Sandy Schreier

Last updated

Sandy Schreier
Born
Sandy Miller

Detroit, Michigan, US
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Michigan
Occupation(s)Fashion historian and collector
Known forWorld's largest private collector of couture clothing
SpouseSherwin Schreier (died 2014)
Children4

Sandy Schreier is an American fashion historian and collector of couture clothing, with over 15,000 items. She has been called "the world's largest private collector of couture clothing". [1] Her interest in fashion began as a child when she went with her father, a furrier, to the Russeks department store where he worked. She has lent items from her collection to museums around the world but does not reveal where her collection is stored in order not to upset her insurers.

Contents

Early life

Schreier was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest of three daughters of Edward and Molly Miller. [1] [2] Her father, Edward Miller, was a furrier who worked for Russeks department store. [2] In the 1930s, Russeks relocated him to Detroit when they opened a new store there. [2] Her interest in fashion began as a child going along with her father to Russeks on Saturdays. [2]

She attended the University of Michigan. [3]

Fashion collector and historian

In 2012, Schreier owned about 15,000 items of couture clothing, including "gowns, bags and shoes, muffs, lingerie and even designer sketches". [2] She never wears any of them, but will lend items to museums or show them to designers. [2]

Schreier has lent clothes to exhibitions at museums including the Louvre, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Hermitage Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. [4]

Her collection includes three Valentino outfits owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the Yves Saint Laurent trouser suit worn by Claudia Cardinale in the 1964 film The Pink Panther and the silver-mesh Roberto Rojas mini worn by Twiggy in a 1967 Richard Avedon photo. [5]

Richard Martin, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City, has said, "It's the broadest and deepest of any private collection in the world ... it's like a small museum." [5]

The precise location of the warehouse where she stores the clothes is not disclosed, as "her insurance company could get cranky". [6]

Publications

Schreier has written two books: [4]

She has an autobiography in preparation which is provisionally titled Desperately Seeking Fashion. [7]

Personal life

She was married to Sherwin Schreier, a lawyer and her "high school sweetheart" who she had been with since she was 13, and they had four children. [2] [4] [8] He died on November 22, 2014, aged 78, [9] [10] [11] from cancer. [4] She is Jewish, and lives in Southfield, Michigan. [8] [12] [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 Singer, Olivia (April 16, 2015). "Sandy Schreier: A Detroit Legend". AnOther. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 FABRIKANT, GERALDINE (May 4, 2012). "The Met Raids Her Closet". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  3. ↑ The Michigan Alumnus. UM Libraries. 1998. pp. 18–21. UOM:39015055427390.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Vivid: Fashion Goddesses and Their Lasting Legacies". Cent Magazine. July 22, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Espinoza, Galina (September 20, 1999). "A Century of Style". People. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  6. ↑ Kaufman, Joanne (December 18, 1998). "Couture's Closet Queen". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  7. ↑ Desperately Seeking Fashion: Meet Sandy Schreier, the World’s Largest Private Collector of Haute Couture. Ben Schulman, Newcitydesign, November 24, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Meet Sandy Schreier". FabOverFifty.com. June 7, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Funeral Details for Sherwin Schreier - Ira Kaufman Chapel". www.irakaufman.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Sherwin Schreier". Legacy.com. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  11. ↑ "SHERWIN SCHREIER Obituary » Michigan Death Notices » from Michigan.com . . ". deathnotices.michigan.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Eric (February 13, 2013). "Galliano's Presence at de la Renta May Be First Step in His Return". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2019– via NYTimes.com.
  13. ↑ Phelan, Hayley (April 10, 2014). "Fashion Editors, Anti-Defamation League Rush to Galliano's Defense After 'Hasidic Outfit' Fall-Out". Fashionista. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
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