Susan Schwartz, owner of women’s wear boutique Sophy Curson, has died at 87

Susan Schwartz, 87, formerly of Society Hill, the longtime owner of the Sophy Curson women’s wear boutique, died Thursday, March 28, from complications of dementia at Brandywine Living in Phoenixville.

Mrs. Schwartz’s Aunt Sophy opened the iconic Rittenhouse Square boutique in 1929, one month before the stock market crashed. But it was Mrs. Schwartz who turned the store at 19th and Sansom into a glam destination, introducing Philadelphia’s working women to power suits and shoulder pads. She guided Sophy Curson through the psychedelic ‘70s, the Reagan years, the designer-obsessed ‘90s and post-9/11 era, creating store windows filled with fashions celebrating the bygone eras.

Known for her round glasses and tapered haircut, Mrs. Schwartz was the go-to fashionista for A-list ladies who demanded chic looks for the city’s swankest affairs such as the Friends of the Rittenhouse Ball on the Square, the Academy of Music Annual Concert and Ball, or the opening night of the Flower Show. She kept their off-the-shoulder choices top secret, careful to never sell duplicate dresses to women attending the same event.

“She always bought with Philadelphia women in mind,” said son David Schwartz. He worked with his mother since 1988 and will continue to run the store. “She didn’t insist that Philadelphia women dress in all-black like New York women, bringing color and levity to women here.” (Mrs. Schwartz, however, wore black in the store every day so she wouldn’t clash with the clothing, her son said.)

Mrs. Schwartz was part of a group of fashion insiders — including specialty boutique owners Toby Lerner, Ann Gitter, Joan Shepp and the late Saks Fifth Avenue buyer Tom Marotta — who brought glitzy and expensive European designer brands to Philadelphia. Mrs. Schwartz’s stylish design stable included Kritzia, Christian Lacroix, and Blumarine. She championed such American designers as Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, and Tom and Linda Platt.

“She loved fashion,” her son said. “Her passion was making Philadelphia women look great and feel good about themselves. Her specialty was elevating their wardrobe with new and exciting pieces they couldn’t find anywhere else.”

Fashion was a part of Mrs. Schwartz’s pedigree. Her grandparents, Adolph and Annie Curson, owned Curson Department Store, a South Philly department store spanning more than a city block, during the early 1900s. Sophy opened Sophy Curson in Rittenhouse Square — next door to its current location — as a destination for petite women. Her trademarked slogan: “Junior is a size, not an age.” The du Ponts were among the boutique’s earliest customers, earning the store a reputation among the area’s well-to-do.

Sophy Curson opened a second location, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the 1940s, that closed in 2012. In 1951, she built its current home in Rittenhouse Square. The family has maintained its ownership, providing the Schwartzes with the freedom to take chances on fashion and thrive in an upscale Philadelphia neighborhood known for its fluctuating rents and fashion trends.

Mrs. Schwartz earned an art history degree at the University of Michigan and moved to New York in the early 1960s to work at Harper’s Bazaar, where she eventually became an editor. “In those days, people really knew how to dress up,” she said in a 2020 interview when the boutique celebrated its 90th birthday.

She returned to Philadelphia in the late 1960s and began her career in the store, expanding Curson’s size offerings up to 20. “She took the store from the 1950s to the 1980s,” Schwartz said.

In addition to her son David, Mrs. Schwartz is survived by her husband, William, son, Charlie; daughter-in-law, Brandie; and two grandchildren. A memorial service is planned for May.