband at the time A.L. Neiman. It was Carrie’s smart merchandising and customer relations that set Neiman Marcus up for its legendary status. In fact, when ‘The Store’ opened in September of 1907, it only took a few weeks to completely sell out of inventory as wealthy Texans devoured the high fashion of the day. Fed up with Carrie’s underrepresentation, her great niece decided to chronicle her life into a book during the slower months of the pandemic. We had the pleasure of asking Jerrie Marcus Smith a few questions before the closing of the exhibition that sheds light on her life and contributions to Neiman Marcus and Dallas as a whole.
PATRON (P): In your opinion, what has helped change the narrative, or simply brought these previously unheard contributions to light?
Jerrie Marcus Smith (JMS): That’s what I wrote the book.
P: What are some details of Carrie’s life that were left on the editing floor?
JMS: Not left on the editing floor but this fact cannot be overstated. Carrie was a revolutionary force in retail, she was a woman ahead of her time and often overlooked. Before the opening of “The Store” ladies went to dress makers to have their clothes custom made, ladies just didn’t buy luxury goods off the rack. She and her team worked with designers to create standards for sizing and production that had never existed before. Carrie not only set the standard for how women would dress for the next century, but also created the ready to wear industry as we know it today.
P: What perceptions have changed for you of your great aunt since writing A Girl Named Carrie?
JMS: As more and more has been revealed through research about Carrie, an image of a vibrant woman has emerged. We know that her circle included not only socialites but she was also surrounded with celebrated artists, composers, designers, writers, actors, business leaders, politicians, and royalty. After her death telegrams poured in from around the world, some mourned the loss of her friendship, some recalled her business acumen, others remembered her elegance and regal bearing, and some would miss her warm smile.
P: How did Carrie’s Jewish faith influence her life in Texas? The Columbian Club was founded because people of Jewish faith were not welcome in other Dallas clubs, did she have a role in its founding?
JMS: Carrie was a life-long congregant of Temple Emanu-El. I’m sure as a woman and a child of Jewish and German immigrants Carrie understood the barriers that the culture of the time presented, but she never let those barriers deter her. At that time Dallas Country Clubs were closed to Jews, so Carrie, along with her brother ,Herbert and other prominent Jewish merchants, were instrumental in the formation of the Columbian Club, a Jewish Country Club. Carrie recognized the obligation that each of us has to help others and this is just one example of her commitment to helping others.
P: Carrie did not want to open stores outside of Dallas for some time, since she wanted tourists to come to Dallas specifically. Can you touch on her love for Dallas?
JMS: Carrie was asked in an interview in Fortune magazine, November 1937, Why Dallas? Her answer was simple, “It was where we lived.” but there’s more to it than this simple response. Both Carrie and her brother Herbert Marcus firmly believed that an individual had a duty to give back to society, the country and to the city where you lived and they instilled this belief in their family. Carrie enjoyed the theater and especially opera, she was a great supporter of the Dallas Opera.
P: Your great-aunt must have had some pretty juicy gossip, are there any anecdote you want to give away to our readers?
JMS: Carrie was the friend and confidant to many of Dallas most influential men and women, and certainly she was privy to many of their secrets. However Carrie was a lady and would frown on rumor and gossip would never have betrayed a confidence. That’s one of the many qualities she had and why she was admired by so many of her contemporaries.