Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Fashion, Style & Popular Culture
  4. Volume 12, Issue 1
  5. Article
1-2: The Reviews Issue
  • ISSN: 2050-0726
  • E-ISSN: 2050-0734

Abstract

Ann Duskin Lincoln, the founder of the Philadelphia specialty shop Nan Duskin, dominated Philadelphia retail for decades and played a significant role in the development of American fashion. At its peak, Nan Duskin was one of the leaders of American retail, and its founder, Mrs Lincoln, was internationally recognized for her fashion instincts and was one of the most respected, feared, and loved retailers in the business. This article will focus on Mrs Lincoln and Nan Duskin from 1927 to 1965, a transformative period for American fashion. It will explore the unique social role of the women’s specialty shop in American retail during the first half of the twentieth century and the critical role they had in the promotion and development of American fashion. Exemplary in every aspect, Mrs Lincoln’s career is representative of the many independent female retailers that flourished in the first half of the twentieth century.

© 2025 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00214_1
2023-09-29
2025-04-23
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Anon. (1908), ‘Bonwit, Teller & Co. open’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10 November, p. 14.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Anon. (1925a), ‘Announcement’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 September, p. 7.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Anon. (1925b), ‘Miss Nan Duskin cloak buyer for Blum’s Phila.’, Women’s Wear, 14 September, p. 23.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Anon. (1927a), ‘Models wanted’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 24 February, p. 27.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Anon. (1927b), ‘New Philadelphia specialty shop accents black goat’, Women’s Wear, 11 March, p. 20.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Anon. (1927c), ‘Jane Regny Frocks and Jersey costume stressed in Phila.’, Women’s Wear Daily, 24 March, p. 22.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Anon. (1929a), ‘Alteration hands’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 June, p. 30.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Anon. (1929b), ‘Highlights of summer fashions’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 30 June, p. 3.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Anon. (1929c), ‘Early fall modes’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 August, p. 2.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Anon. (1929d), ‘The fashion league of Philadelphia presents the modes of the hour’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8 September, p. 2.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Anon. (1930a), ‘Philomusian club shows fashions’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 March, p. 6.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Anon. (1930b), ‘Nan Duskin’s own store’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 30 March, p. 2.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Anon. (1933a), ‘Nan Duskin for your better clothes’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 April, p. aF3 P.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Anon. (1933b), ‘Vogue’s smart economies’ (advertisement), Vogue, 1 May, p. 98.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Anon. (1934), ‘Nan Duskin, Phila., expanding quarters’, Women’s Wear Daily, 20 February, p. 32.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Anon. (1935a), ‘Above the tumult of the packed bazaar…’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 7 April, p. 62.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Anon. (1935b), ‘Women in business III’, Fortune, xii:3, September, p. 81, 86, 91.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Anon. (1936a), ‘Nan Duskin shop opens in new and larger quarters’, Women’s Wear Daily, 19 February, p. 20.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Anon. (1936b), ‘Surrounding quality’, Women’s Wear Daily, 17 June, p. S113.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Anon. (1936c), ‘New fashion shop’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 February, p. 40.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Anon. (1936d), ‘Bolero and tunic themes favored in Philadelphia revue’, Women’s Wear Daily, 4 June, p. 2.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Anon. (1938a), ‘Shop-hound: Snoops in the specialty shops’, Vogue, 1 February, pp. 118, 122, 144.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Anon. (1938b), ‘Paris shows Victorian…’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 September, p. 2.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Anon. (1939a), ‘Air cooled comfort’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 29 June, p. 3.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Anon. (1939b), ‘Tribute to our great American couture’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 November, p. 27.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Anon. (1940), ‘We proudly announce…’ (advertisement), The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8 September, p. 3.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Anon. (1944a), ‘Sells first Silverblu coat’, Women’s Wear Daily, 2 February, p. 23.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Anon. (1944b), ‘First out’, Women’s Wear Daily, 20 September, p. 28.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Anon. (1944c), ‘First hat from free Paris’, Vogue, 1 November, p. 118.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Anon. (1945a), ‘Nan Duskin Philadelphia’ (advertisement), Vogue, 1 October, p. 61.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Anon. (1945b), ‘Nan Duskin sells 2 Adrians, $1,000 each’, Women’s Wear Daily, 3 December, p. 3.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Anon. (1946), ‘Nan Duskin buys Richel, Inc., also affiliated Salon’, Women’s Wear Daily, 6 December, p. 11.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Anon. (1948), ‘Modernization and mechanization: An alteration room gets over to the profit side’, Women’s Wear Daily, 25 February, p. 81.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Anon. (1951), ‘Nan Duskin starts work on a new expansion’, Women’s Wear Daily, 22 June, p. 2.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Anon. (1952a), ‘French Salon marks expansion program at Duskin’s’, Women’s Wear Daily, 11 September, p. 3.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Anon. (1952b), ‘Duskin will open “largest” Phila. salon on Jan. 1’, Women’s Wear Daily, 28 December, p. 9.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Anon. (1955), ‘Nan Duskin Philadelphia’ (advertisement), Vogue, 1 January, p. 7.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Anon. (1956a), ‘Committee named for sportswear awards’, Women’s Wear Daily, 21 February, p. 34.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Anon. (1956b), ‘Grace’s Trousseau story’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 April, p. 21.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Anon. (1956c), ‘“Stolen” fashions turn up’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 September, p. 25g.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Anon. (1958), ‘Retailers are named to new B. U. gallery’, Women’s Wear Daily, 28 August, p. 44.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Anon. (1959), ‘Fashion laboratory founded’, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 28 January, p. 19.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Anon. (1962), ‘Richard Dietrich, Luden’s head, 55’, New York Times, 27 August, p. 21.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Anon. (1963), ‘Milton Schneidman, 45, dies’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1 December, p. 36.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Anon. (1964), ‘August Lincoln, 70; Nan Duskin founder’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 March, p. 42.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Anon. (1965), ‘For thirty six years…’ (advertisement), 18 April, Nan Duskin Clipping File, The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, Philadelphia, PA.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Anon. (1980a), ‘Nan Duskin Lincoln’, Women’s Wear Daily, 140:70, p. 8.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Anon. (1980b), ‘Famed retailer Nan Duskin’, Nan Duskin Clipping File, The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, Philadelphia.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Anon. (1994), ‘Nan Duskin closing doors’, Women’s Wear Daily, 14 November, p. 5.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Archive on Demand (2015), ‘Pauline Trigère oral history (part 1)’, interview by Robert L. Green on 13 November 1979, Archive on Demand, https://archiveondemand.fitnyc.edu/items/show/877. Accessed 25 February 2023.
  51. Arnold, Rebecca (2009), The American Look: Fashion, Sportswear and the Image of Women in 1930s and 1940s New York, London: I. B. Taurus & Co. Ltd.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Arrigale, Lawrence M. and Keels, Thomas H. (2012), Philadelphia’s Golden Age of Retail, Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Atta, Burr Van (1980), ‘Nan Duskin, 86, the proprietor of exclusive Phila. fashion shop’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8 April, p. 16.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Baltzell, E. Digby (2001), The Protestant Establishment Revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Benson, Susan Porter Benson (1986), Counter Cultures: Saleswomen, Managers, and Customers in American Department Stores, 1890–1940, Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. biggestuscities.com (2023), ‘Top 100 biggest cities in the US’, 2022 Population Data, 18 January, https://www.biggestuscities.com/. Accessed 2 August 2023.
  57. Blossom, Nancy H. and Turpin, John C. (2008), ‘Risk as a window to agency: A case study of three decorators’, Journal of Interior Design, 34:1, pp. 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1668.2008.00003.x.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Buckland, Sandra Stansbery (2005), ‘Promoting American designers, 1940–44: Building our own house’, in L. Welters and P. A. Cunningham (eds), Twentieth-Century American Fashion, Oxford and New York: Berg, pp. 99–121.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Cabot, Cynthia (1947), ‘California designers hold private shows for editor’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8 September, p. 18.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Cabot, Cynthia (1948), ‘Color and drama mark benefit fashion shows’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 5 October, p. 24.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Cabot, Cynthia (1954), ‘Alert Phila. stores buy best of French creations’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10 August, p. d14.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Cabot, Cynthia (1955), ‘Conservative good taste is Quaker city’s mark’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 January, p. 13.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Cabot, Cynthia (1959), ‘Beauty and brilliance light up Fashion Group’s crystal ball’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 24 October, p. 15.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Campbell, Roy H. (1994), ‘Nan Duskin store bids Phila. Au revoir’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 November, pp. c1, c5.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Donohue, Amy (1995), ‘Fashion victim’, Philadelphia, April, pp. 74–77, 112, 114–15.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Fashion Group International (2023), ‘History of FGI fashion Philadelphia’, FGI, https://www.fgi.org/philadelphia/#:~:text=HISTORY%20OF%20FGI%20PHILADELPHIA&text=The%20glamorous%20event%20was%20in,accessories%20from%20around%20the%20world. Accessed 1 August 2023.
  67. Fashion Group of Philadelphia (1980), 40 Years of Fashion (1928–1968): An Appreciation of Nan Duskin Lincoln (1893–1980), Philadelphia, PA: Fashion Group.
     [Google Scholar]
  68. Finamore, Michelle Tolini (2022), Fashioning America: From Grit to Glamour, Tuscaloosa, AR: University of Arkansas Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  69. Graham, Rubye (1971), ‘One of fashion’s leading ladies’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 July, pp. 28–29.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. Haugland, H. Kristina (2006), Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride, New Haven, CT: Philadelphia Museum of Art in Association with Yale University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  71. Leipzig, Sheryl Farnan, Parsons, Jean and Farrell-Beck, Jane (2008–09), ‘It is a profession that is new, unlimited, and rich. Promotion of the American designer in the 1930s’, Dress, 35:1, pp. 25–47, https://doi.org/10.1179/036121108805252781.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. Lin, Jennifer (1984), ‘A dowager kicks up her heels: Nan Duskin profits from a make-over’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 September, p. c01.
     [Google Scholar]
  73. Lincoln, Nan Duskin (1965), ‘The Philadelphia look’, in Fashion Group of Philadelphia (eds), The Crystal Ball, Philadelphia, PA: Fashion Group International, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  74. Lindsay, Liddy (2016), personal communication, 22 September.
  75. Lisicky, Michael J. (2010), Wanamaker’s: Meet Me at the Eagle, Charleston, SC: The History Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  76. Maloney, Russell (1945), ‘Hattie Carnegie’, Life, 12 November, pp. 62–64, 66–70.
     [Google Scholar]
  77. Marcus, H. Stanley (1940), ‘America is in fashion’, Fortune, xxii:5, November, pp. 81–84, 140, 142, 144, 146, 148.
     [Google Scholar]
  78. Marter, Marilyn (1980), ‘Nan Duskin: Her name always meant quality’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 April, p. 162.
     [Google Scholar]
  79. McLaughlin, Ed (1965), ‘The Philadelphia Store-y’, Women’s Wear Daily, 22 July, pp. 4–5.
     [Google Scholar]
  80. Milbank, Caroline Rennolds (1989), New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Style, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
     [Google Scholar]
  81. Myrna, Frommer and Frommer, Harvey (2003), It Happened in Manhattan: An Oral History of Life in the City During the Mid-Twentieth Century, New York: Berkley Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  82. Perkins, Dorothy (1958), ‘Fashion is the future: Big role for women’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 May, p. 17.
     [Google Scholar]
  83. Prokop, Trudy (1959), ‘Philadelphia story: Top fashion retailer started as a stock girl’, Women’s Wear Daily, 25 June, p. 5.
     [Google Scholar]
  84. Roshco, Bernard (1963), The Rag Race, New York: H. Wolff.
     [Google Scholar]
  85. Saffron, Inga (2006), ‘Tale of two bronze entrances’, Skyline Online, 13 June, http://changingskyline.blogspot.com/2006/06/tale-of-two-bronze-entrances.html. Accessed 31 October 2016.
  86. Saving.org (2023), ‘Inflation calculator’, Current Inflation Rates, https://www.saving.org/. Accessed 1 August 2023.
  87. Shupack, May (1964), ‘Nan Duskin looks back on fashionable career’, Jewish Exponent, 21 February, n.pag. (FHCC Archives).
     [Google Scholar]
  88. Swinney, John B. (1942), Merchandising of Fashions: Policies and Methods of Successful Specialty Stores, New York: The Ronald Press Company.
     [Google Scholar]
  89. Tilghman, Margaret Wright Schneidman (n.d.), Nan Duskin scrapbooks, 1950–1966, courtesy of Liddy Lindsay, Philadelphia.
     [Google Scholar]
  90. Tranquil Librarian (2022), ‘Comment: The reign of Nan Duskin’, The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, 2 July, https://www.wordpress.com. Accessed 1 August 2023.
  91. Warner, Susan (1992), ‘Duskin makes deal to sell’, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 June, p. c9.
     [Google Scholar]
  92. Whitaker, Jan (2006), Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class, New York: St. Martin’s Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  93. Williams, Beryl (1945), Fashion Is Our Business, Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott Company.
     [Google Scholar]
  94. Wilson, Eric (2007), ‘Janet Brown, 59, retailer of fashions for the wealthy’, New York Times, 21 March, p. B8.
     [Google Scholar]
  95. Wisconsin Historical Society (2007), ‘First lady’s Irene evening gown’, Wisconsin Historical Society, 27 December, https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS2657. Accessed 21 February 2023.
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00214_1
Loading
Philadelphia Store-y: Nan Duskin (1927–65)
Fashion, Style & Popular Culture 12, 77 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1386/fspc_00214_1
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00214_1
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00214_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): American fashion; American retailers; Nan Duskin; Philadelphia fashion; specialty shop; women in retail

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test