H eadlines
Jews of Philly Fashion: David Schwartz
P H I LLY FASHION
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
It’s the newest edition of Jews
of Philly Fashion, introducing
you to the Chosen few who
dress our city. They might mix
wool and linen, but they’ve got
some strong opinions on mixing
stripes with florals. In this space,
we’ll talk to designers, sellers,
buyers, influencers, models and
more. This week, we spoke to
David Schwartz.

FOR MORE THAN 90 years,
Sophy Curson has been one of
the premier women’s boutiques
in Philadelphia, a Rittenhouse
Square mainstay that’s weath-
ered every imaginable storm.

And for more than 30 of
those years, David Schwartz has
helped steer the ship, starting
as a summer hire in inventory
to doing, in his words, “every-
thing.” (Technically speaking,
he’s vice president, while his
mother, Susan, niece of the
store’s namesake, is president.)
Schwartz, 54, believes that
for all of the incursions that
online shopping has made into
his family’s business, there’s
simply nothing to replace the
care of a knowledgeable sales
associate speaking with you in
person. “What they don’t talk about
in direct-to-consumer and
instant buying on Instagram
is that in the end, you really
have to try the piece on,
especially with dresses like I
sell,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz, a graduate of
William Penn Charter School
and Kenyon College, first
joined the family business in
1988. He’d previously worked
some summers between school,
but it wasn’t until that year that
Schwartz joined his mother at
the store.

He loved what he found
there, the chance to help the
women of Philadelphia find
something they felt would set
them apart. Even though the
store has passed down through
generations, with tastes for this
or that rising and falling with
the seasons, there is a sensi-
bility shared among the family
members that have run the
store, Schwartz believes. It’s not
just color or style or material —
though Schwartz does believe
that his purchases would please
his long-gone elders — but a
shared sense for what it is that
Sophy Curson storefront
Everyone asked me, how have I succeeded? I say, ‘If I put pretty
clothes in the window, people come in.’”
DAVID SCHWARTZ
AKILADELPHIA CREATIVE CONTRACTING, LLC
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Photo by Brad Maule
JEWISH EXPONENT
their customers want.

“Philadelphia women, the
Main Line women, they know
what they like. They don’t
need to be trendy,” Schwartz
said. “They love pretty clothes.

Everyone asked me, how have I
succeeded? I say, ‘If I put pretty
clothes in the window, people
come in.’”
What’s the last book you read?
“Touched by the Sun: My
Friendship with Jackie,” by
Carly Simon. It’s about Carly’s
friendship with Jackie Kennedy
Onassis. What clothing trend would
you like to see make a
comeback? There are so many, but
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM