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Specialty Boutiques

In addition to the more well-known shops in Columbus, specialty stores such as Montaldo's, Mrs. Eugene Gray, and MacDonalds Shop for Women made their fame on High Street at one point or another. Unlike the Dry Goods and Department stores, these specialty boutiques only sold one type of clothing (i.e. women's dresses or men's suits). In addition to the stores previously mentioned, this section will also touch on Vance-Winans Co. as well as the Walter J. Dwyer retailers. 

The increase in availability of ready-made women’s clothing through retail stores at the beginning of the 20th century meant significant competition for the dressmakers and ladies’ tailors who made custom clothes. While shops selling ready-made men’s apparel appear as early as the 1852 in the Columbus city directory, "Ladies" furnishings” does not appear as a directory listing until 1875. However, these stores did not sell finished, ready-made garments—only “trimmings” for ladies dresses. Ladies’ furnishings shops were stores that specialized in only women’s clothing as they combined high-quality dressmakers’ goods with the convenience of ready-to-wear garments. Several early specialty shops in the Columbus area started with a resident dressmaker in-house.

Specialty Boutiques