Threads of Innovation Joseph Zukin and The Los Angeles Apparel Industry

Southern New Hampshire University
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Threads of Innovation
Joseph Zukin and the Los Angeles Apparel Industry
A Capstone Project Submitted to the College of Online and Continuing Education in Partial
Fulfillment of the Master of Arts in History
By
Catherine A. Cordrey
White Salmon, Washington
September 2023
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Copyright © 2023 by Catherine A. Cordrey
All Rights Reserved
ii
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Student: Catherine A. Cordrey
I certify that this student has met the requirements for formatting the capstone project and that
this project is suitable for preservation in the University Archive.
__________________________________________ 9/12/2023
_______________
Capstone Instructor Date
__________________________________________ 9/13/2023
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Associate Dean of Liberal Arts Date
Southern New Hampshire University
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Abstract
This project delves into the life and accomplishments of Joseph Zukin, positioning his
story within the larger context of Eastern European Jewish immigration in the late nineteenth and
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twentieth centuries. Zukin's trajectory, from a Jewish individual in Russia to a thriving
entrepreneur in Los Angeles, mirrors many East European Jewish immigrants' experiences. His
influence in the California garment industry and his innovative business strategies signify the
potential of immigrants to redefine American business, cultural, and social sectors. His
achievements stem from his perseverance, adaptability, California's unique socio-economic
backdrop, and the broader dynamics of the American garment arena. The study asserts that the
success of Jewish figures like Zukin arises from an intricate web of factors - including cultural
resilience, assimilation, regional conditions, and economic aspirations - rather than any dominant
factor. Research for this examination draws from diverse primary and secondary sources,
including newspaper articles, corporate documents, historical reviews, business journals, and
books on Jewish history in LA, and it offers an in-depth look at the apparel sector, socio-
economic factors, corporate history, business strategies, and data from family archives. An
accompanying online exhibition offers an interactive display of the research. The online
exhibition is at https://jhzukin.omeka.net/.
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Dedication
I dedicate this project to the memory of Joseph Hiram Zukin, a visionary entrepreneur
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and Los Angeles apparel industry pioneer. His persistent dedication to his craft, pursuit of
innovation, and unwavering commitment to promoting California style have left an indelible
mark on the fashion landscape. May his legacy inspire future generations to seek their ancestors’
stories, embrace their dreams, overcome challenges, and make meaningful contributions to their
worlds.
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Table of Contents
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... iv
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Dedication .................................................................................................................................... v
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ vii
Preface ........................................................................................................................................ ix
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... xi
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 1: Historical Research .................................................................................................. 13
Chapter 2: The Project ............................................................................................................... 26
Chapter 3: Considerations ......................................................................................................... 87
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 94
Appendix: Selected Exhibit Screenshots September 2023 ......................................................... 97
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 123
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Arrival Manifest for the SS Blücher December 23, 1903. ............................................ 29
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Figure 2: Examples of Pro-Jewish Editorial Cartoons. ................................................................. 30
Figure 3: Examples of Immigration Editorial Cartoons. .............................................................. 31
Figure 4: Mulberry Street, New York City, about 1900. ............................................................... 33
Figure 5: Shirtwaist Marketing Photo 1918 .................................................................................. 37
Figure 6: 1925 Wholesale Marketing Flyer .................................................................................. 40
Figure 7: 1926 Wholesale Marketing Mailer ................................................................................ 41
Figure 8: 1936 Marketing Book Pages ......................................................................................... 51
Figure 9: 1935 Sears Roebuck Catalog Pages .............................................................................. 52
Figure 10: 1939 Guild of California Manufacturers Advertisement ............................................ 58
Figure 11: California Apparel Creators' Industry Promotion ....................................................... 62
Appendix Figure 1: Homepage ..................................................................................................... 97
Appendix Figure 2: Collections Page 1 Top ................................................................................. 98
Appendix Figure 3: Collections Page 1 Center............................................................................. 99
Appendix Figure 4: Collections Page 1 Bottom ......................................................................... 100
Appendix Figure 5: Collections Page 2 ...................................................................................... 101
Appendix Figure 6: Collections - Tree View .............................................................................. 102
Appendix Figure 7: Items Page 1 Top ........................................................................................ 103
Appendix Figure 8: Items Page 1 Bottom................................................................................... 104
Appendix Figure 9: Items Page 2................................................................................................ 105
Appendix Figure 10: Items Page 3.............................................................................................. 106
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Appendix Figure 17: Collection Example - Hollywood Starlettes w/Items 1 & 2 ..................... 113
Appendix Figure 18: Collection Example - Hollywood Starlettes Items 3-10 ........................... 114
Appendix Figure 19: Item Example - Two Models in Zukin Blouses – Page Top .................... 115
Appendix Figure 20: Item Example - Two Models in Zukin Blouses – Page Bottom ............... 116
Appendix Figure 21: Item Example - Starlettes Ad - Page Top ................................................. 117
Appendix Figure 22: Item Example - Starlettes Ad - Page Center ............................................. 119
Appendix Figure 23: Item Example - Starlettes Ad - Page Bottom ........................................... 119
Appendix Figure 24: Item Example - Zukin Label - Page Top .................................................. 120
Appendix Figure 25: Item Example - Zukin Label - Page Bottom............................................. 121
Appendix Figure 26: Item Example - Zukin Label - Close-Up .................................................. 122
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Preface
I have an eclectic background, but my work as a graphic artist has been a constant thread
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over the past forty years. When circumstances caused me to rethink that defining element of my
identity, I did not have a clear vision.
Throughout most of my work life, Chris Zukin has been a steady presence, serving as my
manager, mentor, and colleague. Had it not been for his desire to install a “mini-museum” in the
hallways of his family’s company to showcase some of his father’s and grandfather’s business
achievements, I might not have discovered the allure of public history.
As I looked through the Zukin’s artifact collection, it was clear that the project was larger
than hallways, and when I began to research, I found a resonant American story that I wanted to
be more prepared to tell. So, I embarked on a course of studies as a student at Southern New
Hampshire University.
This essay is part of the capstone project for a Master of Arts in History with a
concentration in public history. However, it is also a jumping-off point for a larger project as it
provides a portion of the foundational work to develop a museum showcasing the entrepreneurial
path of the Joseph Zukin family from immigration to the United States to the present day.
There is more to do with the project after this capstone. I have yet to explore historical
nooks and crannies that fill in gaps in Joseph Zukin’s early years in the United States, examine
his legal battles, and draw more connections to the larger historical setting. I hope to complete
that task in the coming months and to produce a larger work that includes further information
about the social and cultural context of his story and the lasting value of his contributions to his
place in time.
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Small history, the study of specific individuals, events, or local communities within a
broader historical context, appeals to me. I was fifteen when I read Samuel Pepys’ diary, a
seventeenth-century English naval administrator’s daily account of life during the Restoration.
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Pepys’ diary made past events real and engaged me in ways that the dry presentation of history
in my early school years never could. I have been an avid reader of obscure diaries and
biographical literature ever since.
This passion for personal narrative has also uncovered a fascination with genealogy and
the stories it can reveal. Genealogical research places individuals and their families within a
broader historical context. It allows people to see how their ancestors lived, the challenges they
faced, and the societal and historical events that influenced their lives. It helps individuals
recognize that they are part of a larger narrative that extends beyond their own lifetime. Whether
descended from Indigenous tribes, enslaved people, or immigrants from around the world, we are
the result of those who lived before us. In just ten generations, we have over a thousand direct
ancestors, each with a unique story and relation to history that informs who we are today.
Especially in a young country like the United States, individual histories allow us to
understand ourselves by highlighting the diversity, cultural heritage, shared narratives, and social
issues that have shaped our nation. By embracing and learning from these histories, we can foster
a sense of national identity, promote unity, and work toward a more inclusive and just society.
Ultimately, I hope that the Zukin family’s story will inspire others to look to their own family
trees for connections to their ancestors’ lived histories and, in so doing, foster an appreciation for
the myriad of experiences that define us as individuals and as a people.
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank the Zukin family for preserving artifacts and primary sources related to
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Joseph Zukin. Their willingness to share their knowledge and answer my questions has been
instrumental in bringing this project to life. I am deeply grateful to Chris Zukin for conceiving
the museum’s creation. His support in facilitating full-time work on this project while pursuing
my master’s degree in public history has been priceless.
Without my husband’s encouragement, I could not have undertaken this journey. His
belief in me is just one of the many reasons we are inseparable.
I also want to express appreciation to my instructors at SNHU for their exceptional
guidance, knowledge, and interest. Their dedication and commitment to their students’ success
bolsters my enthusiasm for public history.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the individuals, organizations, and repositories that
provided valuable primary and secondary sources, archival materials, feedback, and research
assistance. Their input and help have been crucial in uncovering Joseph Zukin’s story and
shedding light on the historical significance of his contributions to the fashion industry.
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Introduction
Joseph Hiram Zukin, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, was a visionary trailblazer whose
remarkable entrepreneurial journey left an enduring impact on Los Angeles’ fashion landscape
and played a pivotal role in promoting California style during the early twentieth century. At one
time, his was a household name in the ready-to-wear industry, but the memory of his legacy has
faded from public consciousness and only receives mention in passing in a few scholarly works.
Background
In the early twentieth century, as the allure of the American Dream contrasted sharply
with Russia's socio-political upheavals, individuals like Zukin sought prosperity and redefinition
in the New World. In 1903, while Theodore Roosevelt steered a progressive United States—
where Congress acted to regulate labor and business, limit immigration, and where figures like
Henry Ford and the Wright brothers were pushing boundaries—Tsar Nicholas II’s Russia was
immersed in political strife. Activists formed the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party,
territorial disputes with Japan were on the rise, and tragically, on Easter Sunday, 1903, after false
allegations of ritual murder, a mob of Russian peasants brutally murdered, assaulted, and raped
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Kishinev’s Jewish residents and looted and burned their homes and businesses.1 The violence
lasted for three days.
The Kishinev pogrom was part of a continuum of violent anti-Jewish riots that began in the
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early 1880s because of widespread anti-Semitism, economic tensions, political unrest, and the
dissemination of conspiracy theories blaming Jews for societal problems.2 The populist uprisings
and long-standing state-sanctioned policies of anti-Jewish discrimination contributed to the
pressing desire among Russian Jews to seek refuge elsewhere, particularly in the United States.
In late winter 1903, seventeen-year-old Joseph Hiram Zukin and his father left
Novohrad-Volynskyi, Russia. They went to Hamburg, Germany, where they booked December
passage on a ship bound for America. Joseph celebrated his eighteenth birthday during the
voyage.3 He was part of a significant wave of two million Jews who fled the Russian Empire
between 1880 and 1920 due to anti-Jewish violence, discrimination, and lack of economic
1
Kishinev (modern Chișinău, Moldova) was part of the Bessarabia Governorate, a territorial division
within the Russian Empire overseen by imperial authorities appointed by the Tsar. In 1903 when the Kishinev
pogrom took place, it was part of the Russian Empire under the rule of Tsar Nicholas II. He was the last emperor of
Russia and ruled until the Russian Revolution in 1917.
2
Holocaust Encyclopedia, s.v. “Pogroms,” accessed May 5, 2023,
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/pogroms.
"Pogrom is a Russian word meaning ‘to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.’ Historically, the term refers to violent
attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries. The first such
incident to be labeled a pogrom is believed to be anti-Jewish rioting in Odessa in 1821. As a descriptive term,
‘pogrom’ came into common usage with extensive anti-Jewish riots that swept the southern and western provinces
of the Russian Empire in 1881–1884, following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II."
3
Whether Zukin celebrated his sixteenth or eighteenth birthday in 1903 is unclear. He stated his date of
birth (DOB) as December 15, 1885, on his Petition for Naturalization, but the ship’s manifest lists his age as
nineteen years (DOB 1884). A certificate marriage in February 1914 lists his age as twenty-nine. His 1918 WWI
draft card and US Social Security Death Index show December 23, 1885. However, The California Death Index,
Find a Grave, and his family use December 23, 1887. Federal Census records report his birth year as 1887 to 1889.
He arrived at Ellis Island December 23, 1903, so perhaps he adopted the twenty-third as a symbol of rebirth. He may
have inflated his age at immigration for work or legal purposes, deflated it later because of vanity, or he may not
have known his actual birth year. This project uses December 15, 1885, as sworn on his naturalization petition.
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opportunity. The Zukins arrived in the United States through Ellis Island on the day before
Christmas Eve.
Like many Jewish immigrants, the two men first settled in Lower Manhattan. They would
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bring the rest of the family, Joseph’s mother, four sisters, and one brother, to New York in 1907.
The move came at a cost. Though the family’s eldest child died in 1902 before Joseph and his
father left Russia, another sister died in 1904, shortly after their departure.
In New York, Joseph’s father worked in a shirt factory; one sister was a machine operator
sewing ladies’ waists, and another worked as a mechanical dentist, constructing dental
prosthetics to replace missing or damaged teeth. The rest of the children attended school.4
Joseph worked, partnered in, and later owned a paper box-making factory. He and his
father had trained as tailors in Russia. In America, Joseph saw the opportunity to put his
knowledge to use. After nearly twelve years in New York, he saved enough money to head west
to California.
Records do not show the exact date Joesph’s siblings went to California. However, his
younger brother, Ernest, and three sisters, Elizabeth, Dora, and Beatrix, appear to have
accompanied or followed him shortly after he departed for the Golden State. His sister, Mary,
wed his box-making business associate, Louis Shneidman, around 1912 and, by 1920, was living
with him in Pennsylvania. His parents stayed in New York.
4
1910 United States Federal Census: Manhattan Ward 7, New York, New York; Roll: T624_1008; Page:
10A; Enumeration District: 0081; FHL Microfilm: 1375021,” Ancestry.com,
2006,https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449801_00204?pId=103380211.
4
In June 1916, Zukin opened a ladies’ waists manufacturing company in Los Angeles.5
Ernest helped manage it. Dora and Beatrix were bookkeepers. By 1919, his company was the
largest blouse manufacturer in the country.6 In 1921, he expanded his line to include dresses. He
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and five other makers developed the Associated Apparel Manufacturers trade group to promote
the Los Angeles manufacturing and fashion base.7 By 1925, his garments appeared in movies,
and he used stills of actresses wearing them to market his fashions.8
Zukin continued to adapt and expand the Joseph Zukin brand in concert with broader
efforts to promote Los Angeles as an influential fashion market. He recognized and capitalized
on opportunities as they arose. Business thrived during the Roaring Twenties, but Zukin slashed
his prices and modified his clothing line to survive the Great Depression. He opposed
unionization but enacted workplace policies that reflected union influence and eventually
became a union shop. The end of World War II brought new prosperity, and Zukin enjoyed the
economic boon.
Over the years, he played a pivotal role in redirecting market share from New York and
Paris to Los Angeles by promoting a year-round concept of fashion rooted in the California
climate and culture. Comfort and active lifestyle attire overtook the tradition of formal seasonal
clothing and became marketing features of California-produced clothing lines.
5
“New Factories for this City,” The Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1916,
http://www.newspapers.com/image/ 380525119/.
6
“Zukin Plant Here Opens Production: Slacks and Other Garments Made by Local Clothing Concern,” The
Pomona Progress Bulletin, March 6, 1946, https://www.newspapers.com/image/623789937/.
7
Helen Keleman, “Story of California Style,” B’nai B’rith Messenger, September 12, 1947, 128.
8
Joseph Zukin, Inc. “A Zukin “Screen” Creation Your Customers Will Want Too,” Wholesale marketing
flyer, 1925, The Zukin Family Private Collection.
5
In 1951, after thirty-five years of manufacturing, promoting, and trendsetting women’s
fashion, Zukin’s children were grown, and uninterested in continuing in his footsteps, he retired
from manufacturing. He closed the Joseph Zukin of California company. His name and
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accomplishments faded from public memory in the following decades.
What endures is a way of thinking about fashion that swept across the United States and
into foreign markets, transforming Los Angeles from a little-regarded participant in the garment
industry to an industry leader. Typified by an accessible fashion aesthetic, focus on lifestyle and
contemporary design, coupled with celebrity and influencer-driven brands, California style
continues to shape American culture today.
Premise
The research question that emerges from this overview is: How did Joseph Zukin and
other garment makers shape California style, promote Los Angeles as a fashion center, and
influence regional culture and the fashion industry during the first half of the twentieth century?
From that question, others flow: Were their cultural and ethnic backgrounds a factor? What skills
and resources did they bring to their undertakings? Why did they choose Los Angeles? How did
they promote California style to the rest of the country? What challenges and setbacks did they
face? What social and cultural factors played a role in their successes, and how did their
successes shape the social dynamic?
The research suggests that Los Angeles’s favorable business environment and healthy
climate attracted Jewish garment makers. They used their business knowledge, needlework
skills, and fashion sense to thrive in the industry, resulting in social status and financial success.
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For some, solidarity within the Jewish Diaspora supported their efforts. Assimilation and
changing social constructs influenced acceptance and social advancement.
Collaboration among manufacturers, marketers, trade organizations, and government
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contributed to creating and promoting the California brand. Market challenges, economic factors,
and the evolving media landscape necessitated innovative approaches in marketing and
manufacturing. The enduring appeal of California, with its glamorous image and year-round
sunshine, played a substantial role in popularizing California-branded apparel.
Joseph Zukin’s innovative marketing techniques, entrepreneurial spirit, and contributions
to the apparel industry significantly shaped California style and promoted Los Angeles as a
major player in the fashion industry during the early twentieth century. Zukin’s background as a
Russian-Jewish immigrant, his role in promoting California apparel makers, and his impact on
consumers and small manufacturers in the industry, combined with the efforts of like-minded
individuals, were critical to the success of the California fashion brand.
Relevance
Zukin’s marketing efforts extended outside of his company brand. He advocated for
regional success and worked tirelessly to claim fashion market share for California. As a
producer, he directly influenced what consumers bought and wore. It is impossible to fully
understand how California style developed and gained popularity without understanding the
agency of California’s garment industry entrepreneurs, like Zukin.

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Today, the Anti-Defamation League reports that antisemitic incidents are at their highest
level since they began tracking them in 1979.9 The FBI reports that hate crimes, in general, have
been on the rise for the past few years.10 Stories of minority contributions to our shared history
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are one way to counter social fracture and hate speech currently rising in the United States.
Joseph Zukin’s story echoes the stories of millions of immigrants who chose to be Americans.
They share that historical bond. It is also the story of Jewish contribution and cooperation outside
of ethnic confines that challenges notions of otherness that hate needs to thrive. Stories that
demonstrate shared humanity are a defense against disinformation and misdirected strife. There
is no better time to enter this history into the record.
The significance of studying Joseph Zukin’s story lies in unraveling his individual
historical narrative and understanding the Los Angeles apparel industry's broader socio-cultural
and economic context in the early twentieth century. Examining Zukin’s journey from his arrival
in the United States to his achievements as a clothing manufacturer and advocate for the local
fashion scene provides insights into the factors that influenced regional fashion trends,
contributed to the rise of Los Angeles as a prominent fashion center, and allowed immigrant
entrepreneurs to achieve social and financial success.
Recognizing the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as Jewish
garment makers, helps promote a more inclusive understanding of history and cultural heritage.
9
“Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2022,” ADL, March 23, 2023, https://www.adl.org/resources/report/audit-
antisemitic-incidents-2022.
10
“Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer,” Cde.ucr.cjis.gov, accessed June 12, 2023,
https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend.
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It acknowledges the role of marginalized communities in shaping industries and cultural trends
and fosters a more comprehensive and accurate societal representation.
Examining Joseph Zukin and his contemporaries can shed light on the socio-cultural
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dynamics of the time, including assimilation, solidarity within communities, and the evolving
constructs of race and ethnicity. These dynamics remain relevant today, providing historical
context and contributing to ongoing discussions about identity, diversity, and social integration.
Understanding Joseph Zukin’s personal agency and that of his associates highlights the
power of goal setting and planning to shape industries, trends, and cultural landscapes. It
emphasizes the role of individual vision, strategic actions, and business acumen in driving
change and shaping the trajectory of an industry. Recognizing personal agency can inspire and
encourage individuals in the modern world to pursue their visions and take deliberate actions to
create meaningful impact in their respective fields.
As a matter of public history, Joseph Zukin’s story is emblematic of immigrants who
came to America searching for a better life and helped shape American culture and industries. It
can inspire people to learn about their heritage and their ancestors’ contributions to this country
or elsewhere.
Audience
While Joseph Zukin of California established the family’s position to share generational
wealth and a legacy of commercial success, the family has continued to create and grow
profitable enterprises. This project presents a historical exhibition on a website. It is the first of
several exhibitions planned to interpret the Zukin family businesses in a private corporate
museum.
9
According to John Seaman and George David Smith, corporate museums are most
effective when they find their business’ “usable past.”11 Savvy companies do not pull out the past
only for commemorative celebrations; they have a “ sophisticated understanding of the past [as]
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one of the most powerful tools we have for shaping the future.”12 Corporate museums can foster
group identity by sharing their history with employees, who share their legacy.
To that end, the project will engage employees through oral interviews and surveys to
determine their knowledge of the company’s history and to gather information relative to the
historical record on an ongoing basis. Developing a history-inclusive business culture can
provide “pragmatic insights” and “meaningful perspectives—a way through management fads
and the noise of the moment to what really matters.”13 Engaging the employee audience at the
outset strengthens the likelihood that it will later engage with the exhibit.
Zukin progeny are also stakeholders since many are vested in the current business and
have familial ties to the historical aspect. Authors Adoración Álvaro-Moya and Pierre-Yves
Donzé include family businesses in a continuum of business groups and networks in their work
on the background of business history as a discipline.14 Some advantages of obtaining audience
insight from vested family groups are the same as their competitive advantages in business and
11
John T. Seaman and George David Smith, “Your Company’s History as a Leadership Tool,” Harvard
Business Review, December 2012, https://hbr.org/2012/12/your-companys-history-as-a-leadership-tool, 46.
12
Seaman and Smith, “Your Company’s History,” 46.
13
Seaman and Smith, 46.
14
Adoración Álvaro-Moya and Pierre-Yves Donzé, “Business History and Management Studies,” Journal
of Evolutionary Studies in Business-JESB 1, no. 1 (2016): 122–51, https://doi.org/10.1344/jesb2016.1.j008, 131.
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include their unique ties to the subject matter and the inter-familial transmission of knowledge
and values.15
In addition to Zukin employees and descendants, this exhibit will appeal to anyone
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interested in the California fashion industry, Jewish contributions to early twentieth-century
business, entrepreneurship, immigrant experiences, cultural dynamics of the early twentieth
century, and the social impact of clothing and movies. It may also interest Academic researchers
and other scholars.
The broad nature of this audience results from the desire to engage and educate
individuals who seek a deeper understanding of the intersection between fashion,
entrepreneurship, and cultural assimilation. In targeting multiple interests, the project intends to
foster appreciation for the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs like Joseph Zukin and
illuminate their lasting impact on industries and American culture.
The online exhibit serves as an interactive and visually engaging platform that allows
visitors to explore primary sources, photographs, marketing materials, clothing, and other
materials related to Zukin and his business. By presenting the research findings in an immersive
and accessible manner, the project aims to create an inclusive experience that resonates with the
audience, deepens their connection to Joseph Zukin’s historical narrative, and inspires
investigation and introspection into their own origin stories.
The immigrant component is key. Roughly ninety-seven percent of Americans are, or
descend from, immigrants. While every story is unique, there are commonalities among
immigrants and the process of becoming American. The exhibit may even inspire those who
15
Álvaro-Moya and Pierre-Yves Donzé, “Business History,” 131.
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forcibly immigrated under slavery or members of Indigenous peoples whose origin stories are
rooted in North America to research their family heritage, memorialize their family histories and
achievements, and formally share them with others.
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Content, presentation, communication, and user experience are some of the
considerations this project’s designer has made when deciding what to include and how to
present it. Future plans include designing accessibility options such as narration, multiple
language presentations, and short surveys to improve the end-user experience.
Meanwhile, the project focuses on organizing the content in a user-friendly manner and
providing navigation options that facilitate exploration and understanding. The end goal is to
create a final product that effectively communicates Joseph Zukin’s story, the significance of his
contributions, and the broader historical and cultural context to a diverse audience.
Structure
Chapter 1: Historical Research, provides an overview of the literature, discusses
professional standards in source selection, and identifies major interpretational trends around the
project topic. Its source analysis evaluates primary and secondary sources and project-related
research methodology foundational for the website exhibit. It establishes the context of the
research and positions this work in relation to existing interpretations.
Chapter 2: The Project contains an introduction and segments covering different periods
in Joseph Zukin’s experiences. These include a snapshot of conditions in 1903 Russia and the
United States when Zukin emigrated from Russia as well as information about his life in New
York 1903-1915: an overview of moving and establishing a business in California and the years
between startup and the Great Depression; highlights of Zukin’s business practices during the
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Great Depression; changes in the business during WWII; developments post WWII including
“California style;” and a summary of Zukin’s legacy to the fashion industry.
The exhibition presents a series of collections related to the historical narrative. A list of
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items for display is at the end of each script segment. This project focuses on Joseph Zukin’s
accomplishments in the American fashion industry. The information about Russia and New York
is supportive. Therefore, the project completion sequence favors the California segments over the
immigration and New York segments. The project aims to present the most impactful segments
for the capstone by prioritizing them in this manner.
Chapter 3: Considerations, discusses project budget, staffing, recommendations for
further research, ethics, and potential challenges or shortfalls. This chapter critically examines
some practical and ethical factors that planners must consider when executing the project. Such
reflection can provide valuable insights for project implementation and decision-making.
The conclusion provides a project recap and summary. It aims to reiterate this project’s
intent, importance, and goals and summarize the findings.

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Chapter 1: Historical Research
Overview
Most of the literature about the twentieth-century garment industry focuses on the East
Coast and New York. Several sources credit the garment industry’s success to Jewish solidarity,
especially in California, but do not make the case that it was the only or main factor. The small
amount of literature spotlighting California recognizes the movies as a cultural influence and
mass-marketing tool. Indeed, movie magnates hired learned young writers to attract a young,
non-immigrant generation.1 Toll states, “The movies, which adapted financially and
thematically to the Depression by reducing budgets and dramatizing the travails of daily life, also
promoted clothing designed in Hollywood and produced for broader consumption by Los
Angeles firms.”2 However, historians have largely disregarded the roles of businesspeople,
manufacturers, and trade organizations in this phenomenon.
There are a few exceptions. For example, Michelle Tolini Finamore notes that in 1920,
fashion designer and newspaper columnist Peggy Hamilton organized fashion revues featuring
California fashions and emphasizing their links to movie stars as part of her campaign to create
1
. Ellen Eisenberg, Ava Fran Kahn, and William Toll, Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community
on America’s Edge, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009), 169.
2
William Toll, “Acclimatizing Fashion: Jewish Inventiveness on the Other (Pacific) Coast,” essay, in A
Perfect Fit: The Garment Industry and American Jewry (1860-1960), ed. Gabriel M. Goldstein and Elizabeth
Greenberg (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2012), 144–62, 154.
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an ‘individual American style.3 However, while Tolini Finamore mentions them as background,
she does not further explore the ready-to-wear industry or its associates’ marketing efforts.
Likewise, historians often cite the youth and leisure lifestyle and California’s climate as
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cultural memes that helped to propel California style forward. William R. Scott discusses the
emergence of “California casual” style. He acknowledges that in the 1960s, manufacturers
promoted it but has little to say about industry promotions before WWII when the posturing
inherent in the long-established New York and European markets presented a formidable
challenge to the fledgling West.
Most scholars have approached the subject as a cultural phenomenon only tangentially
related to intent. No source in the research has adequately addressed the idea that the vision,
planning, and strategic actions of a few people, Joseph Zukin among them, played a significant
role in creating and promoting California style in the marketplace. One of this project’s goals is
to correct that omission from the historical record.
Professional Standards
Producing well-grounded, objective, and reliable historical accounts that enrich our
collective understanding of the past relies on carefully selecting and interpreting sources.
Anthony Brundage stresses that historians must make “a determined effort to be genuinely
impartial in selecting, analyzing, and presenting the evidence.”4 Historians should constantly
3
Peggy H. Adams Papers (collection 1373), box 6, undated, unmarked newspaper clipping, Department of
Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles, Library, quoted in Michelle Tolini Finamore, Hollywood
Before Glamour: Fashion in American Silent Film (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 158.
4
Anthony Brundage, Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing (Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley Blackwell, 2018), 122.
15
assess their biases and guard against selecting sources to support a single viewpoint.5 Likewise,
the American Historical Association recommends that researchers acknowledge source-material
biases, avoid selective data interpretation, faithfully transcribe sources, 6 give credit, and
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acknowledge “one’s debts to the work of other historians.”7
Kate Turabian recommends that researchers evaluate sources for relevance and
reliability, no matter the discipline.8 Researchers can skim a source, read the abstract, and check
the bibliography for relevance to their research topic. They can determine reliability by looking
at the press, scholar, and organization reputations as well as peer reviews, frequency of citation,
and bibliographical data.9 David Lavery’s book-gutting method and SNHU’s (Currency,
Relevancy, Accuracy, Authority, Purpose & Objectivity) CRAAPO criteria provide practical
methods historians can use to streamline evaluations.10
This project uses professional standards in interpreting primary and secondary sources in its
research. It selected secondary sources using credible databases such as JSTOR, ProQuest,
EBSCO, and Google Scholar to find peer-reviewed publications related to the topic. The researcher
5
Brundage, Going to the Sources, 122-123.
6
Catherine Denial and Devin Harvie, “Ethics for Historians: The Perspective of One Undergraduate Class,”
Perspectives on History, American Historical Association, January 2010, https://www.historians.org/publications-and-
directories/perspectives-on-history/january-2010/ethics-for-historians-the-perspective-of-one-undergraduate-class.
7
“Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct,” American Historical Association, June 2019,
https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/statements-standards-and-guidelines-of-the-
discipline/statement-on-standards-of-professional-conduct.
8
Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition:
Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (University of Chicago Press, 2018), 32-35.
9
Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, 32-35.
10
David Lavery, “How to Gut a Book,” The Georgia Review 43, no. 4 (1989): 731–44,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41399968; Jennifer Harris, “What Is C.R.A.A.P.O.?” Evaluating Sources, 2010,
https://libguides.snhu.edu/c.php?g=92303&p=2104197.
16
consulted bibliographical reviews and stand-alone articles to understand the field. From there, she
selected seemingly relevant sources and researched their publishers and author(s) or editor(s) to
determine their qualifications and credentials. One such source was the edited volume A Perfect
©
Fit: The Garment Industry and American Jewry (1860-1960).
One of the essays, “Acclimatizing Fashion: Jewish Inventiveness on the Other (Pacific)
Coast,” by William Toll, asserts that California’s clothing styles gained popularity because of
Jewish networking between the garment and movie industries.11 Rather than accept that
explanation without question, this author sought a range of interpretations to ensure against bias.
For instance, Charles Goodman’s book, The Location of Fashion Industries: With Special
Reference to the California Apparel Market, presents a more complex view. Goodman argues that
California’s climate, topography, and uninhibited population led to the early adoption of less
formal attire and outdoor activities, creating a demand for comfortable and stylish clothing. This
demand, the state name’s promotional value, and the motion picture industry’s presence
contributed to the California apparel industry’s growth. Thus, incorporating multiple sources and
diverse viewpoints is one strategy used to mitigate bias and arrive at a more comprehensive grasp
of the subject matter.
While the author discusses primary sources and archives in detail later in this paper, she
considered factors such as publication, purpose, author, and content when evaluating them for
use. For example, an article in Time Magazine claimed that Joseph Zukin was an ex-cattle
rancher,12 but upon thorough investigation, she found no evidence to support the claim.
11
William Toll, “Acclimatizing Fashion.”
12
“Made in California,” Time, September 23, 1946.
17
Additionally, the assertion seems unlikely since cattle ranching does not lend itself to urban areas
such as Manhattan Island or the City of Los Angeles. Zukin started his blouse-making company
upon his arrival in Los Angeles from New York, so he would not have had time to ranch.
©
Consequently, this project does not rely upon the claim in its analyses but may mention the
article in a footnote. Maintaining accuracy and integrity is crucial, but excluding alleged facts
without explanation might unfairly skew the historical record.
Source Analysis
The research has located much primary source material in virtual repositories. The
primary advantage is immediate, twenty-four-seven access regardless of location, which
eliminates travel time and can accommodate any research schedule. Searchability and
downloadability are also benefits. However, serious scholars cannot dismiss concerns about
authenticity and scope. Virtual resources rely on digitization and may be incomplete because of
exclusivity agreements with physical archives. Copyright laws and permissions can vary across
repositories; access depends on technology availability. Virtual access does not allow physical
examination, which may be problematic depending on research needs.
In contrast, physical archives afford a tangible experience. They permit researchers to
closely examine the sources, including handwritten notes, marginalia, and other subtle details
that may be valuable. There is more potential for serendipitous discovery. Researchers browsing
physical archives may make discoveries that a search query would bypass. Many primary source
materials are too bulky or precious to digitize, and archives often lack the resources to digitize.
Archivists manage, and other experts consult physical archives—those archivists and experts
may be available for collaboration. Still, researchers must balance travel and time expenses,
18
limited access hours, and search inefficiency with the benefits of physical access. In addition,
there may be limits on obtaining reference copies or photographs. The archive may have limited
space, stringent security measures, or language barriers.
©
Virtual and physical archives complement one another in historical scholarship. Virtual
archives provide broad access and convenience, while physical archives offer a unique and
immersive research experience.
This proposal used Ancestry for access to various archives, including Historic Catalogs of
Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1896-1993; the United States Federal Census; birth, marriage, and death
records; Federal Naturalization Records; and New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists
(including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Ancestry (Ancestry.com) allows access to
these record collections compiled from various sources, including the National Archives and the
Statute of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation. Ancestry facilitates genealogical research and
provides a convenient access point and search tools, but requires a paid subscription. This proposal
also accessed databases like the National Archives independently, but Ancestry’s convenience is a
welcome feature.
Newspapers.com, accessible with a stand-alone subscription or as part of Ancestry,
contains archives of The Los Angeles Times and others. The Internet Archive is an online lending
library with magazines, like Photoplay and The Delineator, not available elsewhere. Likewise,
ProQuest and JSTOR provide access to newspapers, magazines, books, and trade publications.
ProQuest has Women’s Wear Daily archives, which contain much project-pertinent information.
SNHU’s Shapiro library, as well as this author’s local library, afford access.
19
An unexpected archival source is Google Books. It contains The Trow (formerly
Wilson’s) Copartnership and Corporation Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and the
Bronx, City of New York. Like the Internet Archive, Google Books does not organize its content
©
by collection, so research is haphazard. However, The Trow appeared in a random search and
contained a business listing showing that Joseph Zukin partnered in and owned a paper box-
making company. The information allowed the project researcher to corroborate and expand on
family-provided information.
The Zukin Family Private Collection, held by the J.R. Zukin Corporation in The Dalles,
Oregon, is the only physical archive consulted to date. It contains business documents, photos,
marketing materials, garments, and ephemera related to Joseph Zukin of California.
Post-project, the study may add research from the Seaver Center for Western History
Research at the National History Museum of Los Angeles County and the UCLA Library, Los
Angeles. They hold Chamber of Commerce directories, bulletins, and Los Angeles incorporation
records that might provide more information about trade organizations and business activities.
Those repositories’ archivists might provide more leads in a phone conversation.
All the primary sources are relevant to the project topic. Credibility depends on the
source. For example, many newspaper accounts contain bias because they promote the aims of
California’s garment makers. The primary sources do not present direct arguments so much as
they function as testimony and provide an opinion or snapshot of the public consciousness. The
project can mitigate bias in primary sources by considering context and corroborating facts.
While other historians have drawn on newspapers, trade publications, and magazines in
their research, this project concentrates on primary sources directly connected to Joseph Zukin
20
and his business activities. The Zukin family private collection is unique to this project. Its
marketing materials, photographs, and legal papers provide perspective on Zukin’s operations,
strategies, and the fashion products he produced. Official records and documents such as
©
naturalization applications, draft cards, and incorporation papers also differentiate this project’s
primary sources. These sources provide legal and administrative insights into Zukin’s personal
life and business operations and interactions. They allow for a deeper understanding of Zukin’s
journey as an immigrant, his legal status, and the formal aspects of his business endeavors.
Though the types of primary sources in this project may overlap with those of other
researchers, the bulk of individual sources are distinct. The combination and contextualization of
these primary sources provide a fresh perspective into Zukin’s story and the development of
California style.
Many of the works reviewed for this project discuss the role of Jewish immigrants in the
needle trades and garment industry but only discuss manufacturers in passing. However, there
are major historical debates around the reasons for Jewish success. The arguments fall into two
general camps. Many make a case for Jewish exceptionalism, resilience, or cultural strengths as
reasons for success. Others credit chance, assimilation, or regional social conditions as
significant contributors. So-called Jewish success is a complex interplay of all these factors. It
cannot be simplified into a single formula since each factor weighs differently depending on
individual circumstances. In addition, the Jewish community is not a monolithic entity. It may
even be an entity as a concept more than a uniform practice.
For example, Hasia Diner’s The Jews of the United States emphasizes the resilience and
adaptability of American Jews in the face of challenges such as immigration, discrimination, and the
21
pressures of assimilation. Pioneer Jews, Jews of the American West, and A Cultural History of Jews
in California all emphasize the contributions and successes of Jewish pioneers in the American West.
Their authors highlight how these immigrants faced challenges such as anti-Semitism but were still
©
able to establish thriving communities and contribute to the region’s development.
Some argue or imply that ethnic cohesion is the reason for outsized Jewish success, but
Jewish immigrants arrived from various Eastern European countries, including Russia, Poland,
Ukraine, Lithuania, and Romania. Each group had distinct cultural, linguistic, and religious
characteristics that impacted the composition of migrating Jewish communities. While Russian
immigrants often included Hasidic Jews, those from Lithuania and Poland tended to align more with
non-Hasidic or "Misnagedim" traditions. Each group's religiosity levels varied widely, ranging from
deeply religious to more secular individuals.
In A Perfect Fit: The Garment Industry and American Jewry, Gabriel Goldstein and
Elizabeth Greenberg note that ethnic solidarity and the prospect of entrepreneurship drew Jewish
garment workers and business people interested in apparel manufacturing to Los Angeles, where
they created the “largest clothing district west of Chicago.”13 Max Vorspan and Lloyd Gartner’s
History of the Jews of Los Angeles states, “Both in clothing and motion pictures, Jewish
entrepreneurs, starting from a mass distribution base, created mass production industries for garments
and entertainment.”14
13
Gabriel M. Goldstein and Elizabeth Greenberg, A Perfect Fit: The Garment Industry and American
Jewry, 1860-1960 (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2012), 153.
14
. Max Vorspan and Lloyd P. Gartner, History of the Jews of Los Angeles (San Marino: The Huntington
Library, 1970), 124, 133.
22
While this is true, solidarity weakens across diverse backgrounds. That many Jews were
simultaneously attracted to the same place does not create solidarity. It creates proximity. There is
nothing to say that these individuals would have been unsuccessful were they the only Jewish person
©
in a community. However, the unorganized connections of like interests rooted in the Jewish
experience may have created unofficial cohesion through unintended networks of Jewish members.
The presence of other immigrant groups, like Italians, played a role in shaping the
experiences of Jewish immigrants. Cultural exchange and fusion through work and proximity
were common in areas with mixed immigrant populations.15 Cultural adaptation, including
secularization, was a predictable outcome.
Religious persecution and discrimination in their home countries prompted some Jewish
individuals to seek safety through assimilation into broader society upon arrival in the United
States. Exposure to new ideas, opportunities in their new environment, and the challenges of
adapting to a different culture caused some to move away from strict religious observance.
For example, Roger Waldinger’s Through the Eye of the Needle argues that Italian and
Jewish immigration coincided with a surge in demand for factory-made clothing that afforded
those groups opportunities.16 In addition, Andrew Godley’s book, Jewish Immigrant
Entrepreneurship in New York and London 1880-1914, suggests that while Jewish immigrants in
New York and London were highly entrepreneurial, adaptation to more dominant societal
15
Kathleen Neils Conzen et al., “The Invention of Ethnicity: A Perspective from the U.S.A.,” Journal of
American Ethnic History 12, no. 3 (1992): 3–41, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27501011.
16
Roger D. Waldinger, Through the Eye of the Needle: Immigrants and Enterprise in New York’s Garment
Trades (New York: New York Univ. Press, 1986), 27.
23
conditions dictated ultimate success. Assimilation is a recurring theme in the historical
discussion.
In A Time for Searching, Henry Feingold argues that assimilation weakened social
©
networks; as individual Jews achieved social mobility and pursued individual goals, the Jewish
community’s solidarity declined. Godley’s book, Jewish Immigrant Entrepreneurship in New
York and London 1880-1914, notes that successful immigrant entrepreneurs often had more
privileged social backgrounds, used the superordinate culture’s language, and took advantage of
its social connections. In Whiteness of a Different Color, Matthew Frye Jacobson asserts that
assimilation helped Jews overcome marginalization based on racial perceptions as they shed their
racial otherness and assimilated into the dominant white culture.
Jews of the Pacific Coast and A Cultural History of Jews in California both conclude that
the West Coast, particularly California, provided a more accepting environment and offered
opportunities for Jewish immigrants. This acceptance and the unique cultural dynamics of the
region influenced Jewish identity and contributed to the success and influence of the Jewish
community. Neil Sandburg’s Jewish Life in Los Angeles concludes that Jews in Los Angeles
adapted to secular culture by embracing new forms of ethnic and political Jewish identity,
responding to the challenges of maintaining Jewish distinctiveness.
However, economic struggles and the aspiration for stability and upward mobility
sometimes took precedence over religious practices. The intricate interplay of religious and
cultural dynamics in business relationships can be challenging to decipher, as is the nuanced
nature of Jewish solidarity. In Zukin’s case, shared core beliefs, religious association, and
proximity loosely weave Jewish solidarity.

24
Another set of noteworthy historical debates revolves around the success of California’s
garment industry. Scholars including William Scott, Michelle Tolini Finamore, and Lary May
cite the role of California’s climate, culture, and association with the movies in creating and
©
promoting the California brand. For example, William Scott’s essay “California Casual”
emphasizes that the sunny California climate contributed to lifestyle marketing and “even
reshaped the sites of production,” functioning as an employee benefit.17
Michelle Finamore delves into how clothing depicted in the movies created “fashion” and
how the concept of fashion helped define American identity. Expanding on the idea of mass
media, Lary May’s Screening Out the Past asserts that the birth and development of the motion
picture industry played a crucial role in the emergence of mass culture in the early twentieth
century. Toll argues that Hollywood’s mass media and the movie industry eventually enabled
Southern California’s clothing styles to dictate worldwide fashion trends.
Lauren Carden does not explicitly address California, but her book, Fashion and Fiction,
postulates that mass-produced fashion allowed individuals from diverse backgrounds to access
fashionable clothing previously available only to the elite. This democratization of fashion
enabled people to use clothing to construct and express their identities and played a role in
socioeconomic mobility. Like Carden, Jenna Weissman Joelit’s book, A Perfect Fit: Clothes,
Character, and the Promise of America, argues that clothing and fashion in American culture
during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries served as both a tool for conformity and a
means of self-expression, inferring the potential of fashion for self-directed upward mobility.
17
William R Scott, “California Casual: Lifestyle Marketing and Men's Leisurewear, 1930-1960,” in
Producing Fashion Commerce, Culture, and Consumers, ed. Regina Lee Blaszczyk (Pittsburgh: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2014), 176.
25
Scholars widely agree that climate, culture, and film played a role in creating and
promoting California style. However, they mostly overlook the trade organizations and
manufacturers’ concerted efforts to promote the California brand and pry market share from more
©
established regions. This project addresses this gap by focusing on Joseph Zukin’s role as an
influencer and driving force in manufacturers’ efforts to shape California style and promote Los
Angeles as a dominant force in the fashion world. His contributions are an exemplar and icon of
these efforts.
This project uses secondary sources from peer-reviewed publications and recognized
academic authors. A great many are books, but they include journal articles as well. While
journal essays are not as complex or detailed as single-topic books, they lend valuable
perspectives to this project’s research and supplement or clarify the historical account.
The selected secondary sources cover various topics related to community, culture, the
Jewish experience, labor, marketplace, and background information. However, none of them fully
address all the project questions. Each source sheds light on specific preliminary conclusions and
informs the socio-cultural approach to this research.

26
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Chapter 2: The Project
Introduction
Joseph Zukin’s transition from an oppressed Jew to a successful entrepreneur in Los
Angeles mirrors the experiences of many East European Jews in the late nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. However, Zukin’s story stands out because his unique contributions to the California
garment industry had a lasting impact on American fashion.
California’s garment makers introduced America to casualwear, sportswear as daily
wear, celebrity and entertainment culture, seasonless wardrobes, and the fusion of cultural styles.
California style helped democratize fashion and contributed to the late twentieth-century
streetwear movement. These trends have contributed to a more relaxed and diverse American
fashion landscape, reflecting the modern lifestyle. Zukin was at the forefront of these
innovations. He challenged the status quo to put Los Angeles garment-making and California
style on the fashion map. Joseph Zukin epitomizes the classic immigrant success story yet stands
apart due to the scale of his business accomplishments.
The following narrative places Zukin’s story in historical context. It provides the
foundation for an online public history exhibition on the Omeka platform.
Public history exhibitions play a vital role in making history accessible to diverse
audiences, encouraging lifelong learning, and fostering a better understanding of the past’s
impact on the present and future. The Smithsonian admonishes that “Exhibitions should NOT
27
include everything known about a topic. The goal is to provoke the visitor’s curiosity so that they
want to find out more. The exhibition experience should be a threshold to learning, not the
endpoint.”1 Therefore, the Exhibition Display Plan distills the story’s highlights to introduce the
©
public to Joseph Zukin and his role in the California fashion industry.
Historical Narrative
From Ukraine, Russia to Ellis Island
Zukin's story begins in Novohrad-Volynskyi, Russia, historically known as Zhvil, in
today's western Ukraine.2 Predominantly Hasidic Jews comprised slightly more than half of the
town’s population of about 20,000 people when Zukin and his father emigrated.3 While most
Jewish townspeople lived in overcrowded conditions and survived on unpredictable subsistence
incomes, wealthy Jews had a privileged lifestyle.
Still, Russia’s May Laws and other discriminatory policies subjected all Jews to disparate
treatment. The May Laws were part of a broader wave of anti-Semitic policies that emerged in
Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They included residence restrictions
that prohibited Jews from living outside designated areas; quotas and limitations on admittance
1
Laura Donnelly-Smith et al., “The Smithsonian Institution’s Guide to Interpretive Writing for
Exhibitions,” Smithsonian Exhibits: Develop Design Build, September 2021, https://exhibits.si.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2021/09/SI-Guide-to-Interpretive-Writing-for-Exhibitions.pdf, 33.
2
“Searching for Towns in Novograd-Volynsky District, Volhynia Province in 1900,” JewishGen
Communities Database, accessed May 21, 2021,
https://jewishgen.org/Communities/jgcd.php?get=y&dist1900=Novograd-Volynsky&prov1900=Volhynia.
The town is known by several names because of transliteration and because of different ethnic groups’ naming
conventions.
3
“Novograd-Volynskiy,” Ukraine Jewish Heritage: History of Jewish communities in Ukraine, May 20,
2023, https://jewua.org/novograd-volynskiy/.
28
to educational institutions, including universities; economic limitations barring Jews from
government service, the military, and other lucrative occupations; prohibitions against owning
rural land; longer terms of conscripted military service; and a policy of holding Jewish
©
communities collectively responsible for any person’s actions. Other policies included forced or
coerced conversions to Christianity, special taxes, and quotas that limited the number of Jews
who could work in specific professions. These official policies also served as tacit permission for
citizen-let pogroms and other anti-Semitic behaviors.
Historians debate the degree to which the Tsar was directly responsible for the plight of
Russian Jews in 1903, but economic and social oppression were facts of Jewish life. Like his
father, Nicholas II believed the Greek Orthodox Church was the backbone of Russian greatness.4
Eradicating Jewish culture would simplify Russification. Reportedly, Russian Minister of the
Interior, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plehve, declared, “We shall make your position in
Russia so unbearable that the Jews will leave the country to the last man.”5 Whether factual or
not, the quote sums up the climate for Jews in Russian lands at the turn of the twentieth century.
According to the Library of Congress, more than one and a half million Eastern European
Jews entered the United States between 1900 and 1914.6 Most entered the country through New
York Harbor. Ships first stopped at a quarantine station off the coast of Staten Island. Doctors
there approved entry after determining that the passengers were not carrying dangerous diseases.
Once a ship had medical clearance, immigration officers boarded and interviewed first and
4
Salo W. Baron, The Russian Jew Under Tsars and Soviets (New York: Schocken Books, [1964] 1987), 43.
5
Salo W. Baron, The Russian Jew Under Tsars and Soviets, 56.
6
“A People at Risk,” The Library of Congress, accessed September 21, 2021,
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/polish-russian/a-people-at-risk/.
29
second-class passengers in transit. Those passengers could go ashore once the ship docked at the
piers in Manhattan. Passengers who did not pass the medical exam or traveled third class, or
steerage, transferred to ferries bound for Ellis Island for processing. Joseph Zukin and his father
©
were among them.7
Figure 1: Arrival Manifest for the SS Blücher December 23, 1903.
Lines thirteen and fourteen of the ship’s manifest (Figure 1) use the name Sukin rather
than Zukin, possibly due to confusion between the “S” and “Z” sounds. Though he used the
name Samuel, the manifest indicates that Joseph’s father is Simon, which aligns with the 1910
7
“List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the U. S. Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival,” Passenger
Search, accessed May 15, 2022, https://heritage.statueofliberty.org.
30
US Census, so perhaps he used both names. The heading shows that the Zukins traveled as
steerage passengers. While the United States did not require papers to enter the country, all
passengers had to submit to a physical examination and provide evidence that they would not
©
become a burden on society.
The Immigrant Experience: New York 1903-1915
Some Americans welcomed Jewish immigrants, but anti-Semitism was part of populist
sentiment. Turn-of-the-century political cartoons contained mixed messages. For example, the
drawing, Shelter Us in the Shadow of Your Wings, illustrates Americans welcoming Russian
immigrants with outstretched arms. Emil Flohri’s print, Stop Your Cruel Oppression of the Jews,
shows an old Jewish man carrying the weights of oppression while a Jewish community burns in
the background, and Theodore Roosevelt urges Nicholas II to “remove his burden and have
peace within your borders.” (See Figures 2 and 3.)
Figure 2: Examples of Pro-Jewish Editorial Cartoons.

Left: Shelter Us in the Shadow of Your Wings, illustration copyright 1901 by Heb. Pub. Co.
Right: Stop Your Cruel Oppression of the Jews, published around 1904. Both images are in the
public domain.
31
At the other end of the social and political spectrum, anti-immigration propagandists
decried the perceived threat to the American culture. The political cartoon, The Immigrant, asks,
“Is he an acquisition or a detriment?”8 As the illustration shows, people viewed immigrants in
©
various ways, from a source of cheap labor to a source of disease. However, the message in The
High Tide of Immigration—A National Menace was unambiguous. Its caption reads,
“Immigration statistics for the past year show that the influx of foreigners was the greatest in our
history, and also that the hard-working peasants are now being supplanted by the criminals and
outlaws of all Europe.”9 According to the depiction, a tide of riff-raff immigrants threatened
American ideas and institutions.
Figure 3: Examples of Immigration Editorial Cartoons.

Left: The Immigrant, by Frederic Victor Gillam, appeared in Judge magazine September 19,
1903. Right: The High Tide of Immigration—A National Menace, by Louis Dalrymple, appeared
in Judge magazine August 22, 1903. Both images are in the public domain.
8
Frederick Victor Gillam, The Immigrant, 1903, from Ohio State University, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library
& Museum, https://hdl.handle.net/1811/e6a1f0c9-887d-4539-adbc-d3e3800b6a99.
9
Louis Dalrymple, The High Tide of Immigration—A National Menace, 1903, from Ohio State University,
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, https://hdl.handle.net/1811/20bcb1e2-a73b-4271-87df-ab41722348e4.
32
Research has not shown whether Zukin faced anti-Semitism or nativist biases in New
York. However, many Jews struggled to find work due to employer prejudices, often resorting to
harsh sweatshop conditions. Consequently, some immigrants created their own opportunities. At
©
age 23, the 1910 Federal Census shows Joseph Zukin living with his parents and six siblings on
the Lower East Side of Manhattan, running a paper box manufacturing business. Given the
numerous ads placed by paper box makers at the time, it was a thriving cottage industry. Box
makers often operated from tenement suites. Sixty percent of the ads on one page of a 1912 issue
of The Sun newspaper were promoting paper box makers.10
In April 1913, the Zukin Paper Box Company caught fire. Panic ensued in the adjacent
tenement house where more than 300 Italian immigrants lived. One man accidentally blocked the
stairs while trying to save his dining room table, forcing frightened tenants onto the fire escapes.
The police smashed the table to open stairway access.11 The squalid Lower East Side was the
“most crowded neighborhood on the planet . . . with more than 700 people per acre.”12 Residents
contended with raw sewage, widespread disease, little access to clean water, and half the city’s
fire deaths.13 While no one lost their life in the Zukin fire, it caused $20,000 in damage,14 about
$614,000 in 2023.
Overcrowded tenement housing without fire safety protocols, a lack of fire safety
regulations, poor firefighting resources, and ignorance all contributed to the frequent fire
10
The Sun, March 24, 1912. https://www.newspapers.com/image/78894659/.
11
“Traps 300 in Fire, Jamming Stairs with Dining Table,” The Evening World, April 4, 1913.
12
“The Lower East Side,” The Library of Congress, accessed November 19, 2022,
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/polish-russian/the-lower-east-side.
13
“The Lower East Side.”
14
The Sun.
33
outbreaks. Even so, unlike the Russian Empire, the Lower East Side offered safety and the
“greatest concentration of Jewish life in nearly 2,000 years.”15
The photo in Figure 4 shows Mulberry Street around 1900. It was a vibrant and bustling
©
thoroughfare located in the heart of the Lower East Side. Mulberry Street and East Broadway
each intersect at Canal Street’s eastern end. Both streets were busy centers of daily life and
cultural activity for the immigrant groups in the area. Mulberry Street was slightly more than a
mile from the Zukins’ East Broadway home.
Figure 4: Mulberry Street, New York City, about 1900.

The Library of Congress holds the color film copy of this image published by Detroit Publishing
Co. The image is in the public domain.
15
“The Lower East Side.”
34
Zukin manufactured paper boxes for approximately six years.16 In February 1914, about
seventeen months before leaving the box-making business, Zukin met and married Rebecca
Heller, a twenty-eight-year-old schoolteacher from Austria. In July 1915, he left New York and
©
moved to Los Angeles.17 Rebecca stayed behind.
The Golden West: California through the Jazz Age 1916-1929
In March 1916, the Los Angeles Times announced, “Joseph Zukin, late of New York,
manufacturer of Belle waists, has opened a factory at No. 752-54-56 South Los Angeles Street.
At the present time there are thirty-five girls employed there in the manufacture of shirtwaists.”18
He had started his company some months earlier with ten employees, eight on sewing machines
in a 1000 square-foot floor space.19 By July 1918, he had 250 employees and twenty times the
original floor space.20 By 1919, Joseph Zukin had successfully built the largest blouse production
company in the United States.21
California's available labor pool and conditions first attracted Joseph Zukin to Los Angeles.
New York and most of the East Coast had a strong labor movement, and labor unions were active
16
Joseph L. Malamuṭ, Southwest Jewry: An Account of Jewish Progress and Achievement in the Southland
(Los Angeles, CA: Published by the Sunland Publishing Co., Ind., 1926), 157.
17
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of
the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887-1940;
Microfilm Roll: 63; Microfilm Serial: M1524.
18
“New Factories for this City,” The Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1916,
http://www.newspapers.com/image/ 380525119/.
19
“Old Man Opportunity Holding Out Rich Lure for More Los Angeles Factories,” Sunday Express
Tribune, July 7, 1918, Evening Express edition, sec. III, 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/608056219.
20
“Old Man Opportunity.”
21
“Zukin Plant Here Opens Production,” The Pomona Progress Bulletin, March 6, 1946.
35
and influential. Organized labor was less developed in the West. Labor laws were more lax on the
West Coast as well. Even so, Zukin took pride in providing modern facilities for his employees.
Zukin espoused “a spirit of consideration just as that given to the members of their own
©
family” and fair treatment for those working in the company’s interest.22 His factory boasted an
employee cafeteria, a nurse-staffed medical station on each of the four factory floors, steam heat,
and “perfect ventilation.”23 So few employees became ill during the Spanish flu epidemic that
the Board of Health commended the company for adopting health-preserving measures.24 The
company also offered English classes for immigrant employees who wished to take them.25
The California climate played a role in Zukin’s choice to locate in Los Angeles. It made
optimizing factory working conditions easy. Snow and ice did not interfere with employees’
ability to travel to work, and sunny days helped to light the factory floor. Employees could keep
the windows open, which improved ventilation and comfort. If a worker missed her scheduled
shift, a company’s Welfare Committee member called on her at home to determine whether she
needed medical care.26 The company paid for medical services and, in 1921, established a
sinking fund to care for and support sick employees.27 Zukin’s altruism was likely not the only
reason for a progressive healthcare program. Companies often implemented such measures to
mitigate labor unrest, boost employee morale, and enhance overall productivity.
22
“Making Los Angeles A Blouse Center: Story of Zukin Blouse an Interesting One of Vision, Climate and
Labor,” Women’s Wear, November 26, 1919.
23
“Making Los Angeles A Blouse Center.”
24
25
26
27
“Zukin Dance Proceeds to Launch Insurance Fund,” Women’s Wear, February 19, 1921.
36
Corporate-sponsored benevolent welfare initiatives had limitations. The companies
controlled the programs and determined their benefits, allowing them to retain considerable
power over their employees' lives. Welfare Committees could also act as a form of surveillance,
©
intruding into workers' personal lives under the guise of care. However, employer motives varied
widely. Employer-sponsored welfare was part of the early twentieth century’s Progressive
politics and social reform movements. While many employers may have enacted welfare
programs to make unions seem less attractive to their workers, women-dominated industries
were primary targets for company welfare programs; they were the least likely to unionize or
strike.28 Additionally, many welfare employers subscribed to union principles and practices.29
Whatever limitations and ulterior motives lay behind the program, Zukin was ahead of
his time in offering these types of benefits. In the late 1910s and early 1920s, providing medical
insurance to employees was not a common practice among American factories. Not until the
mid-twentieth century, specifically during WWII, did employer-sponsored health insurance gain
traction as a way for employers to attract and retain workers while avoiding wage controls: The
federal government introduced tax incentives for employer-sponsored health plans, encouraging
more companies to offer such benefits. This incentivization marked the start of the employer-
based health insurance system that became more prevalent in the years following WWII.
Until the 1920s, shirtwaists, or ladies’ waists, were the mainstay of the Zukin Blouse
company. The tailored blouses made from lightweight, breathable materials such as cotton, linen,
28
Andrea Tone, The Business of Benevolence: Industrial Paternalism in Progressive America (Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 2018), 3.
29
Tone, The Business of Benevolence.
37
silk, or chiffon accentuated the female form. (See Figure 5.) Though popular during the early
1900s, they fell out of favor as fashion evolved.
©
Figure 5: Shirtwaist Marketing Photo 1918
“Two Models Show Off Joseph Zukin Blouses,” Image BZ-G006, from the Zukin Family Private
Collection.
World War I opened workplace opportunities and challenged a generation of young
women to rethink traditional societal values of duty, sacrifice, and the greater good. The war
made them understand the finite nature of life. Work dared them to claim independence and gave
them the income to do so. They responded by choosing to live in the moment and enjoy life to
the fullest. Fashion was one avenue women could take to create an identity apart from the
previous generation. The right clothes provided social mobility and a way to express self-
38
direction. This desire for a defining aesthetic fueled American consumerism, especially in the
fashion industry.
Just as the fashion industry grew because of the war, film viewership surged as people
©
sought escape and information. However, the war disrupted international film distribution. As a
result, local film industries thrived. By 1920, what began as a modest, small-scale enterprise had
burgeoned into the fifth-largest industry in the United States.
Much like novels during their rise, the early film industry played a significant role in
shaping and reflecting cultural influences, entertainment preferences, and societal discourse. The
industry's pioneers employed educated young writers to cater to a new, non-immigrant
generation’s sensibilities. 30 These visionaries championed a cosmopolitan perspective,
embedding it in American popular perception.31 Movies emerged as a powerful mass media
platform. They spanned social strata and created common experiences that drastically shaped
culture and marketing.
In the 1920s, women discarded the corsets and restrictive clothing of previous decades in
favor of more comfortable and liberating attire. Fashion served to define and equalize social
standing. A woman of modest means could, thanks to learning what to wear from the movies and
being able to afford it because of mass production, present herself to the world as she wished the
world to see her.
In 1921, Zukin responded to changing fashion demands by adding dresses to his
offerings. His annual sales now exceeded $2,000,000, over $34,000,000 in 2023, and the
30
. Ellen Eisenberg, Ava Fran Kahn, and William Toll, Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community
on America’s Edge, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009), 169.
31
. Eisenberg, Kahn, and Toll, Jews of the Pacific Coast, 169.
39
company counted 700 employees.32 His continued success did not rely solely on social trends
and adaptation. He also innovated. Though the film industry picked up on the power of fashion
and used it to draw female viewers to the theaters, for the most part, it missed the opportunity to
©
use movies to market fashion. Joseph Zukin did not.
In the movie industry’s early years, actors supplied their own costumes. It was common
for moviemakers to hire actors with the best wardrobe whether or not they had talent. As early as
WWI, movie companies realized a “star’s image, her clothing, and the film company’s desired
trademark look were tightly intertwined.”33
Zukin had already pioneered marketing outside of Los Angeles. In 1916, after a sales
representative laughed at selling up the coast in San Francisco, Zukin guaranteed expenses with a
cash payment in advance. The early strategy landed a $15,000 order and opened a market that
stretched north to Seattle.34 This time, Zukin planned to use “tie-ups” (product placements) to
market using the movies.
Zukin supplied young actors with their screenwear. As part of the exchange, they modeled
the clothes for marketing photographs. (See Figure 6.) His approach was part of a concerted effort to
elevate Los Angeles’ fashion status. In 1927, the Los Angeles Times noted, “the motion-picture
industry has enabled Los Angeles to create a marked impression in eastern and European style
centers. . . an open confession as to the superiority of Los Angeles-made dress creations.”35
32
Olive Gray, “Slogan Inspiring to Local Manufacturer,” The Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1921, 65.
33
. Michelle Tolini Finamore, Hollywood Before Glamour: Fashion in American Silent Film (Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 4.
34
35
“East Likes Clothes of Southland: Store Official Declares Los Angeles Styles Are Proving Popular,” The
Los Angeles Times, August 16, 1925, https://www.newspapers.com/image/380345198/.
40
©
Figure 6: 1925 Wholesale Marketing Flyer
Joseph Zukin, Inc. “A Zukin “Screen” Creation Your Customers Will Want Too,” Wholesale
marketing flyer, 1925, BZ-H010-011, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Retailers commonly used double markup (keystone) to set retail prices. Assuming the
flyer contains wholesale pricing, the retail price for Ms. Miller’s ensemble would have been
around eighty dollars, a substantial sum for the ordinary working person. Even so, the allure of
movie star fashion from a “famous fashion center” was a successful marketing strategy.36 Zukin
continued to employ this approach throughout his company’s existence.
Not satisfied with expanding the United States market, Zukin targeted Paris with imagery
designed to conjure sophistication and haute couture. In a 1926 marketing piece, he associated
the Zukin brand with the rue de la Paix, a luxury Parisian shopping district. (See Figure 7.) Zukin
36
Joseph Zukin, Inc. “A Zukin “Screen” Creation Your Customers Will Want Too,” Wholesale marketing
flyer, 1925, The Zukin Family Private Collection.
41
continued building connections between Los Angeles, Paris, and New York. He aimed to
establish Los Angeles as a fashion marketplace second only to New York in America.37
©
Figure 7: 1926 Wholesale Marketing Mailer
Joseph Zukin, Inc. "First with the Latest: Fall Opening June 22nd, 23rd, and 24th," Wholesale
marketing mailer, 1926, BZ-H071-072, Zukin Family Private Collection.
37
Joseph Zukin, Inc., "Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Spring 1927," Wholesale marketing flyer, 1927, BZ-
H067-068, Zukin Family Private Collection.
42
In February 1929, Photoplay magazine stated Hollywood had more American fashion
influence than Parisian designers.38 Zukin's messaging contributed to the credibility of Los
Angeles as a fashion leader. The movie industry's glamorous portrayal of movie stars amplified
©
that message. The Los Angeles Times reported that the 1929 Chicago Mercantile Exhibit put Los
Angeles apparel makers in direct competition with Parisian and East Coast fashion hubs for the
first time—just three months before the Wall Street Crash of 1929.39
While Zukin’s business and efforts to help put Los Angeles’ garment industry on the
world stage were largely successful, his personal life brought joy and sorrow. In October 1917,
he became a United States citizen.40 However, four months later, his mother died in New York.
His father relocated to Los Angeles to be near his children. He died there in 1923. In October
1918, Rebecca traveled to Los Angeles to file for divorce, citing desertion. Joseph Zukin
countersued, but the court decided in Rebecca’s favor and ordered a financial review to decide a
property settlement.41
Seven years after his divorce from Rebecca, Joseph Zukin wed Helen Niederlander, a
model nineteen years his junior. They had two sons, Joseph in 1926 and Robert in 1928, and
remained married for the rest of Joseph’s life. Meanwhile, in April 1919, Joseph’s brother Ernest
married New York native Lena Rosenkrantz, and by 1920, they welcomed twin sons. In 1926,
38
Lois Shirley, “Your Clothes Come from Hollywood,” Photoplay 35, no. 3 (February 1929): 71,
https://archive.org/details/photoplay3536movi/page/n201/mode/2up?view=theater.
39
“Display Ready for East: Los Angeles-Made Apparel and Millinery Packed for Chicago Mercantile
Exhibit.” The Los Angeles Times, August 1, 1929, sec. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/385519013/.
40
National Archives and Records Administration, Naturalization Records.
41
“Wife Given Divorce; Rich Manufacturer’s Books Now Sought,” Los Angeles Herald, October 25, 1918.
43
Ernest left Joseph’s company to establish Evans-Zukin Construction Company, but by 1929, he
rejoined his brother’s business.
In September 1929, Joseph Zukin’s sales manager, Samuel Lovich, his New York buyer,
©
Meyer Eisenberg, and private secretary, Mrs. Halice Isham, left the Zukin Company to form the
competing business of Lovich-Eisenberg. Designer Agnes Barret left Zukin to join them in
October, the same month they incorporated. In November, Zukin’s cutting department foreman,
Vincent Barcelona, also left for the new company.
In May 1930, Joseph Zukin, Inc. sued Lovich, Eisenberg, and Isham as individuals to
prevent them from poaching its customers. The outcome is unclear, but Barcelona returned to
Zukin in October 1930. In May 1931, Lovich-Eisenberg reportedly received financial backing
from an unnamed former dress manufacturer. After that, they fade from the news.
The Great Depression: California 1930-1939
During the 1930s, the Great Plains suffered severe drought, wind erosion, and dust
storms. This Dust Bowl resulted from poor farming practices and lack of rain. Massive crop
failures led to widespread poverty and food shortages. About 2,500,000 people moved to other
states. Some 200,000 went to California.42
The Hollywood studio system also began in the 1930s. It set the world standard for film
production. The Depression reached its low point in 1933. A quarter of the country was
unemployed. The people elected Franklin D. Roosevelt President. Adolph Hitler came to power
that same year. Prohibition, which had been in effect since 1920, ended in 1934. Roosevelt took
42
“Mass Exodus from the Plains,” PBS, 2019,
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/surviving-the-dust-bowl-mass-exodus-plains/.
44
measures to stabilize the banking system and moved away from the gold standard. By 1939,
American factories were gearing up to provide military supplies for the impending Second
World War.
©
Though Zukin expanded the company’s workspace by a third in 1929, the Depression
was cause for contraction as well as long-term opportunity. In July 1931, Zukin moved from his
startup location at 746 Los Angeles Street, where his company occupied 40,000 square feet. He
and one or two unnamed associates obtained a twenty-five-year lease on the entire Fashion
Center Building at 939 South Broadway but downsized Zukin operations to 15,000 square feet
on the tenth floor. Women’s Wear Daily speculated that Zukin’s move would catalyze others in
the trade to follow suit.43
The move to Broadway likely accomplished two primary goals: It took advantage of low
lease prices due to the Depression and allowed Zukin to downsize his company. Zukin secured
the building, took one floor for his operations, sublet two floors to fabric suppliers, and had eight
more to lease. He invested $200,000 in upgrades, about $4,000,000 in 2023 dollars, at a time
when the unemployment rate was over sixteen percent and rising. Money’s purchasing power
was also on the decline. It was down more than ten percent compared to the months before the
Depression began in 1929. Nevertheless, Zukin invested.
The investment did not go smoothly. From the beginning, in July 1931, the building
owner, Lura Hubbard, reduced Zukin’s rent because of financial shortfalls. The following
March, she applied a $20,000 security deposit to past due rents and began receiving rent from
Zukin’s sub-lessees directly.
“Attach Import to Zukin Move in Los Angeles: Dress Firm Decides to Change to South Broadway
43
Location—Effect on Other Concerns Being Watched” Women’s Wear Daily, July 14, 1931.
45
Zukin was still in arrears. In May 1932, sales manager Herman Depner and other unnamed
plaintiffs obtained court judgments against Zukin for more than $14,000. They engaged in a
series of lawsuits to attach the security deposit and rents Lura Hubbard had collected, but the
©
courts found that Depner had no right to those funds.44
Amid the lease modifications and lawsuits, Zukin re-incorporated as Joseph Zukin
Dresses in September 1931. An October article in Women’s Wear Daily reported that the
company successfully showed fifty dresses for its autumn line at its new location, and “Mr.
[Joseph] Zukin himself is looking after sales in Los Angeles.”45 This hands-on approach to Los
Angeles sales put Zukin in the spotlight with his customers, and it was more economical than
having an employee carry out sales duties. Zukin’s direct management might have been due, in
part, to not being able to pay Ernest or other employees.
Ernest moved in and out of his brother’s operations over the years. In 1931, he left his
brother’s firm and partnered with Louis Goldwine in a dressmaking company. His sisters, Dora
and Beatrix, helped form the corporation. Ernest and Goldwine dissolved their partnership in
1933. Ernest struck out on his own, opening Ernest Zukin Dresses the following January. In
1936, he liquidated his company and rejoined his brother to help with executive duties. He left
for a final time in 1944 to become the General Manager of Twentieth Century Frocks. The
family reports that the two brothers had a serious falling out for reasons unknown. They became
estranged sometime after 1944 and never reconciled. Ernest was always in a supportive role at
his brother’s firm and did not enjoy the same independent business success as his brother. The
44
Depner et al. v. Joseph Zukin Blouses et al., Civ. 5443 (District Court of Appeal, Third District,
California, 1936).
45
“J. Zukin Pleased with Opening,” Women’s Wear Daily, 43, no. 70, SII, 3, October 7, 1931.
46
family interactions raise questions, not answered here, about the extent to which Joseph Zukin
relied upon or looked after his siblings, the brothers’ personal and business relationships, and the
sisters’ roles in the two brothers' business ventures.
©
As individual entrepreneurs like Joseph and Ernest Zukin navigated the intricacies of the
apparel industry, the manufacturing sector mirrored their actions on a broader scale. In response
to the regulatory measures and policies introduced by the New Deal and growing labor unrest,
the Associated Apparel Manufacturers of Los Angeles (AAMLA) took a proactive step towards
creating a unified front. Initially established in 1921, the AAMLA expanded its scope in 1933.
Recognizing the need for collective strength, Los Angeles manufacturers embarked on a
mission to unite various clothing industries along the Pacific Coast, aiming to consolidate their
efforts within a single association. The economic challenges of the Great Depression and the
changing landscape of government interventions prompted these manufacturers to seek common
ground and pool resources and expertise to weather the storm together.
This ambitious endeavor aimed to streamline industry practices, establish a robust
platform for negotiations and advocacy, address pressing concerns, and foster harmonious labor
relations. As the AAMLA reached out to like-minded entities in San Francisco, Portland, and
Seattle, a new chapter in the region's apparel sector was set to unfold—one marked by
collaboration, shared objectives, and the pursuit of stability amid uncertainty.
However, labor-related challenges reflecting broader tensions within the garment industry
also entangled the AAMLA. In 1933, representatives from the International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union alleged, before an arbitration committee, that the AAMLA was not adhering to
47
the terms of a labor agreement. After the hearing, a Union spokesperson said that manufacturers
would eventually have to comply with the terms of the truce.46
Less than a year later, Joseph Zukin Dresses entered a labor relations agreement with its
©
employees. The agreement covered about 250 employees and aimed to prevent a union strike.
The company agreed not to lock out employees, and labor agreed not to strike. Representatives
from both sides formed a shop committee to address grievances. The two sides also agreed to
arbitration for issues the committee failed to resolve. Arbitration terms required a representative
from the workers, the manufacturer, and a neutral third party. Additionally, the agreement
included provisions about working hours, insurance, and wages, striving for a seven-hour day
and a five-day week.47
Zukin resented the Unions. He had provided many employee benefits before Union
involvement and likely viewed unions as causing unnecessary complications and expenses. He
may have shared the view of a co-attendee at a 1938 small business conference in Washington,
DC, who labeled John L. Lewis as “Public Enemy No. 1.”48 Lewis, a coal mine worker,
ascended as a prominent American labor organizer who led the United Mine Workers of
America. He later co-founded the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), shifting American
labor organizing by uniting workers from diverse sectors under a single umbrella organization.
This transformation, however, was far from smooth. The merging of different worker
groups sparked internal conflicts and public criticism. Allegations of union-related violence were
46
“Mediation Board Hearing Garment Union Charge of Many Violations of Truce,” Illustrated Daily
News, Los Angeles, November 15, 1933, 3.
47
“Truce Averts Strike Threat,” Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1934, 20.
48
“Incorporating of Unions Urged: Little Business Men Take Stand at Session,” Los Angeles Times,
February 3, 1938, 2.
48
prevalent.49 In addition, amid the political climate of the time, there were concerns about
communist influences within the union movement.50 Some believed that communists were
leveraging the unions to further their own ideological goals. This association with communism
©
— whether real or perceived — intensified the apprehension of many, possibly including Zukin.
They feared that communist elements could destabilize the nation's economic framework and
perceived values.
Against this backdrop, Zukin asserted that unions should incorporate and be accountable
for industry damages.51 From his perspective as a small business owner, unions may have
represented a challenge to manufacturing stability. His personal interactions with unions,
navigating their demands and negotiations, likely influenced these views. He may have thought
that incorporating unions could equalize worker and business interests and make unions
responsible for the disruption they caused. Although initially a staunch union opponent, he
eventually acceded to their demands and entered a union contract.
From the workers' perspective, unions represented a lifeline. The early twentieth century
saw many workers facing deplorable working conditions, inadequate pay, and a lack of essential
benefits. For them, unions were about better wages, respect, safety, and dignity in the workplace.
Their support for unions often placed them at odds with their employers. In a job market with
49
“Union Terrorists Cause Widespread Damage: Trail of Mangled Bodies, Fouled Homes, Ruined Autos
and Wrecked Stores Left,” The Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1938, Morning edition, sec. 1, 7; “Regulation of Unions
Demanded in Northwest: Public Indignation Against Union Tactics Sweeping Through Washington,” The Los
Angeles Times, April 26, 1938, Morning edition, sec. 1, 6.
50
“Dubinsky Denies He’s Communist,” The Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1936, Morning edition, sec. 1, 4;
“Harry Bridges Denies Communist Affiliation: C.I.O. Leader Brands Membership Card Forgery in Thrust at Dies
Committee,” The Los Angeles Times, August 20, 1938, Morning edition, sec. 1, 2.
51
“Incorporating of Unions Urged.”
49
fierce competition for limited jobs, employers refused to reemploy active union members after
periods of unemployment or conditioned reemployment on resigning from the union.52 Zukin
may have participated in such tactics.
©
In one notable incident, Zukin denied a union-affiliated immigrant hand finisher
reemployment, deeming her too slow to earn the legally required minimum. Yet, the company
agreed to reconsider if she signed a “yellow slip” at the State Industrial Welfare Commission.53
Under the rules of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of 1933, this slip allowed
workers to state their inability to earn the set fair wage rates due to disabilities, allowing
employers to offer lesser wages legally. The union aimed to end this coercive practice and others
like it, putting them at odds with employers.
Looking at the bigger picture, union formation and the efforts of leaders like John L.
Lewis sought to reshape the workplace, bring collective bargaining to the forefront, and give
workers a voice against potential exploitation. The movement sought to preserve a culture of
respect that recognized every worker’s dignity and worth. While business owners like Zukin may
have perceived unions as nuisances or roadblocks to profit, many workers deemed them as vital
safeguards, essential for workplace fairness and safety, and a buffer against the whims of
management. For these workers, unions embodied their aspirations for a better, more equitable
working world.
These contrasting views underscore the intricate labor dynamics Zukin faced as an
AAMLA member and an independent business owner. The industry grappled with the tug-of-war
52
Rose Pesotta, Bread Upon the Waters, ed. John Nicholas Beffel (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1945), 44.
53
Pesotta, Bread Upon the Waters, 44.
50
between labor unions and manufacturers and the need for regulations to foster stability and
prevent strikes. This snapshot of labor negotiations highlights the effort to navigate challenges
and find common ground between employers and employees, reflecting the broader climate of
©
labor negotiations within the garment industry.
Amid financial vicissitudes, labor dynamics, and industry negotiations, Joseph Zukin
occupied a pivotal role in the Los Angeles garment industry. Outwardly unfazed by the complex
environment, he consistently aligned his brand with the glamour of the silver screen, establishing
a solid connection between Los Angeles style and the fashion capitals of New York and Paris.
Driven by dogged determination, he capitalized on this vision by introducing a new clothing line,
Hollywood Starlettes. This strategic move demonstrated his unyielding commitment to the
Hollywood connection, despite the changing landscape of the film industry, where movie studios
now maintained wardrobe departments and no longer relied on actors for their attire. Regardless,
Zukin continued employing "starlettes" to showcase his designs, underscoring his innovative
approach and distinctive presence in the evolving fashion arena. (See Figure 8.)
Zukin coupled his new branding strategy with a subscription sales model that offered
exclusive retail territories, marketing support, and new styles bi-weekly. He sold any style for
$10.75, about twenty-seven percent of the cost of his 1925 outfits. This approach enabled
retailers to effectively target households whose income had decreased by more than half. 54
54
“Incomes of Families and Single Persons, 1935-36.” Monthly Labor Review 47, no. 4 (1938): 728–39.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41816377; "Wages and Hours of Labor." Monthly Labor Review 28, no. 5 (1929): 179–
97. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41813601.
51
©
Figure 8: 1936 Marketing Book Pages
Hollywood Starlettes marketing book pages (left and center) and newspaper ad for Brown’s
Apparel Shops (right). (The Mine with the Open Door, opened as Mine with an Iron Door.)55
Around the same time Zukin started marketing Hollywood Starlettes, Sears, Roebuck,
and Co. offered Autographed Fashion. (See Figure 9.) The Sears marketing effort quickly faded,
but Zukin continued associating actors with his clothing line for another two decades. Whether
or not the two concerns engaged in marketing warfare, by 1936, the link between film and
fashion had become part of the American consumer's psyche.
Joseph Zukin, Inc. “Hollywood Starlettes by Zukin,” Wholesale marketing flyer, 1925, BZ-A006-007,
55
Zukin Family Private Collection; Brown's Apparel Shops, "Hollywood Starlettes," Advertisement, The Daily
Oklahoman, (Oklahoma City), April 15, 1936, 3.
52
©
Figure 9: 1935 Sears Roebuck Catalog Pages
Sears Autographed Fashion line sold at a fraction of the cost of Zukin’s Hollywood Starlettes
designs. 56
Whether a coincidence or consequence of his 1936 marketing adjustments, Zukin
embarked on a factory overhaul. He enlarged the workspace and rearranged machines for
optimal working conditions. He took queues from the automobile industry and placed
workstations in order of processes. In addition, he added soundproofing and focused on active
sportswear, play clothes, and evening wear.57
As the decade neared its end, Zukin's endeavors encountered a world rapidly descending
into the chaos of World War II. The impending global conflict tested his business acumen and
capacity to adapt to an era of upheaval and transformation. As international tensions escalated,
the fashion industry, like many others, navigated uncharted waters. Zukin's journey through this
56
"Autographed Fashion: Worn in Hollywood,” 14-15.
57
"Joseph Zukin Dresses 'Streamlining' Plant," Women's Wear Daily, 53, no.110, December 4, 1936, 15.
53
tumultuous period is yet another testament to his ability to innovate and persevere through the
challenges of history.
©
Over Here: California 1939-1945
During World War II, the American garment industry faced unique challenges due to the
United States’ industrial role in the war effort. With a large portion of male labor drafted into the
military, women entered the industry in larger numbers to fill the resulting labor gaps. Women
took on a wide range of roles, including design and administration.
The United States War Production Board (WPB) redirected resources to cater to military
needs. This led to the rationing of materials such as cotton, wool, silk, nylon, rayon, and leather,
as well as other essentials like metal fasteners, elastic, dyes, and rubber. Simultaneously, many
manufacturers pivoted their production lines to support the war effort, producing items like
uniforms, parachutes, and tents. While these measures aided the war effort and were relatively
less restrictive than those in other nations, they inevitably affected civilian clothing production.58
Before these industry-wide changes, Joseph Zukin Dresses navigated the challenges of
the Great Depression, survived the significant setback of the employee defection to Lovich-
Eisenberg, and maintained momentum into the initial months of WWII. However, in July 1940,
the company found itself in a precarious situation and filed for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy.
Subsequently, a creditors committee auctioned some of the company’s assets and approved
58
J M Baskin, “ILGWU Board Stresses War Effect on Jobs: Unemployment That May Result From Fabric
Shortage Looms Larger Than Wage Question at GEB Parley,” Women’s Wear Daily, February 9, 1942; Mack
Goldman, “Rear Acute Fabric Shortage Will Limit Rating Benefits,” Women’s Wear Daily, March 8, 1945, 16;
“Material Shortage Spurs Los Angeles Designers,” New York Herald Tribune, July 15, 1942, 27; “Rayon Fabric
Shortage Threat Being Taken More Seriously,” Women’s Wear Daily, Suppl. WWD, February 20, 1942,
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1627350474.
54
Joseph Zukin's plan to reorganize as Joseph Zukin of California, Inc. The reorganized
corporation assumed the remaining assets, labor obligations, tax claims, and potential mortgage
liabilities. Creditors received stock in the new company with a buyback provision.59
©
Newspaper and trade magazine reports do not detail the reasons for Zukin’s financial
woes. However, the cumulative impact of overly optimistic decisions, such as his building lease
in 1931 and plant remodel in 1936, may have stretched his finances too thin, especially in the
context of the Great Depression. Relying on rent and revenue from potentially struggling firms in
the sluggish financial climate could have further exacerbated the challenges his business faced.
Nevertheless, his reputation remained intact, and his creditors were willing to work with him to
restructure.
Zukin consolidated operations on the ninth floor of the 939 South Broadway building and
shifted production focus to active and spectator sportswear.60 In December 1942, Joseph Zukin
of California left the Broadway building and moved to 719 Los Angeles Street, near where he
began in 1916. The new quarters were forty percent larger, allowing Zukin to expand his
operations.61 He ran a Women’s Wear Daily ad notifying readers of the move. It ended with the
note, “For 1943 we wish you a successful year, and for our country, we wish ‘the year of
victory!’”62 Coincidentally, the Army had recently inducted Zukin’s eldest son into service.
59
"Committee Favors Jos. Zukin Dresses, Inc., Plan Proposal: Details of Assets, Debts,” Women's Wear
Daily, 61, no.16, July 23, 1940, 12.
60
"Joseph Zukin Dresses Takes New Quarters," Women's Wear Daily, 61, no.88, November 1, 1940, 30.
61
"Joseph Zukin Now in New Quarters," Women's Wear Daily, 65, no.128, December 30, 1942, 21.
62
"Joseph Zukin," Women's Wear Daily, 65, no.128, December 30, 1942, 16.
55
In 1940 Zukin’s name appeared on a membership roster of anti-union activist
organizations in a United States Senate Hearing on free speech and labor rights exhibit.63 As
previously discussed, Zukin was not a fan of organized labor. However, his sentiments were not
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unique; they reflected broader frustrations within the business community.
The 1930s and 1940s were chaotic times for American businesses. The country was
emerging from the Great Depression, with its catastrophic economic downturns, bank failures,
and soaring unemployment rates. The government's response to this crisis, particularly under
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a series of “New Deal” programs, public work projects,
financial reforms, and regulations.
While many of these initiatives were essential to revive the economy and provide relief to
millions of suffering Americans, they often came at a perceived cost to business owners. For
instance, the Wagner Act of 1935 significantly bolstered labor protections, making it easier for
workers to join unions and bargain collectively. While this empowered the workforce, many
business owners felt it tipped the balance of power, making it harder for them to control their
operations and maintain profitability.
These tensions intensified during the 1940s. With the onset of World War II, the nation's
focus shifted to supporting the war effort. This involved further increasing labor, business, and
financial regulations to ensure that industries prioritized wartime production. Furthermore, the war
brought about labor shortages, leading to strikes and increased demands from labor unions. For
many business owners, these changes felt like an encroachment on their freedoms and autonomy.
63
Senate., Violations of Free Speech and Rights of Labor. Hearings before the United States Senate
Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on S. Res. 266, Seventy-Sixth Congress, Third Session, on Jan.
10, 11, 1940 § (1940), 20748.
56
Zukin's connection to anti-union organizations underscores the tensions business owners
felt navigating the rapidly changing regulatory environment. In their view, it increasingly favored
workers at the expense of entrepreneurial freedom. In addition to regulations, the top marginal
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federal income tax rates swelled from twenty-five percent in 1930 to seventy-nine percent in 1936.
By 1945, the top rate peaked at ninety-four percent as the country tackled wartime debt.
California’s strategic location, natural resources, and industrial base contributed to the
United States’ World War II efforts. The state’s wartime economy expanded, but its growing
businesses faced labor shortages. Zukin designed his help-wanted ads to compete for labor. They
promised “big money” and an “organization where employees are always pleased.”64
Designers also worked with limited resources and reimagined clothing styles to eliminate
fabric-hungry treatments such as pleats. They slimmed skirts, shortened jackets, embellished
with embroidered trimming, and found ways to eliminate zippers.65 Because women became
more involved in wartime work, slacks gained popularity.
As Zukin’s sportswear focus answered the public’s changing tastes in clothing, he saw a
new opportunity to leverage perceptions of the California lifestyle. He encouraged other
manufacturers to adopt and protect the Made in California brand.
As the California label gained popularity, clothing producers outside California began to
usurp the regional moniker with claims of California-styled and California-type garments. In
1939 AAMLA and other trade groups united as the Guild of California Manufacturers and
64
“Help Wanted, Women 110: Operators,” The Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1942, Morning edition, sec. I, 19.
65
“Material Shortage Spurs Los Angeles Designers,” 27.
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adopted “Authentically Made in California” as a slogan.66 (See Figure 10.) As early as 1943, two
years before the war’s end, Los Angeles garment trade leaders, enthusiastic about the labeling,
made postwar marketing plans around the California name.67
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Zukin’s own ads portrayed him not just as a leader in California apparel but as a
'California pioneer,' perhaps unconsciously drawing parallels between his pioneering spirit in
fashion and his journey as an immigrant with new beginnings. His vision for success allowed his
business to fully recover from bankruptcy and propelled him forward. By August 1943, he had
doubled his already expanded capacity, illustrating the determination and resilience often seen in
immigrant narratives.
In March 1944, the AAMLA appointed Zukin Chairman of their permanent Fund Drive
Committee.68 The Committee set a goal of raising $1,000,000 for a postwar advertising blitz and
Association membership drive. At the same time, the AAMLA imposed design and production
standards on its members to bolster credibility for the Authentically Made in California tag.
66
Guild of California Manufacturers, “Authentically Made in California,” Women’s Wear Daily, 58, no. 43,
March 3, 1939, 36; “Four Apparel Associations Adopt Tag “Authentically Made in California,”” Women's Wear
Daily, 59, no.44, September 1, 1939, 7, 2.
67
“Committee Pushing Postwar Plans of Los Angeles Mfrs.,” Women’s Wear Daily, 67, no. 70, October 8,
1943, 19.
68
“Zukin Heads $1,000,000 Drive to Boost Los Angeles Apparel,” Women’s Wear Daily, 68, no. 44,
March 3, 1944, 22.
58
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Figure 10: 1939 Guild of California Manufacturers Advertisement
The Guild of California Manufacturers promoted the “Authentically Made in California” tag to
retailers to protect their branding and market share.69
The California label effort gained momentum. In June 1944, the AAMLA spun off the
California Apparel Creators (CAC). The CAC appointed Joseph Zukin as its permanent
chairman and set goals for education, retail assistance, industry standards, and the export market.
In August, two groups, the California Fashion Creators (CFC) and the California
Sportswear Guild (CSG), allied to advocate for and strengthen the industry. Zukin was a member
69
Guild of California Manufacturers, “Authentically Made in California.”
59
of both groups. CFC initiatives included all CAC’s goals and added several more, including
working with the motion picture industry to credit California fashion creations and creating
world-class apparel design schools.70 The CSG adopted the slogan, “California is not a location,
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it’s a way of life.”71
In April 1945, Zukin and eleven other apparel association representatives established the
California Apparel Council. The Council was to represent California’s needle trades in state and
government affairs.72 However, the group did not appear in the press past 1945, so it may have
been too redundant to survive.
Throughout WWII, Zukin continued to use actors to model his garments, but unlike the
early days, he was no longer the only California clothing maker to do so. Fun, sun, a casual
outdoor lifestyle, and Hollywood glamor had become concepts that encapsulated California style
and the California brand. As the postwar years dawned, Joseph Zukin’s focus shifted toward a
new era of fashion and marketing California style.
California Style: California 1946-1951
The California garment manufacturing industry experienced significant growth after
World War II. Though the entire American economy expanded, California was an industrial hub.
Military personnel returning from the war viewed the state’s diverse economy as an opportunity
for jobs and improved living standards. The climate, educational institutions, and lifestyle also
70
“California Fashion Creators List 11 Objectives in Industry-Wide Program,” Women’s Wear Daily, 69,
no. 32, August 16, 1944, 2.
71
“A Way of Life—Sportswear Guild Slogan,” Women’s Wear Daily, 69, no. 46, September 6, 1944, 24.
72
“Name Temporary Heads for California Apparel Council, Women’s Wear Daily, 70, no. 67, April 5,
1945, 1, 29.
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drew people to the state. In November 1944, Joseph Zukin spoke about the anticipated postwar
growth in California-based garment manufacturing. He warned that existing producers would not
allow newcomers to put the California industry’s reputation at risk with mediocre production
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standards.73
California apparel makers like Zukin were serious about protecting their brand. In
October 1945, CAC Chair, Fred Cole, announced the organization's plans to use legal means to
protect the California name on behalf of California manufacturers.74 CAC filed a class action
suit against three New York apparel makers and dealers, stating that using "California" or
“Californian” in their trade names or product descriptions constituted unfair competition and
public deception.75 The New York defendants argued that the California firms could not own a
place name and were not entitled to sue. A district court judge agreed.
The CAC appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which affirmed
the district court's decision two to one in 1947. The appellate court held that "California" was not
a trademark or trade name but a common noun no one could appropriate.76
Determined they were in the right, the CAC petitioned the Supreme Court of the United
States for a review. The Supreme Court denied the petition without comment.77 The lower court
73
Fay Hammond, “Market Week Shows Apparel Industry Rise,” The Los Angeles Times, November 15,
1944, 15.
74
"Coast Groups Plan Legal Protection of The Name 'California'," Women's Wear Daily, 81, no.18,
October 24, 1945, 35.
75
"Reserve Ruling in Move to Bar 'California' Use," Women's Wear Daily, 71, no.124, December 26, 1945,
1,43.
76
California Apparel Creators v. Wieder of California, 162 F.2d 893 (2d Cir. 1947); “Oral Arguments End
in Appeal on ‘California’,” Women’s Wear Daily, 74, no. 76, 1,32.
77
California Apparel Creators v. Wieder of California, 68 F. Supp. 499 (S.D.N.Y. 1946).
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ruling stood. Firms from outside California, including firms in New York, were free to use
“California” in their brands and marketing.
Though their legal efforts failed, the CAC supported the California label with advertising
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campaigns (See Figure 11), window display contests, and promotional events. The CAC also
worked with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to add courses and modify
degree programs to include apparel design, merchandising, business administration, and
industrial management.78 The organization helped create (sewing) operator training classes in
high and trade schools. The first UCLA students graduated in June and December 1947.79
78
University of California, General Catalogue: Admission and Degree Requirements Announcement of the
Graduate and Undergraduate Courses of Instruction for the Falland Spring Semesters, 1946-1947 (Los Angeles,
CA: University of Clifornia Press, 1946).
79
“California Apparel Promotion Ready to Break in Early May,” Women’s Wear Daily, 74, no. 47, March
7, 1947, 4.
62
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Figure 11: California Apparel Creators' Industry Promotion80
Versions of this message reinforced California’s uniqueness and associated creativity, freedom,
and youth with California fashion.
80
California Apparel Creators, “Something Wonderful Happens When You Wear Clothes from
California,” Life, May 5, 1947, 125.
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Throughout the 1940s, magazines like Vogue, Colliers, Glamor, and Good Housekeeping
published fashion editorials featuring Zukin’s clothing. Zukin and other manufacturers expanded
their designs to include Native American and Mexican motifs and eyed markets in Latin America
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and the Orient.81
The CAC began marketing the California Fiesta of Fashion, a centralized wholesale
venue open most of the year. The extended buying opportunity was part of the overall trend
toward seasonless wardrobes introduced by California designers. It broke with the fashion
industry’s seasonal cycle, where designers and manufacturers showcased their collections to
buyers during specific fashion weeks or trade shows. It foreshadowed the permanent year-round
wholesale markets that became the norm.
In April 1946, Zukin opened an overflow factory in Pomona, thirty miles south of Los
Angeles.82 The new facility employed 150 machine operators.83
Later that year, Joseph Zukin and four other prominent Los Angeles fashion
manufacturers—Cole of California, Jean Duran, Joyce, Inc., and Kim’s of California—founded
California Productions Ltd. This corporation duplicated California's highly sought-after styles
and designs in Australia. Under a franchise agreement, each manufacturer established an
independent plant near Sydney, retaining control over fashions, sizes, quality, and advertising.
Australian stockholders invested in the venture to market favored California styles to Australian
women.84
81
“Another Vivid Color Fall Ahead for Sports,” Women’s Wear Daily, 72, no. 76, April 17, 1946, 20.
82
“Zukin Opens Coast Branch Factory,” Women’s Wear Daily, 72, no. 78, April 19, 1946, 34.
83
“Zukin Plant Here Opens Production.”
84
“5 California Style Firms in Australia Setup,” Women’s Wear Daily, 72, No. 45, March 5, 1946, 1, 44.
64
Four months after the Australian alliance, Zukin, Cole, and Kim’s partnered with British
cotton and rayon goods manufacturer Horrockses Crewdson and Co. to create play clothes,
swimsuits, and children's wear using Horrockses' fabrics. A new British company, Jane Taylor
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(California) Ltd., marketed these products and placed California-themed shops within British
department stores. Horrockses also exported English styles and fabrics to Jane Taylor's US stores.85
Building on these advancements, in 1947, Zukin, Cole, Durain, and Kim’s set up a plant
with approximately 100 machines in Rotorua, New Zealand. The group hoped to replicate
similar operations in South Africa, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland. The collective effort served
as a model for distributing and importing California designs, fostering two-way trade, and
bolstering the export market for California's fashion industry.86
The post-war garment trade was doing well, and Zukin was an established, respected, and
even beloved part of the industry. Lead designer Lou Van Roy elevated Zukin’s designs.
Fashion, now integral to the California identity and lifestyle, led the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences to introduce an Oscar for costume design in 1949. That same year, Zukin’s
oldest son, Joseph Jr., married. By spring 1950, the couple was expecting a child. In August
1950, the twenty-four-year-old Stanford graduate joined his father’s company.87
After becoming familiar with the business operations, the younger Zukin declined to
continue his father’s legacy. In August 1951, Joseph Zukin of California liquidated its assets.88
85
“Coast Houses to Style for British Stores,” Women’s Wear Daily, 73, no. 15, July 22, 1946, 1, 44.
86
“New Zealand Plant to Make Coast Designs,” Women’s Wear Daily, 74, no. 92, May 9, 1947, 11.
87
“Zukin, Jr., Enters Father’s Firm,” Women’s Wear Daily, 81, no. 26, August 8, 1950, 48.
“Report Zukin Plans to Close Apparel Firm,” Women’s Wear Daily, 83, no. 27, August 8, 1951, 34;
88
“Columbia to Sell Zukin’s Stock,” Women’s Wear Daily, 73, no. 73, August 22, 1951, 41.
65
Over time, Joseph Hiram Zukin withdrew from his life’s work in the apparel industry and turned
his attention to real estate investment. His move aligned with California's rapidly transforming
commercial real estate landscape. As the suburbs burgeoned, influenced by the G.I. Bill's home-
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buying provisions and the advent of the interstate highway system, modern shopping malls,
office parks, and industrial facilities emerged away from the traditional downtowns. Innovations
from the wartime era streamlined affordable home construction adapted to the new commuter-
centric lifestyle with features like driveways and garages. The post-war baby boom and a
workforce influx into the entertainment and aerospace sectors reshaped California's residential
scene and spurred significant commercial development.89 Unsurprisingly, Zukin saw the
potential in real estate investment during the 1950s.
Throughout Joseph Zukin’s working life, articles in the Jewish newspaper, B’nai B’rith
Messenger, show that he supported Jewish charities and causes. He regularly contributed to
efforts helping orphans and those in need of medical care in the United States. He also supported
providing aid to Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, Zionist programs, and the Anti-Defamation
League's (ADL) efforts to combat anti-Semitism.90
Despite supporting Jewish philanthropic causes, historical records have not provided
evidence of Joseph Zukin engaging in business networking or collaboration with other Jewish
89
For a discussion of post-war suburbanization and real estate development see, Becky Nicolaides and
Andrew Wiese, “Suburbanization in the United States after 1945,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American
History, April 26, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.64.
90
The ADL formed in 1913 after a jury wrongly convicted Leo Frank of murder and a Ku Klux Klan
(KKK) linked mob lynched him. The ADL responded to the rise of anti-Semitism and discrimination against Jewish
immigrants. In 1920, Henry Ford published a series of anti-Semitic articles titled "The International Jew: The
World's Problem," spreading prejudiced content that contributed to the rise of anti-Semitic sentiment. In response to
Ford's activities and a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, the ADL actively challenged and opposed the dissemination
of hateful materials while championing civil rights for all, advocating for equal treatment for minorities without
regard to religion or skin color..
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community members based on diasporic connections. The general tone of B’nai B’rith articles
promotes patriotism, inclusiveness, and participation in the greater society. Joseph Zukin appears
to have been more interested in being part of the dominant culture than defining himself by
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Judaic alliances. However, the Jewish influence was everywhere in Hollywood and Los Angeles.
In the 1950s, California fully embraced its identity as a fashion hub and world trendsetter.
Innovations in fabric production and manufacturing technology ushered in a new wave of denim
and casual wear. Brands like Levi’s and Cole of California, both established by Jewish
entrepreneurs, became icons. California clothing also led the way in incorporating ethnic and
cultural influences into fashion. This laid the groundwork for the bohemian and hippie
movements that flourished in the 1960s. A celebration of global cultures and ethnic-inspired
clothing characterized these counterculture movements. Garments like embroidered tunics, tie-
dye prints, and flowing maxi dresses drew from diverse influences introduced in California’s
1950s clothing design. As the industry transitioned from small-scale operators to industrialized
production, it extended its reach outside the United States. Joseph Zukin’s fingerprints were all
over the phenomenon the entire world recognized as California style.
Summary
Joseph Zukin’s journey embodies the American Dream. He leveraged his old-world
training and talent through hard work and determination to create a better life as an immigrant
American in the dynamism of California's burgeoning lifestyle culture. While not overtly religious,
his Jewish background and life experiences contributed to his strong work ethic, adaptability, and
worldview, influencing his choices and decisions.

67
Though he disdained labor unions and engaged with them under protest, he understood
the necessity of compromise and meeting employee needs. He cared about the state of the world
and was a master at bringing people together for business, charity, and community service. He
©
constantly sought new connections and new ways of overcoming challenges. Like many from
immigrant communities that rely heavily on collective strength and unity, Zukin recognized the
strength of collaboration, whether in business partnerships or charitable endeavors. He was a true
innovator.
Zukin’s success depended on keen observations, opportunity recognition, risk-taking, and
creative problem-solving. Throughout his career, Zukin exhibited an acute ability to anticipate
and act on industry trends. This was evident when he aligned his brand with Hollywood even
before the film industry understood its own branding potential. Understanding the human need to
belong, he created garments that connected wearers to the California lifestyle, allowing them to
embrace the Hollywood mystique.
This insightful entrepreneur dreamed of making Los Angeles a global fashion hub and
relentlessly pursued that vision. He knew there was power in a shared cause and forged early
fashion connections between Los Angeles, Paris, London, and New York. By the 1950s, his
connections extended to Australia and New Zealand, and his vision had evolved into an industry-
shared aspiration that led to a flourishing fashion identity known as California style.
California style shaped American cultural ideals of health, freedom, and autonomy. It
opened the way for a more relaxed, casual daily attire, where comfort is as important as
aesthetics. Elements of beachwear, bohemian chic, vintage, and street style are part of today’s
California style. Iconic California fashion items include denim jeans, sunglasses, flip-flops,
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leather jackets, and graphic tees. California style also reflects the state’s diversity and creativity,
with influences from various ethnic groups, subcultures, and celebrities. It has grown to
encompass a range of lifestyle elements such as cuisine, architecture, and art.
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Joseph Zukin’s story matters because it is a reminder that opportunities transcend
backgrounds, and the immigrant contribution hides in plain sight. It exemplifies entrepreneurial
resilience, the value of perseverance, and the strength of community and collaboration. It is a
tapestry of personal triumph, determination, entrepreneurial spirit, cultural fusion, and enduring
influence, demonstrating how history, culture, and individual lives intertwine. It demonstrates
the indomitable role of immigrants in the American business landscape of the twentieth century
and invites people to discover inspiration, resilience, and lessons applicable to their own
journeys.
Exhibition Display Plan
The collections below support the historical narrative and appear on the Omeka website.
Introduction
Joseph Zukin was a young Russian Jew who fled oppression in Russia in 1903. He
immigrated to the United States, where he became an entrepreneur in the Lower East Side of
Manhattan in New York City. Later, he moved to Los Angeles and started a garment
manufacturing company. By 1919, he was the largest maker of women's blouses in the United
States.
“Joseph Zukin was part of a wave of early twentieth-century Jewish entrepreneurs
engaged in apparel manufacture along the West Coast, particularly in Los Angeles, California.
They allied with the motion picture industry to create and promote clothing lines to compete with
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European suppliers and break New York’s domestic hold on fashion. Their influence ushered in
an era of apparel design innovation that became known as California Style. It overtook the nation
and continues to influence American culture today.”91
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From a humble start to a worldwide business presence, Joseph Zukin’s journey captures
the spirit of the American Dream. The exhibits here explore Joseph Zukin’s remarkable life and
commercial success.
Collection: Coming to America
In the early 1900s, many Jews faced dire conditions in Russia due to the government's
unjust policies. Joseph Zukin was one of those who faced these hardships. He was seventeen
when he and his father left Russia for a better life in America. They traveled from Russia to
Germany and secured places aboard the SS Blücher. They found themselves on the shores of
Ellis Island, New York, on December 23, 1903.
1. 1901 Photo of the SS Blücher

Joseph Zukin and his father traveled from Hamburg, Germany, to Ellis Island, New
York, on the SS Blücher in 1903. The Blücher made her first voyage on November
23, 1901. This 1901 photo shows the ocean liner at sea.
2. A Hamburg American Line Postcard Showing the Blücher
The post card reads, "Hamburg Americka Linie | An Bord des Doppelschrauben
Postdamfers Blücher." This translates to "Hamburg America Line | On board the
twin-screw mail steamer Blücher." Passengers often sent postcards like this to family
and friends, but they had to wait until they went ashore.
3. Departure Manifest
Before the Zukins boarded the ship in Hamburg, the ship’s company made a
departure manifest. It listed the names and details of all passengers. It also included
details such as age, gender, nationality, job, and destination. The company gave the
list to the proper authorities in Hamburg.
91
Catherine Cordrey, “Sewing Culture: How Joseph Zukin and Other Jewish Garment Makers from Los
Angeles Impacted American Fashion During the First Half of the Twentieth Century” (Southern New Hampshire
University, December 12, 2021). Note: This reference does not appear on the website.
70
Halfway down on the right-hand page, the listing shows the name Sukin rather than
Zukin. The misspelling might have been because of confusion between the “S” and
“Z” sounds. Their occupation is “Schneider,” tailor in English.
4. Arrival Manifest
Upon reaching Ellis Island, the ship's crew wrote an arrival manifest. This document
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noted the names and details of all passengers who arrived at the port of New York.
Officials at Ellis Island used it to process and inspect incoming immigrants.
The Zukins appear on lines thirteen and fourteen of this list of steerage passengers.
As in the departure manifest, the manifest clerk misspelled the name as Sukin. This
document shows that they were tailors and had fifteen dollars when they entered the
United States. It also says they were going to stay with relatives in New York.
5. Emigrants Arriving from Europe at Ellis Island 1903 Film
https://www.loc.gov/item/00694367
"Shows a large open barge loaded with people of every nationality, who have just
arrived from Europe, disembarking at Ellis Island, N.Y. A most interesting and
typical scene. Length 140 feet"-Edison films catalog.92
In this short film, a ferryboat shuttles people from their ship to an Ellis Island
Immigration Station dock. Their arrival unfolds in front of the camera. It is a scene
that is likely similar to Joseph Zukin’s arrival.
Collection: Editorial Cartoons
At the time when Joseph Zukin came to the United States from Russia, many Americans
welcomed Jewish immigrants. Others disliked Jewish people just because they were Jewish.
Some wanted all immigrants to stay out of the country. These political cartoons are examples of
what people might see in newspapers and magazines.
1. Shelter Us in the Shadow of Your Wings

On the right, traditionally dressed Jews, under the Imperial Russian coat of arms, are
packed and ready to leave their homeland. They look across the ocean to the
Americanized Jews waiting under the American eagle. The eagle holds a banner in its
talons that reads, in Yiddish script, "Shelter us in the shadow of Your wings," a quote
from Psalms 17:8. (Description modified from Wikimedia Commons)
2. Stop Your Cruel Oppression of the Jews
92
Alfred C. Abadie, camera, Emigrants i.e. Immigrants Landing at Ellis Island, 1903, United States: Thomas A.
Edison, Inc, 1903, video, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694367/.
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The image shows an old man labeled "Russian Jew" carrying a large bundle labeled
"Oppression" on his back. Weights labeled "Autocracy," "Robbery," "Cruelty,"
"Assassination," "Deception," and "Murder" hang from the bundle. In the upper right,
a Jewish community burns. Theodore Roosevelt asks the Emperor of Russia,
Nicholas II, in the upper left, "Now that you have peace without, why not remove his
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burden and have peace within your borders?" (Description modified from the Library
of Congress.)
Roosevelt helped end the Russo-Japanese War three weeks before this cartoon went
to print. The cartoon shows him using his diplomatic success to influence the tsar. It
had been two and one-half years since the 1903 Kishinev Pogrom that prompted
many Jews like Joseph Zukin to leave Russia.
3. The High Tide of Immigration-A National Menace
This commentary in Judge magazine typifies anti-immigration sentiments of the time.
The caption reads, “Immigration statistics for the past year show that the influx of
foreigners was the greatest in our history, and also that the hard-working peasants are
now being supplanted by the criminals and outlaws of all Europe.”
4. The Immigrant
This cartoon shows the differing views Americans had about immigrants entering the
country. In the cartoon:
• Uncle Sam wanted hardworking people for factories.
• Political bosses pursued the newcomers for their votes.
• Contractors sought cheap labor.
• Health inspectors worried about immigrant-borne contagious diseases.
• Workers feared lower wages because immigrants would work for less.
• The middle-class man felt threatened because he thought immigrants were
inferior in race and religion.
• An immigrant with a box symbolized 1,000,000 immigrants arriving in the US
within twelve months.
The caption reads, "The Immigrant. Is he an acquisition or a detriment?"
Collection: The Lower East Side
Joseph Zukin lived and worked in an area of New York City called the Lower East Side.
Many immigrants lived in the Lower East Side. Life was not easy. People lived in crowded and
dangerous tenements. Fire was always a threat. Even so, it felt safer to many people than the
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countries they left. This collection contains photographs showing the neighborhood at the turn of
the twentieth century.
1. Mulberry Street Photograph
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Mulberry Street in the Lower East Side of New York City was a busy and exciting
neighborhood. It reflected the rich cultural tapestry of its mostly Italian immigrant
population. Mulberry Street served as the heart of their community. People came to
the street for its lively activities, especially its open-air markets. These markets were
a central part of daily life. Vendors lined the sidewalks, selling fresh fruits,
vegetables, meats, and other goods.
Tenement buildings housed numerous families, often in cramped and challenging
conditions. Joseph Zukin lived with his parents and siblings on East Broadway, a
little more than a mile away.
2. New York, Lower East Side Photograph
People who lived in the Lower East Side of New York City faced many challenges.
Overcrowded tenement buildings, poverty, and dirty living conditions marred the
neighborhood.
Many families lived in small, cramped apartments. They had limited ventilation and
access to natural light. The tenements often lacked proper plumbing and sanitation.
Garbage and waste accumulated in the streets where children played. The lack of
proper sanitation posed severe health risks. It contributed to the spread of diseases
like cholera, tuberculosis, and typhoid fever.
3. Move On Film
This street scene in New York's Lower East Side shows pushcart vendors setting up
to sell their wares. Two policemen order the vendors to move.
City officials often saw street vending as a nuisance and a potential obstacle to public
safety and traffic flow. Tense relations between pushcart vendors and the police were
part of the vendors' daily struggles.
Collection: Resilience and Reinvention
Immigrants had a tough time finding work. Employers did not always want to hire
foreign workers. In response, people took on piecework or made their own work. Some started
companies. Joseph Zukin opened a paper box-making company.
Zukin started his first box-making company in about 1911. One night, while everyone
was asleep, the box company caught fire. Many people in the building next door had to go onto
73
the street and wait for firefighters to extinguish the flames. Luckily, no one died, but there was
much damage. The box-making company had to find a new place to make boxes. Zukin and his
partner, Louis Shneidman, went to Nassau Paper Box Company. Shneidman was the company
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president. Zukin served as a director.
In February 1914, Joseph Zukin married schoolteacher Rebecca Heller. In July of the
following year, he moved to California, but Rebecca stayed in New York.
1. News article: “Traps 300 in Fire, Jamming Stairs with Dining Table.” The Evening
World. April 4, 1913.
Fires were common in the Lower East Side. Luckily, no one lost their life in this fire.
The damage estimate was $20,000, well over $600,000 in 2023 dollars. (Transcript.)
2. Images of business listing in The Trow, 1911, 1912, 1914
The Trow was a New York City business directory. It listed partner names, trade
names, and locations. In 1911 and 1912, it lists Joseph Zukin & Louis Schneidman
[sic] at 52 Elizabeth. After the box company caught fire, the two men bought Nassau
Paper Box Making Company. Schneidman was president. Zukin was a director. The
business was at 80 Bowery. It is likely Schneidman is Shneidman misspelled.
Shneidman became Zukin’s brother-in-law in 1912.
3. Marriage Certificate
Joseph Zukin and Rebecca Heller married in New York on February 27, 1914. The
marriage certificate shows that Zukin was a paper box manufacturer. The witness is
Louis Schneiderman, but the signature confirms that Louis Shneidman witnessed the
marriage. Shneidman was Zukin’s brother-in-law.
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Collection: The Company
By 1916, Joseph Zukin opened a shirtwaist factory in Los Angeles. He had thirty-five
employees. Over time, his business grew. By 1919, it was the largest blouse production company
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in the United States. This collection looks at the Zukin Blouses company in 1918.
1. News article: “Old Man Opportunity Holding Out Rich Lure for More Los Angeles
Factories,” Sunday Express Tribune, July 7, 1918, Evening Express edition, sec. III, 2,
https://www.newspapers.com/image/608056219.
The author uses Joseph Zukin’s ladies' shirtwaist factory as an example of
manufacturing success. The article gives some details about Zukin's
accomplishments. Most of all, the author rallies others to help grow the city’s
industry. The piece touts the opportunities and rewards for new Los Angeles
businesses. (Transcript)
2. Photograph: “Los Angeles Showroom,” 1918, BZ-F003, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Here, buyers met with company representatives who showed them the latest styles.
Buyers could preview collections and place orders. The showroom was a platform for
building and nurturing relationships between Zukin Blouses and their buyers.
Joseph Zukin sits at the front table and appears to be taking an order. Behind him,
another company representative talks with a potential buyer. To the left, another
representative shows off a blouse. High on the wall is a National Blouse Week sign.
3. Photograph: “Zukin Company Office,” 1918, BZ-E001, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
The business office was the hub of operations. Executives made production and
marketing plans. They managed workers and legal contracts. Secretaries provided
support by typing letters and staffing telephones. Bookkeepers and clerks dealt with
finance, orders, and supplies.
Joseph Zukin is standing at the back of the room on the left. Others carry out their
desk duties, conferring, using a safe, and consulting written records.
4. Photograph: “Pattern Room,” 1918, BZ-E007, Zukin Family Private Collection.
A woman, likely a designer, records information about a blouse. She sits at a table
with patterns hung along its length and on the wall behind. This may have been part
of the design process, as she may be working on a prototype.
5. Photograph: “Cutting Room,” 1918, BZ-E008, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Cutters were tailors who specialized in arranging and cutting patterns to make the best
use of fabric. Here, several men work on cutting. In the far-right background, a woman
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sorts cut fabric into batches for sewing. Batches produced one size and one style at a
time.
6. Photograph: “Sorting Cutout Blouses,” 1918, BZ-E010, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Once the cutters cut out the pieces, workers sorted them into sewing batches. They
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organized the batches in the proper order for sewing operations. Cutters are at work in
the background.
7. Photograph: “Machine Sewing Room,” 1918, BZ-E015, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Many of the machines in this photo are Singer Model 31-15. It was one of Singer's
lines of industrial sewing machines designed for heavy-duty sewing tasks. Many
textile and garment factories used this type of machine for straight stitching. This
made it suitable for sewing seams, hems, and topstitching.
A central shaft system often powered the Model 31-15. A steam engine or other
power source drove the system. The central shaft connected to a network of pulleys
and belts that distributed power to multiple machines. A clutch system let operators
disengage the sewing mechanism while leaving the central shaft in motion. This
feature allowed operators to easily adjust fabric, change thread, or handle other tasks
without stopping the entire power system.
Zukin’s factory had a steam heating system. It is likely that the boiler also supplied
power for the machines.
8. Photograph: “Production Sewing,” 1918, BZ-G022, Zukin Family Private Collection.
In the early twentieth century, most workers in the garment industry were women. A
large number operated sewing machines.
Many garment factories paid workers by the piece. The faster they produced, the
more money they made. Zukin paid machine operators and hand-sewers by the piece.
Embroiderers and hemstitchers received weekly pay.
9. Photograph: “Sewing Closeup,” 1918, BZ-F010, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Clothes factories often hired women as sewers. Cultural stereotypes credited women
with finer motor skills and better hand-eye coordination than men. These traits were
critical to precision work.
10. Photograph: “Embroidery Machine,” 1918 BZ-E016, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Embroidery machines added decorative stitching to garments. By sitting at the end of
the sewing head, the operator had a clear view of the stitching area. She guided the
fabric to create the design. Her skill was crucial to executing the intricate embroidery
designs.
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Some machines could use two different threads at the same time. This allowed for
more elaborate color combinations in the decorative patterns.
11. Photograph: “Handwork Department,” 1918, BZ-E018, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
The handwork department added finishing touches to Zukin’s clothes. Many of the
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women in this photo are adding beads to the blouses before them. Other additions
might include lace, piping, trim, buttonholes, and buttons. Hand-stitched hems gave
high-end garments a finished appearance.
12. Photograph: “Pressing Room,” 1918, BZ-G027, Zukin Family Private Collection.
The pressers individually ironed each garment to eliminate wrinkles, folds, and any
creases that may have developed during the sewing process. They also give each item
a quality check.
A presser places her iron on a heated metal plate in this photo. Once the iron was hot,
the presser could use it to smooth the garment. The plates had limited temperature
control. Users had to rely on their judgment and experience to determine the right
temperature for different fabrics.
While these irons were safer than using open flames or stoves to heat flat irons, they
still posed some safety risks. Workers had to use care handling the hot metal plate to
avoid burns.
13. Photograph: “Folding Finished Blouses,” 1918, BZ-E012, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Here, workers fold completed blouses and sort them by style and size. They add tags
or labels and give the blouses a final inspection if needed.
14. Photograph: “Shipping Room,” 1918, BZ-F018, Zukin Family Private Collection.
The shipping room received the folded garments and packaged them for transport.
They verified that the styles and quantities matched the order before packaging and
labeling them for shipment. The shipping room also produced documents to track
shipments. Those documents went to the main office for billing and other follow-up
tasks.
15. Photograph: “Employee Cafeteria,” 1918, BZ-E003, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
This in-house cafeteria was one of the benefits employees enjoyed. Joseph Zukin was
forward-thinking when it came to helping his workers. He installed modern restroom
facilities. Nurses for sick or injured workers staffed rooms on every floor. He also
provided medical insurance.
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Collection: Ladies Waists - Blouses
Women's fashion emphasized an hourglass figure during the late 19th and early twentieth
centuries. A small waist and a fuller bust and hips typified the distinct shape. Women often wore
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corsets to cinch the waist for the hourglass look. The "ladies' waist" was the bodice of a dress
that often incorporated the corseted structure. Worn with a skirt, it formed a complete outfit.
These garments could be quite intricate and decorative. They included a variety of sleeve
styles, necklines, fabrics, and embellishments. The term “blouse” replaced "waist" in the early
twentieth century as fashion evolved and women's clothing became less constrictive.
1. Advertisement: Miller Mercantile Company “Crepe de Chine Waists,” Monmouth

Herald 19, no.112, June 6, 1919.
Retailers often placed newspaper advertisements to let their customers know new
items had arrived. This ad from The Monmouth Herald in Oregon is one example.
2. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin Blouses “20,000 Blouses,” Women’s Wear 19, no.112,
November 11, 1919, 27.
Frank Gallagher represented Zukin in New York for the first time in 1919. The
advertisement shows that he presented the company’s wares from a Hotel
Pennsylvania suite.
3. Photograph: “Two Models Show Off Joseph Zukin Blouses,” 1918, BZ-G006, Zukin
Family Private Collection.
Zukin often made blouses of silk. The sheer garments frequently featured lace trim,
ribbons, and tiny, decorative buttons. Different sleeve styles, collars, and necklines,
like those shown here, added style variety.
4. Photograph: “Model Showing Sheer Embroidered Blouse with Buttons,” 1918, BZ-
G013, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Machine embroidered designs enhanced the delicate silk, georgette, and crepe ‘de
chine blouse fabrics. They added beauty and value.
5. Photograph: “Model Showing Embroidered Blouse,” 1918, BZ-G005, Zukin Family
Private Collection.
Contrasting embroidery added variety to basic styles. The threadwork shown here
turned a plain blouse into a fancy one.
6. Photograph: “Model Showing Embroidered Ensemble,” 1918, BZ-G007, Zukin
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The elaborate embroidered designs on this Zukin ensemble gave the appearance of a
single garment. This may have been a prototype. Zukin added dresses to his line in
1921.
7. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin Blouses, “Joseph Zukin Manufacturer of Blouses, Made
in Los Angeles,” Women’s Wear 20, no. 22, January 27, 1920, 26.
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In 1920, Zukin incorporated as Joseph Zukin Blouses and had a showroom on
Madison Avenue in New York. This is an example of a Joseph Zukin Blouses
advertisement.
8. Garment Label: “Joseph Zukin Los Angeles” from Zukin Family Private Collection.
This is the label sewn into Joseph Zukin’s early blouses.
9. Garment: “Blouse One,” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Photo of a blouse from the Zukin Family’s Private Collection, produced ca. 1920.
10. Garment: “Blouse Two,” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
11. Garment: “Blouse Three,” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Collection: Early Marketing
Zukin made the most of changing fashion trends and the film industry's influence. He
used tie-ups with movies and provided screenwear for actors to market his clothing. Zukin's
efforts helped elevate Los Angeles as a fashion hub.
1. Joseph Zukin, Inc. “A Zukin “Screen” Creation Your Customers Will Want Too,”
Wholesale marketing flyer, 1925, BZ-H010-011, Zukin Family Private Collection.
This flyer boasted quality and exclusivity and linked to Hollywood. Zukin used these
ideas to sell his clothing to retailers who had customers eager to buy. (Transcript)
2. Joseph Zukin, Inc. "First with the Latest: Fall Opening June 22nd, 23rd, and 24th,"
Wholesale marketing mailer, 1926, BZ-H071-072, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Zukin was not satisfied with growing the United States market. He used imagery
designed to conjure social refinement and haute couture. In this 1926 marketing
piece, he associated the Zukin brand with the rue de la Paix, a luxury Parisian
shopping district. (Transcript)
3. Joseph Zukin, Inc. "Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Spring 1927," Wholesale
marketing flyer, 1927, BZ-H067-068, Zukin Family Private Collection.
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In this piece, Los Angeles has equal status with Paris and New York. Zukin says that
Joseph Zukin, Inc. is “the first to recognize the California motif in design” and sets
the stage for the idea of California style. (Transcript)
4. Joseph Zukin, Inc. “Spring 1928,” Wholesale marketing postcard, 1928, BZ-H061,
Zukin Family Private Collection.
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This Art Deco postcard used bright colors and a stylized nude to grab attention. It
linked artistic expression and social progress to Zukin’s clothes. It addressed modern
attitudes about independence and social refinement.
Collection: Hollywood Starlettes
Zukin fused fashion and silver screen magic in his Hollywood Starlettes line. He offered
retailers a subscription-based sales model. The subscriptions helped retailers show the latest
styles for a low price. The more different styles customers saw, the more likely they were to
buy. It was a smart strategy for hard economic times.
Fashion served as a canvas for dreams and desires. It embodied the enchantment of
Hollywood's silver screen. Zukin's inventive approaches boosted his brand and had a lasting
influence on how Americans dressed. Style, narrative, and marketing joined and set the mold for
today’s fashion industry.
1. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin, Inc. “Hollywood Starlettes Are Sweeping the Country!”
Women’s Wear Daily, 52, no. 32, February 14, 1936, 1.
Hollywood Starlettes is at the center of the star in this Women’s Wear ad. The names
of stores that carry Hollywood Starlettes clothes remind the reader that they will be in
good company if they carry the clothes, too. (Transcript)
2. Composite Image: Joseph Zukin, Inc. “Hollywood Starlettes by Zukin,” Wholesale
marketing flyer, 1936, BZ-A006-007, Zukin Family Private Collection; Brown's
Apparel Shops, "Hollywood Starlettes," Advertisement, The Daily Oklahoman,
(Oklahoma City), April 15, 1936, 3.
On the left, Cecilia Parker shows off one of Zukin’s Hollywood Starlettes outfits. Part
of the Zukin advertising formula associated the model with a film in which she had a
role. The photo says the movie is The Mine with the Open Door. It was The Mine with
an Iron Door. The page is part of a marketing book designed to acquaint retailers
with Zukin’s styles.
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Zukin shipped new designs to subscribing retailers every two weeks. The center
panel describes the outfit Parker is modeling and gives retailers an idea of styles they
might receive.
The newspaper ad on the right shows how stores promoted Hollywood Starlettes
styles. Each subscription included ad templates. Newspapers customized the
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templates with store names. Subscriptions also included point-of-sale merchandising
materials.
Ms. Parker was seventeen when Fox Film Studio put her in their training. She had
roles in over twenty films. She was a cowgirl in a John Wayne movie and played
Greta Garbo’s sister in another film. Metro Goldwin Meyer signed the Canadian-
born actress in 1931. Around the time she posed for Zukin, she was studying singing.
In the 1940s, she appeared in most of the Andy Hardy films. (Transcripts)
3. Photograph: “Marian Marsh Wearing a Hollywood Starlettes Design,” 1936, EF-
5019, Zukin Family Private Collection.
This promotional still features Marian Marsh and her 1936 movie, Counterfeit. Marsh
was born Violet Krauth and used the name Marilyn Morgan in her early career. She
began film and stage acting when she was fifteen. Marsh was twenty-three when she
posed for this photo. Anyone who went to the movies in 1936 knew who she was.
(Transcript)
4. Ad Template: Joseph Zukin, Inc. “You’ll Like Hollywood Starlettes Just as the Screen
Stars Do: Marian Marsh,” 1936, EF-5058, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Zukin sent prepared ads with each subscription. This made it easy for retailers to get
the word out. Newspaper printers pasted the store’s name and price over the
designated spots to prepare the ad for production.
The Trinidad, British West Indies-born Marian Marsh was a well-liked actor. Her
busy career spanned over thirty years. She made more than forty movies and starred
in many plays. She had been acting for eight years by the time she posed for this ad.
(Transcript)
5. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin, Inc. “You’ll Like Hollywood Starlettes Just as the
Screen Stars Do: Marian Marsh,” The Waco News-Tribune, May 12, 1936, 3.
This is an example of a Zukin-supplied ad after the printer customized the template.
The retailer, G-M Ready-to-Wear Salons, added a price and a quote from Zukin. They
may have believed this personal touch would appeal to their customers and make
them feel more connected to Hollywood. (Transcript)
6. Photograph: “Jane Wyatt Wearing a Hollywood Starlettes Design,” 1936, EF-5042,
Like many of Zukin’s actor-models, Jane Wyatt was an established Hollywood
figure. A photo like this might end up as part of a newspaper ad or on a poster in a
retail window. A successful actor wearing a Zukin design sent a powerful message
about quality and style.
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Wyatt performed on stage, screen, and television. In the 1950s, she played Margaret
Anderson in a popular program called Father Knows Best. Later, she played Spock’s
mother in the original television series Star Trek. (Transcript)
7. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin, Inc. “Not Paris . . Not New York. It’s Hollywood Now!:
Hollywood Starlettes,” Wilmington Daily Press Journal, October 8, 1936, 6.
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This customized ad for Azar’s uses Jayne Wyatt’s photo to make a connection between
Hollywood, quality, and stardom. It also reinforces Hollywood’s role in the fashion
world, placing it in the company of Paris and New York. (Transcript)
8. Catalog Page: “Autographed Fashion: Worn in Hollywood,” Sears Roebuck Store
Catalog, 1935, 14.
About the same time Zukin came up with Hollywood Starlettes, Sears, Roebuck, and
Co. advertised Autographed Fashion. Compared to Zukin, Sears was late to recognize
the power of the Hollywood brand in clothes. Sears quickly gave up on the idea, but
Zukin used actors to promote his clothing line for another two decades.
9. Garment: “Hollywood Starlettes Cocktail Dress,” photographed 2023, Zukin Family
Private Collection.
This dress is a midi-length cocktail dress in blue-black with iridescent silver and
powder blue dots woven into the fabric pattern, ca. 1936.
10. Garment: “Hollywood Starlettes Buttonless Bolero,” photographed 2023, Zukin
This short black bolero-style top, worn as a shrug, has ruffles at the top of the sleeves
and a gold floral pattern in the fabric, ca. 1936.
Collection: Alliances
During World War II, labor, supply chains, and production changes tested California’s
clothes makers. In response, the makers built a unique brand and style that helped them deal with
those tests and meet shifting market tastes. More and more, they came together to promote
California-made apparel.
1. Newspaper Article: “Four Apparel Associations Adopt Tag ‘Authentically Made in

California,’” Women's Wear Daily, 59, no.44, September 1, 1939, 7, 12.
The Guild of California Manufacturers was a way for trade groups to work jointly.
Clothes makers outside California were using “California” to label their styles. The
Guild sought to protect their brand and promote California-made clothes. (Transcript)
2. Advertisement: Guild of California Manufacturers. “Authentically from California,”
Women’s Wear Daily, 58, no. 43. March 3, 1939.
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This tag was one way California clothes makers let buyers know firms in California
made the items for sale in retail stores. (Transcript)
3. Newspaper Article: “Zukin Heads $1,000,000 Drive to Boost Los Angeles Apparel,”
Women’s Wear Daily, 68, no. 44, March 3, 1944, 22.
The Associated Apparel Manufacturers of Los Angeles chose Joseph Zukin to help
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raise money to buy ads and get new members after the war. The war did not end until
1945, but the $1,000,000 goal made them ready. (Transcript)
4. Photo Clip from Newspaper Article: “Architects of California Apparel Council,” in
“Name Temporary Heads for California Apparel Council, Women’s Wear Daily, 70,
no. 67, April 5, 1945, 29.
Zukin and eleven other people began the California Apparel Council. The Council
was to be a voice for California’s needle trades in government. The group did not last
long, but it proved that the industry members had many of the same goals and ideas.
This image identifies the Council participants. (Transcript)
5. Advertisement: California Apparel Creators, “Have You Ever Heard of the California
Fiesta of Fashion?” Women’s Wear Daily, 72, no. 2, January 2, 1946, 25.
“Fiesta of Fashion” ads let buyers know that California’s wholesale venue was open
most of the year. The new venue was a precursor to year-round wholesale markets
that became the norm. (Transcript)
Collection: The Zukin Brand
In 1941, Joseph Zukin Dresses became Joseph Zukin of California. It is Zukin’s most-
remembered brand.
1. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin of California “Look to this Name,” Women’s Wear

Daily, 66, no. 108, June 4, 1943, SII8.
Zukin reminded people of his history in this Market Week Ad. (Transcript)
2. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin of California “Joseph Zukin Yesterday—Today—

Tomorrow,” Women’s Wear Daily, 67, no. 4, July 7, 1943, 13.
Though the company name changed several times, the Zukin brand endured over
time. This ad reminds readers of the company’s accomplishments. (Transcript)
3. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin of California, ““I Want Sportswear from California!””
Women’s Wear Daily, 67, no. 70, October 8, 1943, 24.
Zukin’s ad made California sportswear seem special, not like sportswear from other
places. This is one way he defined his brand. (Transcript)
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Collection: Zukin Fashions 1
Zukin continued to use movie actors to model his garments. Some were already well-
known when they showed his fashions. Fame came to others a little later.
©
1. Photo Clip from Newspaper Article: “Seeing Styles,” The Los Angeles Times, May
20, 1945, 46.
This fashion spread featured a three-part Zukin design (on the left). The outfit had a
swimsuit with a skirt and blouse cover-up. Actor Janice Carter modeled.
Carter was a trained singer and acted in Broadway shows in New York. Movie studio
head Darryl Zanuck saw her on stage. He brought her to Hollywood, where she
appeared in over forty films. Later, she worked in New York television. (Transcript)
2. Photograph: “Janis Carter in Featured Design Showing Swimsuit and Cover-up
Blouse,” 1945, EF-3-3093 and EF-3-3094 Zukin Family Private Collection.
These Zukin marketing photos show different views of the “Seeing Styles” outfit
modeled by Janis Carter.
Carter held degrees in arts and music and started her career in New York. She worked
in Hollywood for over a decade before returning to New York to work in television.
3. Magazine Cover: California Stylist, May 1945, EF-3076a, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
This cover shows Lucille Ball modeling a Joseph Zukin slacks set.
Ball was an actor, model, comedian, and film studio executive. She is best known for
her role as Lucy Ricardo in the television sitcom "I Love Lucy." The sitcom aired
from 1951 to 1957. In 1964, Lucille Ball and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz, also
helped launch the original Star Trek television series.
4. Photograph: “Esther Williams Modeling Joseph Zukin Slacks Set,” 1945, EF-3-3085,
Esther Williams models the same slacks set that Lucille Ball wore on the cover of
California Stylist. Like Ball, Williams modeled for many Zukin photo shoots.
Williams was an Olympic-class swimmer. She starred in films featuring synchronized
swimming in the 1940s and 1950s.
5. Advertisement: “Yes, We Have Superb Slack Suits as Usual . . . .” Women’s Wear
Daily, 70, no. 80, April 24, 1945, 21.
Pant suits were popular during and after the war. The “Shirley’s ‘Topper’ fabric
mentioned in the ad was a trademarked twill rayon made by the Shirley Fabrics
Corporation. (Transcript)
6. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin of California, “Super Zugra” Women’s Wear Daily, 71,
no. 91, November 7, 1945, 24.
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Cowboy western styling inspired this pant suit design. Zukin made it of Super Zugra,
a proprietary fabric made by Concordia-Gallia Fabrics. The New York supplier
specialized in acetate and rayon for menswear. (Transcript)
7. Advertisement: Joseph Zukin of California “The Winning Numbers of Cashuleen,”
Women’s Wear Daily, 70, no. 110, June 6, 1945, 19.
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Zukin’s styles included pant suits, skirt suits, and jumpers. The garments here use
Cashuleen from New York fabric maker and distributor St George Textile Corp.
(Transcript)
Collection: California Apparel Creators
In the late 1940s, Casual clothing was popular. New materials, machines, and production
methods changed how firms made and designed clothes. The California Apparel Creators group
promoted the Made in California brand. They also helped start college programs in fashion
design and business management.
1. Advertisement: California Apparel Creators, “Something Wonderful Happens When

You Wear Clothes from California,” Life, May 5, 1947, 125.
Ads like this reinforced the idea of California’s uniqueness. They let people know that
creativity, freedom, and youth were part of California fashion. (Transcript)
2. Photograph: “Boyd’s Window Display,” 1946, EF-3-3236, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
The California Apparel Creators sponsored window contests. Retailers designed
displays around California clothing themes.
Boyd’s was a retail store in St. Louis and Clayton, Missouri. It chose to make
windows about California designers. This window features Joseph Zukin. It shows a
Zukin outfit next to Zukin’s portrait. (Transcript -if possible)
3. Photograph: “The Hecht Co. Window Display,” 1946, EF-3-3271, Zukin Family
Private Collection.
This contest entry from The Hecht Co. in Washington, DC, celebrated the store’s
fiftieth anniversary. It tied the event to Joseph Zukin of California playsuits and the
Golden State. (Transcript)
4. Photograph: “Hale Bros Central Office,” 1946, EF-3-3261, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Hale Bros was a San Francisco retailer. Their display window contest entry celebrated
fabric prints by Galey and Lord. (Transcript)Photograph: “Zukin Awards UCLA
Prize,” ca. 1947, EF-3-3382, Zukin Family Private Collection.
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The California Apparel Creators helped found a program for apparel design at UCLA.
They held a design contest for the students. Bill Campbell and Barbara Creekbaum
were the first-place winners. This photo shows Joseph Zukin awarding their prizes.
(Transcript)
5. Photograph: “Judges in UCLA Prize” ca. 1947, EF-3-3360, Zukin Family Private
©
Collection.
The California Apparel Creators design contest judges stand with Bill and his designs.
Bill Campbell and Barbara Creekbaum won first prize. (Transcript)
Collection: Zukin Fashions 2
Joseph Zukin of California benefitted from the post-war boom of the late 1940s. Zukin
fashions appeared in many high-end fashion magazines and were among other desirable
California brands that dominated the American fashion scene.
1. Composite Image: “Promo Photo and Vogue Ad” ca. 1947, EF-4010, Zukin Family
Private Collection.
This page from a Zukin scrapbook shows a studio photo on the left and the ad it is in
on the right. (Transcript)
2. Garment: “1947 Cropped Blouse” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
A Joseph Zukin of California ad in Vogue featured this blouse style and color. The
midriff blouse was popular in the 1940s and 1950s.
3. Garment: “Floral Blouse” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
Brightly colored blouses were typical of Joseph Zukin of California styles from the
late 1940s.
4. Garment: “Circle Skirt” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
This floral skirt does not use zippers. Its bright colors and flowing lines exemplify
California style in the 1940s.
5. Garment: “Yellow Play Set” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
California designers introduced play clothes as sporty alternatives to streetwear.
6. Garment: “Tailored Suit” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
A tailored lady’s suit takes cues from military uniforms, but a soft velveteen collar
and cuffs set it apart from a plain business suit.
7. Garment: “Pinstriped Lapped Dress” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
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Made of medium-weight weave, this lapped dress is a variant of the shirtdress. It uses
functional buttons to make a design statement.
8. Garment: “Brown Shirtdress” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private Collection.
The shirtdress has become a classic style, but it was a new concept in the 1940s. This
one is detailed with gold buttons and turned-up sleeves. Wearers would have used a
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belt as a further accent.
9. Garment: “Asymmetric Floral Print Dress” photographed 2023, Zukin Family Private
Collection.
Zukin used lightweight, comfortable fabrics more frequently in the late 1940s as the
idea of year-round fashion became popular, and fabric technology produced a variety
of synthetic textiles.
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Chapter 3: Considerations
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Budget and Staffing
Though this project has required minimal out-of-pocket funds, the budget reflects costs
outside of an educational setting. It assumes a loaded labor cost of $41.50 per hour, calculated
using the 2021 median pay of $30.74 for historians and adding forty percent for loaded labor
costs.1 The project also assumes that a historian or other trained individual will execute all the
project-related tasks. Therefore, the wage will be constant across skill sets.
The workload falls into three categories: research, design, and execution. The research
portion involves identifying the project subject, gathering primary source information, and
creating a background document like the bulk of this essay’s first two chapters. Design includes
creating an exhibition scheme, choosing display materials, and originating exhibit text.
Execution includes uploading items to Omeka, populating the item form, and enacting the
exhibition scheme.
Hard costs include rights fees, website subscriptions, photographic and scanning
equipment, office space and equipment, and overhead. Rights fees for this project are $50. An
Omeka subscription that provides features above the free version is $75. The researcher has
1
“Historians: Occupational Outlook Handbook,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 8, 2022,
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/historians.htm.
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photographic and scanning equipment, so will consider that an “in kind” donation. Office space
rentals vary wildly, but WeWork offers shared office space starts at $29 per day.2
Budget Scenario One
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A rough calculation for a project-owned fixed office space or a rented space with rents
based on the owner’s fixed costs can use depreciation and operating costs as a reasonable low-
end basis. Actual rental costs would likely be higher since rental owners typically want more
than a break-even return on investment, even when appreciation outpaces depreciation.
Depreciation flows from the fixed acquisition cost, so assuming a building cost of $1,000,000,
monthly operating costs of $ 5,000, including computer and office equipment access, a
depreciation period of thirty years, and twenty-one offices in the building, calculates as follows:
Depreciation expense = (Cost of asset – Salvage value)/Useful life

Depreciation expense = ($1,000,000 - $0)/30 = $33,333
Operating costs = $5,000 x 12 = $60,000
Total annual operating cost = $93,333
Cost per office per year = $93,333/21 = $4444.43
52 weeks at 40 hours per week or 2080 hours use time.
$4,444.43/2080 = $2.14 per hour.
Total hourly cost for all activities = loaded labor cost + office space cost
Total hourly cost for all activities = $41.50 + $2.14 = $43.64.
Research time for this project was twenty-five months and approximately 2,000 hours.
Project design will be about sixty hours, including the narrative and exhibition. Item
preparation, formatting, uploading, site population, and organization for the seventy-three
scheduled items will be approximately one hundred hours.
Total hours = Research time + Design time + Execution time

Total hours = 2000 + 60 + 100 = 2160
2
WeWork, “Daily Office Space Rental, Meeting Rooms by the Hour,” WeWork, accessed August 22,
2023, https://www.wework.com/solutions/wework-on-demand.
89
Total cost = Total hours x $43.64 + Rights fees + Omeka subscription

Total cost = (2160 x $43.64) + $50 + $75 = $94,387 rounded
Add ten percent for contingency = $94,387 x 1.10 = $103,825 rounded.

The total projected project budget is $103,825.
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Budget Scenario Two
One can narrow the budget by confining labor to narrative, exhibition, item preparation,
formatting, uploading, site population, and organization. This method assumes that background
research is part of a larger scope of work. In that case, the calculations reduce the budget by 2000
hours. This is a reasonable alternate approach because most grant programs do not cover
research. Additionally, many institutions exclude research from project budgeting since they
account for research in institutional overhead. In that case:
Total hours = Design time + Execution time

Total hours = 60 + 100
Total cost = Total hours x $43.64 + Rights fees + Omeka subscription

Total cost = (160 x $43.64) + $50 + $75 = $7100 rounded
Add ten percent for contingency = $7100 x 1.10 = $7800 rounded.

The total projected project budget is $7800.
Budget Notes
The Zukin Museum has fully funded this project, but if the project were looking for
funding, grants from regional California museums and historical institutions would be likely
targets. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has two Zukin garments in its collection. The
supporting data and archival materials this project could provide would enhance those holdings
and help fill-in the story of Zukin’s contributions to the Los Angeles fashion and garment
industry.
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Recommendations for Further Research
This project covers the highlights of Joseph Zukin’s business life and can serve as a
scaffold for more extensive research. A few areas to consider are the California Apparel Creators
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vocational programs and the Creators’ relationship with other trade advocacy groups, as well as
Joseph Zukin’s personal life, the details of his divorce, his relationship with his siblings, the full
extent of his participation in Jewish organizations, and his legal battles.
Potential spin-offs for understanding the California garment industry include labor,
changes in industrial mechanization, government regulation, the menswear and youth sectors,
and economic analyses. The identities and backgrounds of Zukin’s designers are another possible
research topic. The research so far shows that Zukin had no fewer than ten different designers.
He likely had many more. Since many fashion designers were women, such a project might
make an exciting gender study.
Additional case studies, timelines, and comparative analyses could better position Zukin
and his peers in historical context and strengthen the historical argument. Tracking other
manufacturers’ business paths would better illuminate the similarities and differences in Zukin’s
business approach. A comparative history project juxtaposing Los Angeles with New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Cleveland could further identify
what qualities made Los Angeles successful and unique during the early twentieth century. A
West Coast comparison might also explain why San Francisco or Seattle did not grow at Los
Angeles’s rate. Correlating migration patterns of immigrant labor skilled in the needle trades
with garment hubs could further illuminate immigration’s role in the industry. Oral histories
from family members would bring additional perspectives to Joseph Zukin’s life.
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Joseph Zukin’s life and career offer a microcosm of the broader developments in the
California garment industry during the early twentieth century. These recommendations for
further research highlight numerous dimensions and potential avenues for scholarly
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investigation. The suggestions encompass both individual aspects of Zukin’s personal and
professional life as well as broader systemic factors influencing the garment industry's evolution.
By exploring these facets in more detail, scholars can deepen historical understanding of industry
dynamics, labor migration, and business strategies and developments in the American garment
sector and the role of its key figures, such as Zukin.
Ethics, Potential Challenges, Shortfalls
Historical exhibition projects, like this one, involve presenting and interpreting primary
and secondary sources related to a historical topic or question. The exhibition’s objectives,
audience, and stakeholder needs,3 source material and legal status, and historical fairness are
some of the practical and ethical factors project members should consider.
Before going further, this project must note that academic and public history standards
cannot be the same. Academic ethics focus on disinterested scholarship and scholarly community
peer review. According to Ronald C. Tobey, professor of History at UC Riverside, public history
is inherently “interested” and advocacy-driven since its goal is to engage the public.4 Therefore,
professional ethics for public historians should focus on conflicts of interest, fairness, and
3
For a discussion of exhibition objectives and audience and stakeholder needs, see the Introduction.
4
Ronald C. Tobey, “The Public Historian as Advocate: Is Special Attention to Professional Ethics
Necessary?” The Public Historian 8, no. 1 (January 1, 1986): 21–30, https://doi.org/10.2307/3377071.
92
professionalism.5 Social and Political Sciences Professor Andromache Gazi put it another way,
“Museum ethics are about personal commitment and a sense of moral accountability to the
various groups that museums serve.”6 As Tobey observed, this accountability is outside
©
academic boundaries and must address different concerns.
Public history projects use source material rules and professional conduct standards.
Source material rules revolve around intellectual property rights, legal ownership, cultural
sensitivity, proper attribution, responsible archival practices, and ethical representation.
Copyright laws protect creator or assignee interests. To ensure transparency, historians must
provide clear and complete attribution for all sources, methods, arguments, and materials they
use or produce in their work and adhere to copyright law, including fair use guidelines. After due
diligence to locate copyright owners, projects should disclose items with orphaned copyrights
and prepare to disuse them if notified by the copyright holder. Projects should not use works in
doubt beyond the fair use doctrine to be safe from ethical missteps and legal liability.7
This project’s subject is a Russian-Jewish immigrant. The author tried to be mindful of
potential cultural insensitivity, stereotypes, or misrepresentation that might arise from certain
materials or language. Project personnel are responsible for ensuring that source materials'
presentation and interpretation are respectful and accurate.
Projects should present source materials to respect the content's integrity and the creators'
intentions, including avoiding manipulation or distortion of materials to fit a particular narrative,
5
Ronald C. Tobey, “The Public Historian as Advocate.”
6
Andromache Gazi, “Exhibition Ethics an Overview of Major Issues,” Journal of Conservation and Museum
Studies (Ubiquity Press, May 8, 2014), https://www.jcms-journal.com/articles/10.5334/jcms.1021213/print/.
7
Perry Law. “Orphan Works in the United States and Copyright Issues.” PDF file. 2012.
https://www.copyright.gov/orphan/comments/noi_10222012/Perry4Law.pdf
93
context, or agenda. Public historians should strive for accuracy and integrity in presenting source
materials. While the project has not presented insurmountable ethical challenges, the volume of
materials demands much commitment and attention to detail. The author underestimated the time
©
requirements for preparing, scripting, and cataloging Omeka items and struggled with course
deadlines. Meeting scheduling targets is the most significant potential pitfall. The primary
shortfall is a lack of detail; the project can potentially provide a more nuanced interpretive
presentation.
94
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Conclusion
Joseph Zukin’s journey from a Jewish subject under an oppressive regime in Russia to
triumph as an entrepreneur in Los Angeles mirrors the narratives of many East European Jews in
the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, Zukin’s story goes beyond the ordinary. He
imprinted the California garment industry and influenced American fashion for generations. He
is emblematic of the immigrant experience and an exceptional figure of business success.
The research covered in this paper commemorates one man’s biography but also has the
profound responsibility to acknowledge all immigrants' contributions and roles in building
American industries. Zukin’s entrepreneurial spirit transcended adversity and social barriers. It
has the potential to inspire future generations to dream big and act boldly. It also contributes to
the broader understanding of the California garment industry's evolution and the socio-economic
shifts, cultural influences, and market dynamics that shaped that sector.
Zukin's journey underscores the transformative power of cultural transition. His eventual
ascent to entrepreneurial success represents a beacon of triumph within the broader narrative of
Eastern European Jewish immigrants. His pioneering strategies defied the economic turmoil of
the Great Depression. His subscription-based sales model hinged on astute psychological insights
into consumer behavior. In a climate of financial uncertainty, Zukin recognized the allure of new
styles and the human propensity to seek solace in fashion. This strategy harnessed the
mesmerizing power of Hollywood's silver screen and entwined dreams and desires with Zukin’s
95
clothing. He succeeded with marketing strategies, like Hollywood Starlettes, that eluded
competitors, including Sears. These unique business approaches reflect the ability to adapt and
innovate. They stand as early indicators of shifts in American business practices, with
©
immigrants like Zukin often at the forefront of these transformations.
During World War II, Zukin’s alliances with groups like the Guild of California
Manufacturers and the California Apparel Council demonstrate that his legacy is not only
through individual achievements. These collaborative initiatives testify to the California garment
sector's interconnectedness and ability to unite around shared goals. Zukin's pivotal role in these
alliances, evident through his leadership and fundraising efforts, underscores his enduring
commitment to fostering a vibrant industry ecosystem.
Jewish immigrants' success in industries such as the garment sector results from a
nuanced interplay of factors. Rather than being a matter of cultural resilience and exceptionalism
or assimilation and regional conditions, Jewish success comes from complex interrelations
between these aspects. Each person's unique circumstances temper success. Diversity because of
varied backgrounds and experiences enriches the narrative in Jewish communities. The dynamic
relationship between factors like ethnic solidarity, adaptation, religious assimilation, and
economic aspirations shapes the course of Jewish success.
Whether thriving on the West Coast's accepting environment or navigating the challenges
of maintaining ethnic identities, Jewish immigrants like Zukin forged paths marked by tenacity,
adaptability, and a blending of cultural influences. Understanding the multifaceted nature of
Jewish success means acknowledging the intricate threads that weave together cultural heritage,
economic ambition, and evolving societal dynamics.

96
These pages do not mark the end of exploration. Instead, they are a waypoint in the quest
to fully unravel the complexities of Joseph Zukin's life and the broader tapestry of immigrant
achievements that have shaped the American dream and built California style. Zukin's life is a
©
testament to individual achievement and demonstrates how immigrants have contributed to and
actively reshaped American industries and business practices. As scholars and explorers continue
to uncover the layers of Zukin's legacy, they reveal the indelible role immigrants have played in
sculpting the dynamic business landscape of America, one that can inspire future generations.
97
©
Appendix: Selected Exhibit Screenshots September 2023
Appendix Figure 1: Homepage

98
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Appendix Figure 2: Collections Page 1 Top
99
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Appendix Figure 3: Collections Page 1 Center
100
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Appendix Figure 4: Collections Page 1 Bottom
101
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Appendix Figure 5: Collections Page 2
102
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Appendix Figure 6: Collections - Tree View
103
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Appendix Figure 7: Items Page 1 Top
104
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Appendix Figure 8: Items Page 1 Bottom
105
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Appendix Figure 9: Items Page 2
106
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107
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108
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109
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110
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111
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112
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113
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Appendix Figure 17: Collection Example - Hollywood Starlettes w/Items 1 & 2
114
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Appendix Figure 18: Collection Example - Hollywood Starlettes Items 3-10
115
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Appendix Figure 19: Item Example - Two Models in Zukin Blouses – Page Top
116
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Appendix Figure 20: Item Example - Two Models in Zukin Blouses – Page Bottom
117
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Appendix Figure 21: Item Example - Starlettes Ad - Page Top
118
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119
Appendix Figure 22: Item Example - Starlettes Ad - Page Center
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Appendix Figure 23: Item Example - Starlettes Ad - Page Bottom
120
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Appendix Figure 24: Item Example - Zukin Label - Page Top
121
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Appendix Figure 25: Item Example - Zukin Label - Page Bottom
122
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Appendix Figure 26: Item Example - Zukin Label - Close-Up
123
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Threads of Innovation Joseph Zukin and The Los Angeles Apparel Industry

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Southern New Hampshire University

Joseph Zukin and the Los Angeles Apparel Industry

White Salmon, Washington

this project is suitable for preservation in the University Archive.

achievements stem from his perseverance, adaptability, California's unique socio-economic

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ vii

Chapter 1: Historical Research .................................................................................................. 13

Chapter 2: The Project ............................................................................................................... 26

Chapter 3: Considerations ......................................................................................................... 87

Appendix: Selected Exhibit Screenshots September 2023 ......................................................... 97

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 123

Figure 3: Examples of Immigration Editorial Cartoons. .............................................................. 31

Figure 4: Mulberry Street, New York City, about 1900. ............................................................... 33

Figure 5: Shirtwaist Marketing Photo 1918 .................................................................................. 37

Figure 6: 1925 Wholesale Marketing Flyer .................................................................................. 40

Figure 7: 1926 Wholesale Marketing Mailer ................................................................................ 41

Figure 8: 1936 Marketing Book Pages ......................................................................................... 51

Figure 9: 1935 Sears Roebuck Catalog Pages .............................................................................. 52

Figure 10: 1939 Guild of California Manufacturers Advertisement ............................................ 58

Figure 11: California Apparel Creators' Industry Promotion ....................................................... 62

Appendix Figure 1: Homepage ..................................................................................................... 97

Appendix Figure 2: Collections Page 1 Top ................................................................................. 98

Appendix Figure 3: Collections Page 1 Center............................................................................. 99

Appendix Figure 4: Collections Page 1 Bottom ......................................................................... 100

Appendix Figure 5: Collections Page 2 ...................................................................................... 101

Appendix Figure 6: Collections - Tree View .............................................................................. 102

Appendix Figure 7: Items Page 1 Top ........................................................................................ 103

Appendix Figure 8: Items Page 1 Bottom................................................................................... 104

Appendix Figure 9: Items Page 2................................................................................................ 105

Appendix Figure 10: Items Page 3.............................................................................................. 106

Appendix Figure 11: Items Page 4.............................................................................................. 107

Appendix Figure 13: Items Page 6.............................................................................................. 109

Appendix Figure 14: Items Page 7.............................................................................................. 110

Appendix Figure 16: Items Page 9.............................................................................................. 112

identity, I did not have a clear vision.

achievements, I might not have discovered the allure of public history.

biographical literature ever since.

the myriad of experiences that define us as individuals and as a people.

my master’s degree in public history has been priceless.

belief in me is just one of the many reasons we are inseparable.

I also want to express appreciation to my instructors at SNHU for their exceptional

bolsters my enthusiasm for public history.

Joseph Hiram Zukin, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, was a visionary trailblazer whose

lasted for three days.

and long-standing state-sanctioned policies of anti-Jewish discrimination contributed to the

with him in Pennsylvania. His parents stayed in New York.

and he used stills of actresses wearing them to market his fashions.8

clothing and became marketing features of California-produced clothing lines.

In 1951, after thirty-five years of manufacturing, promoting, and trendsetting women’s

continues to shape American culture today.

successes shape the social dynamic?

changing social constructs influenced acceptance and social advancement.

Collaboration among manufacturers, marketers, trade organizations, and government

sunshine, played a substantial role in popularizing California-branded apparel.

Joseph Zukin’s innovative marketing techniques, entrepreneurial spirit, and contributions

individuals, were critical to the success of the California fashion brand.

agency of California’s garment industry entrepreneurs, like Zukin.

is no better time to enter this history into the record.

entrepreneurs to achieve social and financial success.

Recognizing the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as Jewish

and fosters a more comprehensive and accurate societal representation.

create meaningful impact in their respective fields.

As a matter of public history, Joseph Zukin’s story is emblematic of immigrants who