The History of Roger Van S Handbags

Roger Van S wood box bag with chain detail. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. 09 Nov 2007, Fri The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey) Newspapers.com

This History of Roger Van S Handbags 

The Vintage Purse Museum was delighted to connect with the family of Roger and Doris Van Schoyck, founders of the prolific Roger Van S line of handbags, belts, jewelry and clothing.

 

Their story is by far the most publicly documented of those we’ve researched for The Vintage Purse Museum Photo and History Archive. In addition to finding a number of old newspaper articles about the Roger Van S company, we discovered that the Van Schoycks donated the “Doris Bryn Papers – 1939-1998” (Doris Bryn was Mrs. Van Schoyck’s professional modeling name) to Duke University, as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. We also learned from their daughter Sandi that the couple created a book with the history of their business for their four children. Oh, how we wish other handbag makers had done this!

Here’s a very informative email Q&A we had with their son, Dr. Stephen Van Schoyck. We also received scanned documents from the Van Schoyck family book, graciously shared by Roger and Doris’s daughter, Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer. We've added Ms. Ferrer's comments to these scans. (Note: The interview has been edited for clarity and was submitted for review to the Van Schoyck family prior to publication.)

Roger Van S Q&A With Dr. Stephen Van Schoyck, Son of Roger and Doris

Vintage Purse Museum: Here’s what we learned about your parents from online resources. Roger Clarence Van Schoyck (1917-2007) was born in Iowa. His parents were Roscoe and Helen Van Schoyck. He had one brother. 

Doris Krehnbrink Van Schoyck (1920-2010; surname later shortened to “Bryn” for career purposes) was born in Ohio to Victor and Clara Krehnbrink, who had six other children. Doris and Roger met at the University of Cincinnati, fell instantly in love and were married in 1940. Roger had an engineering degree and Doris majored in child psychology. The couple had four children.

The Van Schoyck wedding announcement from the family book, courtesy of their daughter Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer, who wrote, "My parents had a tremendous love story. They were almost one. They lived every day together after they started their business."  

In his early years, Roger delivered milk with his father in Waterloo, Iowa. He became an engineer upon graduating college, then joined the US Coast Guard. While serving his country during WWII, he developed an ulcer, and was hospitalized. He kept busy in the hospital doing leather-crafting with materials Doris brought to him. Doris worked as a model for the John Robert Powers agency and appeared on magazine covers, including the September 1943 cover of Life magazine, as well as Cosmopolitan, Look, and Ladies Home Journal. She was also featured in numerous advertisements. As her husband’s talent for leatherwork expanded, Doris ended up wearing one of his belts for a Vogue photo shoot. One newspaper article said that Roger made his first belt using Civil War-era buckles. Doris’s friends liked it so much, they wanted copies!

Dr. Stephen Van Schoyck: My father not only helped with milk deliveries but also cakes and pies delivered by sled while he held on to the bumpers of cars. He majored in mechanical engineering, but never worked as an engineer as he joined the war effort as a lieutenant in the Coast Guard. His duty was to oversee the loading of bombs onto ships in the New York City docks. My mom was a model for the Ford Modeling as well as Powers Agency and Conover Agency. She is mentioned in a paragraph in a book on models in New York City, “Cover Girls: The Story of Harry Conover: A Daughter in Search of Her Father” (by Carole Conover, published by Prentice Hall, 1978).

Doris Van Schoyck and her son Peter in a magazine photo from the Van Schoyck family book, scanned by daughter Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer, who wrote, "My mother was on the cover of Vogue and wore the belt my Dad made and someone ordered 10,000. The person who headed the shoot thought the belt was better looking then the one originally chosen for the shoot. My mother was the best marketing he could have. She looked terrific in the clothes, shoes, jewelry, belts and bags."

VPM: Among the first bags the couple created was the wooden bucket, which earned them a spread in the March 29, 1949 issue of Look magazine. Can you tell us what inspired them to make handbags out of buckets, butter tubs and fish pails? Could it have been related to wartime materials’ shortages, which included the rationing of leather to handbag manufacturers? Or was it because of your parents’ interest in utilizing unusual materials in their designs?

Elegant leather Roger Van S handbag with exterior attached coin purse. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Article from the Van Schoyck family book, courtesy of Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer.

DSVS: I was too young to know the origin of his bucket idea. I would think it came from his interest in using different materials. I believe they invested their life savings in the purchase of those buckets. The return on their investment enabled them to purchase a factory at 9 Market St. in Paterson, New Jersey. That became the manufacturing center for Roger Van S products.

Roger Van S black suede clutch, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Roger Van S metal label inside bag above.

23 Sep 1960, Fri Evening Star (Washington, District of Columbia) Newspapers.com

VPM: They also had a line of clothing and jewelry. How long did the clothing line last? Can you tell us about their accessories (belts and jewelry)? Who designed them, what was their inspiration, etc. In one article, your mother said she designs the line and your father “edits.”

DSVS: They had a partner in the jewelry business, Rex and Joanne Moonan. (Note from The Vintage Purse Museum: Reginald “Rex” Lyon Francis Moonan, 1902-1980, born in England, and New York native Joanne Adler Moonan, 1913-1997, started the jewelry business they called Authentics in the 1930s, and later merged with Roger Van S.) Together they formed Van S Authentics. I believe the designs came primarily from my mom while the Moonans were in charge of manufacturing. The jewelry was on display with the handbags at the New York showroom at 12 East 33rd St. (Note from The Vintage Purse Museum: E. 33rd St. in New York was where many midcentury handbag makers had showrooms.) The clothing line was an attempt to have a fully integrated line of jewelry, belts, bags and clothes that were merchandised through the Roger Van S Corner in major department stores throughout the country. I believe they attempted to expand the clothing line with a partnership that never materialized and caused a financial crisis that eventually resulted in the closing of their business. I don’t have any idea how to best date their line. 

Roger Van S intact fabric panel with lines indicating where to cut to create differently shaped scarves. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

VPM: Your father was quoted as saying he always looked for unusual materials. He said, “The Roger Van S label should mean offbeat and interesting clothes, but I would never make anything that my wife wouldn’t wear.” Can you tell us something about that—where he sourced his fabrics, how he test-marketed them, etc.?

DSVS: My parents worked extremely well as a team because my dad would come up with unusual materials but my mom was the actual designer. My dad oversaw the engineering of my mom’s designs into production so they had very complementary roles. He was very adept at setting up the assembly lines to produce the wide variety of products that they jointly envisioned. Interestingly, my mom was not a typical artist-turned-designer. She was a great idea person and had to rely on her pattern maker, Ben Sohn, a Swedish man who could take my mom’s rough sketches and make a pattern from them. Ben’s talent helped to compensate for my mom’s limited ability to draw. My mom never lacked for confidence and would readily accept arrangements to design anything and everything. She could also sell so well that she could sell you a paper bag with her doodle on it and you would believe you had just been given a Mona Lisa. They both were amazing people and even better as a couple.

Article scanned from the Van Schoyck family book, courtesy of their daughter Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer, who said, "My mom and dad always had an eye for creativity and made things out of things someone else would not notice. My dad made the furniture in their first apartment, so ideas just flowed."

VPM: We found your parents’ company (misspelled “Roger Van Ess”) on a 1970 list (government document) of handbag manufacturers that went out of business after the so-called “Kennedy Round” of The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Per other articles written for our website (quoting ourselves): “The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT-1948), a set of multilateral trade agreements originally ratified in 1947, strongly affected businesses during its 1964-1967 ‘Kennedy Round’ (named for President Kennedy, who predeceased the negotiations). This deal worsened the market as the US was importing more bags than it sold, causing a large number of American companies to close rather than be forced to lower employee wages and benefits. The Vintage Purse Museum found a US House Ways and Means Committee Hearing transcript from 1970 that had an addendum listing the handbag companies that went out of business from 1968-1969 due to the GATT Kennedy Round.” At that time, according to the addendum, Roger Van S had 110 workers. Does that sound familiar? Did your parents close the company around that time or is this document incorrect? 

DSVS: I am not sure how the government regulations may have added to the financial crisis that closed the business, but may have contributed. I remember my dad explained why he had to “factor” his receivables to purchase materials for the next line before payments from prior sales had been realized. The need to factor may be related to the regulations you mentioned. When they closed the factory, they became consultants to the JC Penney Company to oversee the production of their designs in foreign factories from Europe to Hong Kong. The current climate established by these regulations may have influenced their choice to move the business overseas.

VPM: We found a 1977 article saying that they’d been traveling Europe and the Orient, working as designers for a large New York chain operation, and had decided to reopen the Roger Van S factory in Paterson, NJ. Anything you would like to share about their travels for this company? How long was the Paterson factory open? We found newspaper ads for Roger Van S bags as late as 1981.

Pair of Roger Van S beaded fabric shoulder bags. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Label inside blue, red and white bag above.

DSVS: My parents were commissioned by the JC Penney Company to exclusively manufacture and sell the Roger Van S line under the Penney label. They would travel to the Orient with the Penney buyers to set up the line and then return to ensure the production. They also used factories in France that were created as a means to move the Nguy family investments from Cambodia to a European free country. The fashion industry was one such investment in Paris that worked with Penney’s and my parents. They operated in this capacity for about 10 years from 1968-1978. Two of the buyers’ names were Mr. Ralph LaRovere and Mrs. Sue Bixler. From 1978 to 1982, (my parents) returned to manufacturing their own line under the name of “MR R” with a factory in Paterson at a different site.

Mr. R box bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. Per the Van Schoyck family, Mr. R was a later branding of Roger and Doris Van Schoyck's handbags.

Closeup of three-dimensional flower on bag above.

Label inside bag above.

VPM: Did you or any of your siblings work at the company? In what capacity? Do you remember any standout employees? Would you care to share an anecdote or two about Roger Van S operations?

Clipping from the Van Schoyck family book, scanned courtesy of Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer, who said, "As children we would sit at a table in the playroom and be encouraged to make designs. As a young child (around 10 or 11), my mother liked one of my bag designs and turned it into a handbag. I was so excited. We all worked for my parents. My sister and I during high school summers did the invoicing, shipping, resolved issued and went to the showroom. My sister after college worked for my parents for about two or three years. As (children) we were taught to respect all employees regardless of what they did."

DSVS: My brother Peter worked as the foreman and did sales in NYC in their showroom in this second operation. My eldest sister Judy worked with my dad and mom for several years during the Penney period creating promotional items with my parents’ Asian contacts and selling these items to US businesses. I remember working in the factory on weekends as a teenager running a clicker machine to punch out pieces of leather to bring the assembly line production up to par. My brother and I would break for lunch and go to a hot dog place at the end of Market St. called Falls View Diner. They had deep-fried hot dogs and a hot Texas wiener that was amazing. My brother could eat three or four at one sitting and follow it with an order of fries. He had an amazing appetite. I tried to keep pace with him but could never match his capacity. Maybe that is why he is 6’2”and I am only 5’8”.

I do remember several employees: Ben Sohn, the pattern maker, Jack Pratt, electrician and maintenance man, who would work at our house and drive my sisters to their boarding schools every Monday, Annie Tiffany, a cook, and daughter Nancy Malik who used to visit to pick up her mother from our house, Mario the van driver, accountant Mike Romundo, who was a large man with thick glasses. There were also some women who sewed on the assembly line, one named Lucy who worked in the original plant and then later under my brother at the second location.

VPM: Your parents were in the real estate business in their later years. Did they ever officially retire? It sounds as if they had a tremendous love story! Would you like to share anything personal that you remember about them?

DSVS: My parents worked in real estate selling many of their friends’ homes who were retiring. Never one to consider retirement, they worked from 1998 to (approximately) 2006 as realtors until their health failed them. They both contracted dementia and lived the balance of their lives in their own home until their death. My dad was as independent as they come and would not hear of retirement until he fell through the ceiling of a house he was selling, trying to check out some problem in the attic. He finally relented. I do have two stories to add substance to their love story. They met in college at a fraternity dance. They were both big deals on the University of Cincinnati campus, with my mom being voted homecoming queen, and my dad being the president of his frat, Sigma Chi. My father asked my mother to dance and then left her on the dance floor complaining that her feet were too big. Instead of being insulted, my mom thought he was great because he wasn’t fawning all over her like the other guys. Another remembrance tells how easy they were in each other’s presence. While traveling in Asia, my dad wanted to get his hair cut. Rather than try to find a barber in a foreign country, my mom told him that she could do it. She then proceeded to cut off the top of his ear. The both would laugh at the fact that my mom tried to retrieve the piece and put it back in place. They also played tennis together until their mid-eighties, and I don’t remember them ever fighting on the court like many couples do. They had extensive mutual respect that was an amazing thing to watch. They were a wonderful role model as a couple who practiced equality long before its time.

The Vintage Purse Museum is extremely grateful to Dr. Stephen Van Schoyck, Sandi Van Schoyck Ferrer and the extended Van Schoyck family for sharing their parents’ story. Other resources used were Newspapers.com and MyHeritage.com, to which we have paid subscriptions. Please do not use any photos or information from this article or our website without requesting permission, vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com.