Fashion
For Its Famous Clientele, Peress Was More Than a Lingerie Shop
For more than 90 years the Upper East Side shop served socially ambitious women, including Brooke Astor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Diana Vreeland, Barbara Walters, Madonna and many more.
As word spread that the specialty store Peress of Madison Avenue was closing, fans came to pay homage — and stock up on the beloved shop’s selection of mostly European lingerie, robes, socks, nightgowns, pajamas and slippers at 50 percent off.
For weeks ahead of the rumored Aug. 15 closing date, a line stretched outside the boutique. A sign on the door read: “Only one customer at a time and 10 min only.”
“My heart broke already,” said a woman who asked not to be named but was wearing white Hermès Oran sandals and had a waffle-knit bathrobe she was trying on as she browsed the store.
“Everybody was crying because we have to go,” Bibi, the longtime shopkeeper said in her Romanian accent. “Every single customer, they regret we are closing the store.”
“Bibi is very protective of the store,” said Herbert Peress, who has run the store since 1977. “Very respectful. And she’s working for me right now, closing down the business.” (It was also Bibi who handled the lingerie sales for women. “I sort of avoided it,” he said.)
