Ben Silver…the man

For 48 years, as long as Bob and I directed our company, customers asked “Who is Ben Silver?” often mistaking Bob for Ben.

Now that we are to begin our Style & Story journal, it seems appropriate that we begin with the story of Ben - the person, the founder, the parent.

Born in 1915 in New York City to newly arrived immigrant parents, he was the oldest of four children, three boys only months apart, and a girl surprising the family 14 years later. Spending his teen years in East New York, an enclave of Brooklyn with a large Jewish and Italian population, he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, where he was a scholar and an athlete, and, by some accounts, a fashion plate, known to wear spats on occasion!

After high school came Brooklyn College, but it was the Depression era, and his father was unable to support the family, and Ben, as the oldest, was expected to bring in his share of the family’s needs. Always a congenial and well-spoken person, even as a teen, he aimed for sales. First working in lofts in Manhattan, where clothing was cut and sewn, he moved into selling the clothing – men’s coats. There were many forms of outerwear in the 1930s: heavy winter coats, both single and double breasted; top coats – lighter weight for mid-season days; and what was known as the 3-way raincoat – a trench, a la Humphrey Bogart, with a heavy lining that could be removed, so rain or shine, spring or winter, it was a top seller. This was before now famous English brands were known in America. So Ben sold coats. While attending college in the evenings, he became a salesman to established retailers such as Macy’s, Brooks Brothers, Saks Fifth Avenue, J. Press.

And then his little sister pointed out a new neighbor, a young woman whose family had moved into the same apartment house, and it was love at first sight for Ben, and in 1941 they married in a simple ceremony and moved into their own apartment.