SPECIAL POST! Article about Morris Moskowitz, Premier Handbag Manufacturer - With input from his family
Research culled from newspaper articles, advertisements and other documents, as well as fact-checking and additional information from the Moskowitz/Benjamin family, to whom we are grateful.
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| Dramatic wine-colored "ruby" velvet MM handbag with attached coin purse. 1960s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
A stickler for quality, Morris Moskowitz and his trademark “MM” label epitomize a well-tailored, conscientiously evolving handbag fashion of the mid-century.
Born August 28, 1911, the second of five children of Hyman and Rose Moskowitz, Morris grew up on New York’s Lower East Side. Morris Moskowitz started working at age 10, eventually quitting school at age 14, per a newspaper article. (Unconfirmed, however, a relative said family lore indicates he only completed the eighth grade and started working full time in order to help his siblings as his parents had both passed away.) He went to work at Dritz-Traum, a sewing notions and crafting company still in business today (as Dritz). He became a showroom manager by age 21, establishing himself as a hard worker whose ethic was a portent of great things to come.
In 1937, Moskowitz had $100 to invest in a handbag company. He needed a total of $1,500, so he borrowed the balance from his sister Shirley. He and a business partner, which The Vintage Purse Museum believes to be Arnold Garay, started the Garay handbag company.
Moskowitz was a family man. In 1939, he married Adeline Brass, whom he’d met when she worked in the handbag department at Martin’s department store (est. approx. 1903, closed 1979, now known as The Offerman Building, a NYC historic landmark) in Brooklyn, NY. They had their only child, Judith, in 1940.
By 1948, the Garay business partners were successful enough to take out an expensive two-page ad in Vogue magazine. (The Vintage Purse Museum found what is likely this ad; scroll to the bottom of this post. Shortly after it appeared, Moskowitz and Garay discontinued their partnership.)
Moskowitz started his eponymous company in 1948 or 1949, and thus began the MM brand. In 1952, high-quality wool manufacturer Forstmann (established 1904) collaborated with Moskowitz on MM’s line of wool broadcloth bags (see ad below).
A 1961 article in the trade publication Handbags & Accessories, in its “Veterans of the Industry” section (to see the complete text of the article, visit The Bag Lady website), shares that Moskowitz’s focus was on creating bags of different materials, with the idea that it is the fabric that “commands the shape of the handbag.” This is exemplified in The Vintage Purse Museum’s collection of Moskowitz bags, which are all different in fabric and shape. MM handbags also represent the needs of the clientele, whether used as a daily handbag, to complement an outfit or wear for a special occasion.
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| Authentic 1960 magazine ad featuring a velvet handbag similar to the one at the top of this post. Ad from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
During Moskowitz’s nearly four-decade tenure at the helm of his company, he employed talent that went on to become their own big names, notably Judith Leiber (1921-2018), whose gem-encrusted “minaudieres” have walked many a red carpet, and Sharif El Fouly (also spelled "Elfouly," b. 1943), maker of high-end leather handbags. Other former Moskowitz employees include jewelry designer Marla Buck, accessories designer Deborah Zizza and philanthropist Elizabeth Newman, who remained a dear friend of the Moskowitz family.
The Morris Moskowitz company received numerous awards such as the Schiffli (makers of the Schiffli industrial embroidery machine) Fashion Award in 1957, and 1960’s Lord and Taylor Award for creative contributions by American designers, as well as a Hutzler Bros. (Baltimore department store, 1858-1990) special commendation that same year. In 1981, MM received the Dallas Apparel Mart’s Flying Colors Awards in the category of accessories for bags and belts boasting the highest quality in leather and workmanship.
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| Photo of 1 E. 33rd Street, NYC, taken in 2018 by a Moskowitz/Benjamin family member. The MM logo remains on the building that once housed the offices and showroom of Morris Moskowitz handbags. Photo courtesy of the Moskowitz/Benjamin family. |
By 1982, Moskowitz, then 71, was ready to retire, and sold his company to an undisclosed entity. That entity then licensed the Morris Moskowitz brand name to Dooney & Bourke around 1985, which discontinued the line in the late 1980s or early 1990s. (As of publication of this article, The Vintage Purse Museum’s email to Dooney & Bourke had not received a response.)
In September 2001, Morris and Adeline Moskowitz moved from their longtime residence in New York to Stamford, Connecticut, and the handbag entrepreneur passed away a year later, on November 29, 2002, at age 91.
His New York Times obituary shares that he was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather; a loving and generous man known by his nicknames “Whitey” and “Buddy.” While those who own MM handbags are appreciative of their exemplary and thoughtful workmanship, Morris Moskowitz's fifty-year career in the handbag industry was clearly secondary to his beloved family.
–The Vintage Purse Museum gives thanks to the Moskowitz/Benjamin family for being so gracious with their input and assistance.
Wed, Jan 10, 1973 – Page 3 · Washington Citizen (Washington, Missouri) · Newspapers.com
Sun, Jun 14, 1981 – 114 · The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) · Newspapers.com |
| MM gold lame' bag with gold-tone wire poodle-head clasp. 1960s/1970s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum |
Wed, Nov 2, 1966 – Page 16 · Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com |
| MM brocade pouch with Lucite clasp, coin purse and mirror. 1950s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
Sun, Oct 26, 1952 – 35 · The Knoxville Journal (Knoxville, Tennessee) · Newspapers.com
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| MM genuine patent leather black clutch with grosgrain-lined back pocket. 1960s/1970s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
Tue, May 8, 1973 – 79 · Daily News (New York, New York) · Newspapers.com |
| MM brown patent leather clutch with real carved wood handle. 1960s/1970s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
Thu, Mar 22, 1973 – Page 49 · The Daily Chronicle (De Kalb, Illinois) · Newspapers.com
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| MM paisley tapestry bag with chain handle and unusual latch. 1960s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
Tue, Aug 31, 1965 – 4 · The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com |
| Unusual MM "genuine reptile" shoulder bag with attached coin purse. 1970s/1980s. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. |
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| This is an advertisement from the store where Morris met Adeline. She was working in the handbag department. They were married in 1939, the year after this ad appeared, November 20, 1938, the New York Daily News, clipped via Newspapers.com. |
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| Excerpt of an article in which a fashion writer talks about her visit to Morris Moskowitz's office and showroom. Sun, Jan 24, 1965 – Page 27 · The Decatur Daily Review (Decatur, Illinois) · Newspapers.com |
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| 1948 Vogue spread; likely the one Morris Moskowitz was referring to in the 1973 article above. It was shortly after this appeared that he dissolved his partnership with Garay and started MM. Vogue article screenshot from a public library database. |
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