Ms D (Part 3)

I had to ask the question, “How did you get from Egypt to Dallas, Texas?” She seemed happy to answer and the following is my paraphrase of her story.

Ms. D was born and raised in Egypt. She was able to travel to Europe with her parents a number of times. Her father's car would be shipped over and they would spend the summer there several times during her “growing up” years. She fell in love with Paris.

As a small child she remembered the declaration of War and the bombings that followed. She said the Italians and the Germans both bombed Egypt. The bombings by the Italians were not as bad as those of the Germans. She was anxious to get away at that point.

When she graduated at about the age of 16, she told her parents she wanted to go to Paris and they consented. She got there and went to work for a designer (I’m sorry, I don’t remember which one). She modeled at that time. She kept that job about 2 years.

During her work for the designer, she was able to meet many people, a number from the U.S. She was having lunch with a representative of Vogue magazine one day, and the rep said, “there is a gentleman coming from the U.S. that I would like you to meet. He is always looking for young people with an interest in fashion and design to go to the U.S. and work for him. Would you be willing to have lunch with us when he arrives?”

Ms D agreed to the lunch and on that day was introduced to Mr. Stanley Marcus. As they say, the rest is history. He invited her and a young man with experience in leather design to join Neiman Marcus, Dallas, Texas. She said “yes.”

She left Paris on a plane that arrived in New York City. She said she was surprised when she got off that plane and was told she would have to board another to get to her final destination.

I asked her if she had ever heard of Dallas before and her reply was “no.” I asked if she had ever heard of Texas and she said “yes – from the movies and books.”

She began working at Neiman’s flagship store and started climbing the ladder. She spent many years in the Publicity Department and met so many “wonderful designers and special people.” She traveled a great deal and enjoyed all the people she met and places she visited. After 30+ years, she retired.

I told her I would love to hear more stories from her career and she told me to come back to visit and she would share some pictures from her Neiman’s days. I look forward to that day!