the rix mix

The man who gave Daffy's its name, and its fame

Off-price clothing chain Daffy's will be a bit less "daffy" with the passing of the man who gave the chain its name, Irving Shulman. Shulman, who died Friday at age 96, was a merchant clown prince who knew that to sell merchandise you first had to draw a crowd.

After he opened his first Daffy Dan's Bargain Town in Elizabeth in 1961, he combined showmanship with salesmanship to promote his store. He attached a giant U.S. Navy balloon to the roof. Newark Airport complained that it was interfering with flights, but it got shoppers in the door. For his Daffy Dan's Bargain Town store in Elizabeth, Shulman would spend the first part of the week hunting for bargains in New York's garment district, and then sell his finds on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. "He was basically a one-man show," his daughter said in a statement. "On weekends and during school vacations he would bring my brothers and me to work, sharing his love of the business."

Generations of Union County NJ teenage girls mourn. During the Sixties & Seventies, Daffy's original crowded store in downtown Elizabeth (later expanded to a big box on Route One - still there, & a chain of 17 stores) was a mecca for fashion-conscious young women on minuscule clothing budgets. Daffy Dan's Devotees. Sure, the "rich" Lord & Taylor girls from Westfield & Summit sniffed  around Daffy's. But Daffy's was a magnet for the middle & working class girls I knew. These girls (like my first serious girlfriend, eldest of six siblings) believed it was better to have one killer outfit than a closet full of ho-hums. They would go to Daffy's as often as they could afford, on Friday after school or Saturday, with baby-sitting & allowance money, searching for THE dress or blouse. Daffy's even sold prom-worthy dresses.  Daffy's was madness. My girlfriend Karen brought me there once. After 15 minutes of being shoved about by girls wearing perfume that made my nose itch (had to browse quickly & pile up  bargains for the changing rooms) &   asked, "How's this one?" (A rhetorical question, I was required to adore whatever Karen ultimately chose, & usually did, she wore everything well), I told her to meet me at Vogel's Record Store  & fled the daffy place.  Not every trip to Daffy's resulted in a major purchase - it was a hit or miss  selection, sometimes only a belt or flashy designer scarf to prove she'd been there.

Labels: culture, Elizabeth NJ, growing up, obituary, shopping