With sadness we report the passing of Harriet Kassman, who died Thursday night at age 90. The fashion icon worked well into her 80s until she closed her luxurious clothing store, Harriet Kassman, in Mazza Gallerie in 2009.
She showed up to work every day—in high heels—for over 30 years, often with her little poodle, Bastien, at her side. She also frequently traveled to Europe on buying trips to select the designer fashions that filled her shop.
I remember interviewing her as she was wrapping up a call with designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka—the “boys” as she called them. “Well,” she laughed. “They WERE boys when I met them!” In addition to Badgley Mischka, the shop carried lines from designers Calvin Klein, Bogner, Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix and Armani, among others.
She also had a bridal salon adjacent to the main store. After her retirement, her son Nick Kassman, her business manager, kept the bridal department open as Chevy Chase Bridal Salon.
Services will be held at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, 5130 Wisconsin, Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 11 a.m.
Donations may be made to Methodist Home of D.C., 4901 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008; American Cancer Society or Vitas Hospice, 1200 First St., N.E., Suite 320, Washington, D.C. 20002.
