Jay Rossbach interview, 1990 February 20, 1990 February 20

"Mildred Finger Haines ... helped shape fashion tastes for four decades as a top buyer for department stores and a consultant to clothes makers and retailers.... From the late 1940's through the late 1960's, Mrs. Haines, known throughout her career as Mildred Finger, was a buyer of ready-to-wear at Macy's, Ohrbach's and Bergdorf Goodman, and was one of New York City's most often cited taste makers. At Bergdorf's, in particular, she was noted for bringing European styles to American consumers. She later became Vice President of Charles of the Ritz, headed fashion merchandising for Yves St. Laurent and became an independent consultant, with clients like the Limited and Arthur D. Little. Suffering from multiple sclerosis, she retired in 1986. In succeeding years, she frequently contributed her knowledge of the fashion industry to the oral history projects of the American Jewish Committee and the Fashion Institute of Technology...." New York Times Obituary, 1995

Jay H. Rossbach, Jr., son of fashion designer Sophie Gimbel, was a graduate of the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass., and Brown University, class of '43. He joined Saks Fifth Avenue in New York in 1946 after service as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve, retiring in 1976 after thirty years as Senior Vice President. Rossbach died on February 15, 2014.

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