The Legacy of Nathan Himmel- Himmel's Ladies Wear

360 Queen Street is well known to the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie as the Barnes- Fawcett Block, the current home of Algoma Bicycle. However, in 1919 it was the birthplace of Himmel’s Ladies Wear, a mainstay of women’s fashion in Sault Ste. Marie during the first half of the 20th century, and the home of founder Nathan Himmel. 

Early Beginnings 

Nathan, or Nate, Himmel was born in January 1890 and immigrated to Canada as a child. After living and working in Toronto, he worked briefly for Society Ladies Wear in the USA, and then made the move to Sault Ste. Marie in 1918 after being persuaded by a friend in Toronto. He partnered with fellow Sault businessman David Richardson on Soo House Furnishings, a short-lived venture that was dissolved on November 10th, 1919. Earlier that month, Nathan Himmel was already advertising his new business in the Sault Daily Star, a ready-to-wear clothing store by the name of The Model House, located at 360 Queen St. E. 

Ready-to-wear, or Pret-a-porter, was in its infancy in 1919 when Nathan Himmel opened The Model House. Until around 1913, the only option for ladies’ clothing in Sault Ste. Marie was to have each garment custom-made to size, a time consuming and expensive process for retailers. Ready to wear meant that clothing was designed in standardized sizes using a graded pattern. Instead of making each garment to an individual’s measurements, stores had many garments available to purchase in a variety of sizes “ready to wear” right off the rack. This was a more cost-effective method of production and sales for stores like The Model House. 

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Himmel's Storefront. Credit: Ontario Jewish Archives

1920’s - 360 Queen Street E

By April of 1920, The Model House was rebranded to Himmel’s Ladies Outfitters. They advertised as being the largest supplier of ladies ready to wear in the Sault, and their tagline was “From factory to wearer”. Nathan Himmel had switched from having all garments made in-house as they were at The Model House, to outsourcing from factories in Toronto and Montreal, no doubt drawing from his experience working in clothing manufacturing in Toronto. 
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From this point on, business for Nathan Himmel took off. Not only was he bringing in high-end fashion to Sault Ste. Marie, he was bringing in unique garments that had previously never been available. An advertisement from May 1920 states “Did you ever see satin stripe voile dresses? We know you haven’t. We are the only ones in the Soo to have these and they are something out of the ordinary.” The price? $22 on sale, the equivalent of 300 dollars in 2024. His 1920’s advertisements also feature Hudson Seal Coats, the addition of millinery in the early 1920s and highly sought-after French designs. In March of 1921, the Sault fashion merchants held the first fashion show, of which Himmel’s participated in alongside Miss A. Rouleau Hats and fellow dress shop R. H. Knights. In the later 1920’s, Himmel’s offered clothing from the Canadian National Exhibition 36 hours after it was originally displayed in Toronto. 

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Sale of 360 Queen St. 

In January of 1929, it was announced that Himmel’s was to be purchased by Jack Liebman, of Liebman’s of Toronto, and to be run by his brother Lew. Jack Liebman was to become synonymous with Canadian fashion in the 1940s, a prolific designer and fashion entrepreneur made famous by his 1940’s cocktail dresses. His initial business, however, was in fashion importing. This sale happened mere months before the stock market crash of ’29, and Liebman’s only operated until the spring of ’31. During this time, Nathan Himmel moved himself, his wife Goldie and his two daughters Helen and Rebecca back to Toronto while he returned to the clothing manufacturing business. ​

1930’s - New Business at 312 Queen Street E

By 1930, Nathan Himmel had returned to Sault Ste. Marie and restarted his business, this time at a new address - The Denman Block at 312 Queen Street E. Himmel’s new location boasted new interiors with modern fixtures from Toronto and black walnut displays, the renovations estimated to have cost 13,000 dollars in 1930. The stock market crash and subsequent economic depression didn’t seem to phase Nathan Himmel, as he remarked in 1931 “For ourselves, we are happy to report that our own business is going forward splendidly. Good merchandise, fairly priced, sells all the time… and always will!”. Nathan Himmel continued to bring cutting-edge fashion to the Sault, new bias cut silhouettes in the early 1930s, to the “gentlemanly” cut ladieswear of 1935 and onward.

Himmel's advert ,1931

A WWII era scrap collections advert paid by Himmel's, 1941

WWII

 As tensions overseas grew in the 1930s, Nathan Himmel was a vocal supporter of the war effort against the Nazis and dedicated much of his time and energy to the cause. He sold tickets for the Victory Band at the wartime Rotary festivities, and War Bonds in 1943. Himmel's, among other local businesses, sponsored the collection of old phonograph records and scrap metals for the war effort. Himmel’s began collecting used furs at his shop to make vests for Canadian sailors in 1944. 1936, Nathan Himmel publicly, and successfully, voiced his support for three German Jewish men who were detained in the Sault Ste. Marie jail. A Jewish man himself, he spoke on behalf of Max Billicher, Chian Rosenburg and Bernhardt Brenner, who were arrested for breaching the immigration act by seeking asylum in Canada. Himmel wrote a plea to politicians to release the men and allow them to remain in Canada, as he said "Their only wrong, if it be one, is that of being a Jew, and where they fear the worst can come to them". In 1939, he spoke passionately at a Salvation Army event about the persecution of Jews in Germany.

The war brought business complications for those in the fashion industry. Fabric rationing and country-wide efforts to cut down on consumerism meant capping the price of clothing, to which Himmel responded “No need to worry as we charge enough to cover it (referring to his overhead costs)”. Nathan Himmel continued to speak on behalf of the Jewish community after the war, advocating for European Jewish refugees to be allowed, and welcomed, into Canada. 

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Sault Daily Star headline, 1947

Business as Usual - Post War

In the later part of the 1940s, it was back to business as usual for Nathan Himmel. Continuing to keep up with the trends of the late 1940s, he advertised the post-war “New Look”.  In an article published in the Sault Daily Star in 1947, Himmel spoke of how the fabric rations lifting post-WWII changed the fashion landscape. Hemlines and jackets could be longer, the sweep of a skirt larger; the lack of restrictions changed how designers worked. “A dress is now a dress”, he stated. Once again, Himmel relished in bringing the newest fashions to Sault Ste. Marie. 

In the later 1940s and early 1950s, Nathan Himmel felt advertising for his business wasn’t necessary unless it was for an upcoming sale (and even stated this in one of his early 1950's adverts) or new product lines. He was a well-established business and had a loyal cohort of customers. In fact, at the time that he retired in 1954, Nathan Himmel said that “business was flourishing”. 

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A late 1940's advertisement for Himmel's

Nathan Himmel and his wife Goldie announcing his retirement, August 16 1954

Nathan Himmel in 1953

A Lasting Legacy 

An advertisement from 1920 for Himmel’s states “This is not a sale to make money, but a sale to make friends”. This was a sentiment Nathan Himmel carried throughout his 34 years in business. Himmel had strong views concerning friendship, community and business in Sault Ste. Marie, particularly in the downtown where he lived and worked from 1919 until his death at the age of 94, above his stores on Queen Street. He was known to hold the door open for his customers, for his personalized care and assistance. “That’s where the small independent retailer has it over the big chain stores.” he said in an interview in 1977. His views were that the community comes first, and profits second. If he could give his customers a deal, he would.

He was a long-standing member of the Sault YMCA, and a supporter of (and enjoyed participating in) local sports, particularly volleyball, hockey, baseball and curling. He was a Rotarian for over 50 years, an enthusiastic participator in the annual parade, and president of the Rotary Club from 1953-54. He sat on various boards throughout his time in Sault Ste. Marie, from the Chamber of Commerce to Children's Aid. He spent much of his time in the Sault involved and fundraising for local charities and for the betterment of the downtown, including advocating for the building of the Memorial Gardens in 1946. He firmly believed that Sault Ste. Marie was a good place for business, and it was worth investing in. 

Nathan Himmel put it best in 1977: “You gain nothing if you do nothing.” ​

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Nathan Himmel celebrating his 90th birthday at a 'roast' held by the SSM Rotary Club