19 things you didn’t know about Atlanta’s past

Rich’s downtown hosted annual fashion shows that drew the likes of Pucci and Hubert de Givenchy

Rich's department store
1960: A fashion show luncheon at Rich’s department store.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

Every year from 1957 to 1991, Atlanta-based Rich’s department store staged Broadway-caliber fashion shows with dazzling music, lights, and couture at venues like Symphony Hall and the Fox Theatre. Dreamed up by the store’s fashion director Sol Kent, the spectacles drew celebrities like Emilio Pucci, Hubert de Givenchy, and legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. Kent died in 2001, but local fashion leaders like Jeffrey Kalinsky still cite his influence.

More bygone shopping
Oxford Books
One of Atlanta’s most beloved shops didn’t sell clothing. When it opened in 1970 in Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, Oxford was the largest bookstore in the South, known for hard-to-find magazines and foreign films. It was also home to the city’s first coffeehouse, the Cup and Chaucer.

Muse’s
More than 100 years before Sid Mashburn, there was Muse’s. Generations of suits and ties—plus some womenswear and hats—are still floating around town bearing the signature label. Vintage signs remain on Broad and Peachtree streets.

Isaacson’s
Louise Bernard’s boutique was a Phipps institution for more than 20 years until it shuttered in 1997. Loyal customers flocked to the shop for haute designers like Bill Blass and Geoffrey Beene, glam fashion shows, and valet parking and private entry.