Dallasites have clucked for ages about bringing fashion to the Southwest. And who’s to question Carrie Marcus Neiman, Herbert Marcus, Stanley Marcus and the rest of the tasteful Marcus clan’s establishing the forefront of the smart set in the world of couture?
Why, sure, there were the Sakowitz folks in Houston with W’s Johnny Fairchild’s ever darling Lynn Sakowitz Wyatt. Does that woman ever age? But still the Marcus crew ruled for decades.
Then, in the 1970’s, a young upstart in Houston by the name of Mickey Rosmarin opened up a T-shirt shop — Honest Threads — in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood. His interpretation of cutting-edge fashion was such a hit that he opened up a boutique in 1975.
In the 1980s he moved the operation to Houston’s Highland Village along Westheimer with avant-garde dressing. Then in 2011 Mickey “relocated from its Highland Village digs to a [35,000-square-foot] luxurious fashion palace in West Ave.”
That Mickey center-of the-world fashion was called Tootsies, and it delighted the very fashionable set. Think of it as a Lou Lattimore, Gazebo or Forty Five Ten of the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc.
Mickey saw gold in the them-thar-hills of Dallas and opened a salon in the digs that once were Neiman Marcus in Preston Center. Over the years…decades… the boutique smartly tied in with charity offerings with fashions for fundraising opportunities like Mary Kay’s Suits for Shelter.
Today we regret to share that the Houston Chronicle is reporting that Mickey, at the age of 63, died of a heart attack. Luckily, his sister, artist Susie Rosmarin, reports that, “He seemed fine. He loved life. He was full of energy.”
According to Houston’s Kristi Schiller, “Mickey Rosmarin was the consummate gentleman of haute couture. The world has lost one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. If I could say one last thing to him that summarizes over 25 years of admiration and friendship I would say, ‘Thank you for helping me become the woman I am today and for always inspiring me to make a statement without saying a word.’ Mickey always stuck to his conviction about how women should look – elegant, joyful, feminine – no matter how much fashion changed, but his taste never wavered.”
The Tootsies team put it simply, “Today we lost our amazing founder, Mickey Rosmarin. He loved Tootsies, and has left us with a legacy of style and generosity. We will miss his smiling face every day.”
To the Houston home base of Tootsies and its Dallas cousin, we extend our sincere condolences and our thanks for sharing your generosity and fashion sense with North Texas.