Saks Jandel, purveyor of apparel to the capital’s high-fashion — some would say highfalutin — set since 1888, will close by the end of this year, the Washington Post reported. The Chevy Chase, Maryland, store will begin a liquidation sale, Thursday, Oct. 13.
Current staff was apparently given little warning. Spring 2017 trunk shows of gowns by Vera Wang (Oct. 14-15) and Oscar de la Renta (Oct. 20-22) are listed on the website of the store’s bridal salon; the main store does not have a website.
President Peter Marx, a member of the fourth generation of his family to oversee Saks Jandel, told the Post he had decided to concentrate on real estate. Marx Realty LLC owns about five acres of industrial land in Northeast D.C.’s Langdon neighborhood, Washington Business Journal reported in July.
Ernest Marx, Peter Marx’s German-born father, who ran the store from 1959 until his death in 2009, established direct links with European designers such as Yves Saint Laurent when ready-to-wear was in its infancy. The fifth generation — Peter Marx has three children — is not taking the reins.
Among the regular patrons of the boutique, located at 5510 Wisconsin Ave., were Elizabeth Taylor, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Condoleezza Rice. Gowns for inaugural balls and money-is-no-object weddings were a specialty, as were fashion shows organized for charity.
When it opened in the late 1800s, the store sold furs. The Sakses of Saks Jandel were distantly related to the Sakses of Saks Fifth Avenue. A Saks Jandel branch at the Watergate retail complex closed in 2007 after 20 years.
