Every morning, on the way to work, I see her name 10 stories up on an old faded advertisement on the side of an office building at 134 W. 37th Street in the Garment District. Each letter takes up a full floor as the name descends the side of the building like a banner unfurling.
“Who is Suzy and why does she have her name painted on the side of an office building?” I ask myself. I just want to meet Suzy.
I stopped by the building and scanned the lobby directory but did not see her name. I saw the building manager and asked:
“Do you know Suzy Perette, the person whose name is on the side of your building?”
“Yes, I think she works on the 10th floor as a designer.”
“What does she look like?”
“I don’t remember.”
“When did you last see her?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you just go to the 10th floor and ask for her?”
Kazu is on the 10th floor. I called them and ask for Suzy Perette but they do not know her. I have a sneaking suspicion the building manager doesn’t have the slightest clue about Suzy. I interviewed several people as they left the building one evening. None of them knew about the sign or ever heard of Suzy and most thought I was an escapee from Belleview stalking this poor girl. I began to realize Suzy may not work there.
Next, I checked the New York telephone book – no Suzy Perette. I checked the AT&T “Who Where” web site for telephone numbers anywhere in the country. They are no listings for any Suzy Perette in the United States. I bet she has an unlisted number I thought I did a Google search and found her clothes for sale on e-bay and on antique clothing web sites. But there was no mention of Suzy. No obituary, no address, no nothing.
Suzy must like the Doris Day style dresses of the 1950’s, because that is for sale on e-bay. Another web site reports that Audrey Hepburn wore one of Suzy’s dresses in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I bet Suzy and Audrey were friends, maybe even best friends. But Audrey is no longer alive so I can’t check with her to see if she knows where I can find Suzy. Now, I wonder is Suzy is still alive. I next discover that in the Soap Opera The Edge of Night one of the characters wore some of Suzy’s dresses. Suzy must have a lot of dresses or a lot of friends in the entertainment industry, or both.
Then I discovered the truth. Suzy Perette is not an actual person but a registered trademark of the Lombardy Dress Company from 1949 until 1970, which was located at 134 W 37th Street before they went out of business.
However, my search for Suzy comes to a happy end. When I show this article to my wife, she points across the room and said, “If you are looking for Suzy Perette, who not look in my closet?”
Thanks to Molly Woodward for the picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment